Workers with Disabilities: Talent for a Winning Team - February 2008
Tim A.: Achieving Success in a New Job Step-by-Step
Tim A. had been employed at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) for seven years when automation eliminated the need for his position. At the same time, another department had an opening. Since Tim had been placed in his original job through Project SEARCH, which originated at the CCHMC to provide employment and education opportunities for individuals with significant disabilities, he again turned to that avenue for assistance.
The Project SEARCH coordinator learned more about the available position and brought in a job coach. Born with spina bifida, Tim has a seizure disorder that affects his short-term memory. Because the new job involved tasks with many steps, his coach developed step-by-step directions for each one, along with daily checklists and a task book. Tim now works independently, performing up to 15 different tasks. His immediate supervisor considers him a valuable member of the team.
Project SEARCH, winner of a Secretary of Labor’s New Freedom Initiative Award, has an Adult Employment Program, a High School Transition Program and a Vocational Education Clinic. This initiative has expanded beyond the CCHMC to hospitals in other states, as well as to other industry sectors, including banking, universities and nursing homes. Currently, there are 80 sites across the United States and in England that have replicated or are considering replicating the Project SEARCH model.
Tim S: Cashing in on Work-Based Learning Experience
Last summer, Tim S. interned at a CVS store in Orlando, FL, through Florida High School/High Tech's Orange County Public Schools site of ODEP's national High School/High Tech program, which provides students with disabilities opportunities to explore careers in science, mathematics and technology. With the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, ODEP has developed Guideposts for Success identifying work-based learning experiences as a key component for success in the transition of youth with disabilities from school to work.
Tim's supervisor at CVS, where he has continued working part time while completing his senior year in high school, describes him as "a great employee." Tim most enjoys contributing to the overall look of the store, operating a cash register and earning his own money. He has developed new skills, including learning to use touch screens to make sales and count inventory. Meanwhile, CVS has recruited a valuable new team member.
CVS Caremark -- with more than 6,200 stores in 38 states --recently became ODEP's newest partner in the agency's Alliance Initiative, through which the two organizations will work together to promote the employment of people with disabilities with a focus on developing model programs for recruitment, hiring and advancement. In 2006, the company received the Secretary of Labor's New Freedom Initiative Award for an innovative program that created, by partnering with New Vision Photography in the Washington, DC, area, opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities. A nine-week training program taught photography skills. At the end, all program participants were hired by local CVS stores to work in their photo departments. The company has since replicated the training program in other markets.
