New Employment Program to Train Young Adults at Mercy Health Center of Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY − Francis Tuttle Technology Center (FTTC) students will begin developing marketable skills later this month as interns in the new Project SEARCH employment training program located at Mercy Health Center in Oklahoma City.
This innovative program prepares young adults with disabilities, who are clients of the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), for employment and assists them in finding permanent jobs when they complete the program.
Judi Goldston from the University of Oklahoma National Center for Disability Education and Training provides technical assistance to ensure that the program operates with integrity as outlined in the national Project SEARCH program model.
Interns have been selected for Project SEARCH and will work with the FTTC instructor, Dennis Moore, on employment and independent living skills approximately one hour per day.
Mercy Human Resources Liaison Jill Wimmer said interns will work in the hospital care environment on job rotations, such as the emergency department, pediatrics, cafeteria/dish room, instrument room, security and radiology.
DRS Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist Bonnie Allen will provide funding for job coaches who teach basic tasks and fade away as interns begin performing the work independently. DRS supports interns with additional employment services when the program ends in May 2011.
“What initially appeals to our clients is the chance to replace classroom time with real world experience,” Department of Rehabilitation Services Transition Coordinator, Kim Osmani said. “But Project Search also gives them a boost in confidence and gives them exposure to a variety of cool types of jobs where they could go to work in Oklahoma.”
A new Project SEARCH program also begins this month in Enid. Programs for high school students with disabilities are entering their third year in Tulsa and Ada.
More information is available from DRS Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist Bonnie Allen at 405-522-7964 or ballen@okdrs.gov or FTTC Project SEARCH Instructor Dennis Moore at 405-717-4386 or dmoore@francistuttle.edu.