Project SEARCH Halton is for high school students with an intellectual disability whose main goal is employment and who will benefit from career exploration. The cornerstone of this program is immersion into a large business or organization. Students learn job skills while participating in a variety of worksite rotations with the goal of competitive employment and are supported by a team including a certified Teacher and Skills Trainers.
There are over 700 Project SEARCH sites around the world, and Halton hosts two sites:
Project Search Halton @ Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (launched in 2019)
Key Partners: Halton District School Board, Halton Healthcare & Community Living Oakville.
Project Search Halton @ Milton District Hospital (launched in 2021)
Key Partners: Halton Catholic District School Board, Halton Healthcare & Community Living North Halton.
What Project SEARCH looks like:
Each day starts in a classroom where students learn employability skills. The bulk of the day is spent in worksite rotations developed throughout the sites. Students end their day in the classroom, reflecting on the day, journaling their key learning, problem solving, and planning. The program runs for one year, on a school cycle, and is the last year before high school graduation.
Skills Trainers provide training to students for each work experience, while site supervisors and managers will provide natural supports. Students receive continual feedback from Project SEARCH staff, co-workers and supervisors.
The ultimate goal is to support students to be successful in their post-graduation search for competitive employment, utilizing transferable skills learned through the work experiences in the program. While we appreciate when it happens, host businesses/organizations are under no obligation to hire students once they have completed their Project SEARCH year.
Eligibility Criteria:
Possible worksite experiences may include:
Project Search History
Project SEARCH was developed at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. In 1996, Erin Riehle, then Director of Cincinnati Children’s Emergency Department, felt because the hospital served individuals with developmental disabilities, it made sense they should commit to hiring people in this group. She wondered if it would be possible to train them to fill some of the high- turnover, entry-level positions in her department. As a starting point, Erin presented her ideas to Susie Rutkowski, then the special education director at Great Oaks Career Campuses. Erin and Susie formed a partnership that was instantaneous, and together they launched Project SEARCH.
Since its inception, Project SEARCH has grown from a single program site at Cincinnati Children’s to a large and continuously expanding international network of sites and a continuation of the primary objective to secure competitive employment for people with disabilities.
Project SEARCH Halton - Milton Handbook
The following handbook contains information on:
There are over 700 Project SEARCH sites around the world, and Halton hosts two sites:
Project Search Halton @ Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (launched in 2019)
Key Partners: Halton District School Board, Halton Healthcare & Community Living Oakville.
Project Search Halton @ Milton District Hospital (launched in 2021)
Key Partners: Halton Catholic District School Board, Halton Healthcare & Community Living North Halton.
What Project SEARCH looks like:
Each day starts in a classroom where students learn employability skills. The bulk of the day is spent in worksite rotations developed throughout the sites. Students end their day in the classroom, reflecting on the day, journaling their key learning, problem solving, and planning. The program runs for one year, on a school cycle, and is the last year before high school graduation.
Skills Trainers provide training to students for each work experience, while site supervisors and managers will provide natural supports. Students receive continual feedback from Project SEARCH staff, co-workers and supervisors.
The ultimate goal is to support students to be successful in their post-graduation search for competitive employment, utilizing transferable skills learned through the work experiences in the program. While we appreciate when it happens, host businesses/organizations are under no obligation to hire students once they have completed their Project SEARCH year.
Eligibility Criteria:
- 18 - 21 years of age and registered at an HCDSB school (Milton) or HDSB school (Oakville) for the 2024- 2025 school year.
- Student has potential to be independent in the workplace.
- Able to take direction.
- Does not need personal supports for self-care.
- Able to provide own transportation to hospital.
- Interns must have a COVID-19 fully vaccinated status.
- Has a desire to work!
Possible worksite experiences may include:
- Emergency Department
- Medical/Surgery
- Complex Transitional Care (CTC)
- Food Services
- Environmental Services
- Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR)
- Workout
- Diagnostic Imaging
- Clinical Information Services (CIS)
- Maternal Newborn
Project Search History
Project SEARCH was developed at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. In 1996, Erin Riehle, then Director of Cincinnati Children’s Emergency Department, felt because the hospital served individuals with developmental disabilities, it made sense they should commit to hiring people in this group. She wondered if it would be possible to train them to fill some of the high- turnover, entry-level positions in her department. As a starting point, Erin presented her ideas to Susie Rutkowski, then the special education director at Great Oaks Career Campuses. Erin and Susie formed a partnership that was instantaneous, and together they launched Project SEARCH.
Since its inception, Project SEARCH has grown from a single program site at Cincinnati Children’s to a large and continuously expanding international network of sites and a continuation of the primary objective to secure competitive employment for people with disabilities.
Project SEARCH Halton - Milton Handbook
The following handbook contains information on:
- Roles and Responsibilities and Expectations of the Intern
- Roles and Responsibilities of the Instructor
- Roles and Responsibilities and of the Skills Trainer
- Roles and Responsibilities of the Manager
- Roles and Responsibilities of the Job Developer
- Roles and Responsibilities of the Host Business Liaison
- Roles and Responsibilities of Parent/Guardian
Site powered by Weebly. Managed by Bluehost