Project SEARCH celebrates milestone anniversary

Leaders in education and healthcare and local elected officials celebrated the 10th anniversary of Project SEARCH at Jefferson Health, an award-winning school-to-work program for students with disabilities ages 18-21 in their final year of special education and young adults receiving services through the NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities, at the Y.A.L.E. School Performing Arts Center on Nov. 4.

“May the next 10 years open even more doors here, create more opportunities and remind us that when we believe in people, and invest in their potential, extraordinary things happen,” said Camden County Commissioner Jennifer Cooley Fleisher.

Representatives from Jefferson Health, Y.A.L.E. School NJ Cherry Hill Campus and state and local Project SEARCH partners joined program graduates and parent liaison in providing remarks before kicking off a celebration for current interns, families, alumni and past and present program partners.

“Over the past decade, Project SEARCH has made a meaningful difference in the lives of nearly 100 people in Cherry Hill, and Cherry Hill is especially proud to be one of the places that Project SEARCH calls home,” said Cherry Hill Councilwoman Jill Hulnick. “These accomplishments are a testament to the power of collaboration, and the importance of creating opportunities for individuals of all abilities to learn, grow and succeed.”

“Having the privilege to participate in this program since its inception has been both an honor and a rewarding experience,” said Frank Rocco, vice president of operations at Jefferson Health New Jersey. “We remain grateful for the positive impact Project SEARCH continues to have on the lives of its participants and our organization.”

Jefferson Health is reimagining health care and higher education to create unparalleled value throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. More than 65,000 people strong, Jefferson provides high-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients; making communities healthier and stronger; preparing tomorrow’s professional leaders for 21st-century careers; and creating new knowledge through basic/programmatic, clinical and applied research. Jefferson Health, nationally ranked as one of the top 15 not-for-profit healthcare systems in the country and the largest provider in the Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley areas, serves patients through millions of encounters each year at 33 hospital campuses and more than 700 outpatient and urgent care locations throughout the region.

Project SEARCH at Jefferson Health provides a full-day, 10-month opportunity for student interns to immerse themselves in the workplace at Jefferson Health’s Cherry Hill and Stratford Hospitals, where they learn transferable skills to prepare for competitive employment. Jefferson’s program has established exemplary outcomes for graduates over a decade, including an average 85% employment rate. The program is a collaboration between Jefferson Health, Y.A.L.E. School NJ, the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities, the New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services and Samost Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Southern New Jersey (JFCS SNJ).

“Ten years ago, a group of dedicated partners came together with a simple, powerful belief: that every young person who wants to work deserves the opportunity to succeed,” said Janeene Martin, director of disability services at JFCS SNJ. “Tonight, we celebrate the lives, careers and futures that have been transformed through Project SEARCH at Jefferson Health over the past decade. Over these years, Project SEARCH at Jefferson (Health) Cherry Hill Hospital has achieved an incredible 90% employment outcome, with approximately 35% of graduates hired at Jefferson Health Hospitals in South Jersey. At Project SEARCH, graduates aren’t just finding jobs, they’re finding work that reflects their interests, aspirations, skills and abilities, and their building lives beyond the workplace. Our graduates are traveling, driving, pursuing higher education, enjoying hobbies and sports, developing friendships, getting married, moving out on their own and even saving for retirement.”

Aligned with the National Project SEARCH organization founded at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in 1996, Project SEARCH at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital and Jefferson Stratford Hospital join a vast national and international network of more than 800 Project SEARCH sites across the globe, bridging the gap between employment preparation and successfully entering the workforce with skills, talent and commitment to competitive employment.

In 2018, Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital partnered with Y.A.L.E. School and Y.A.L.E. Clinic to establish New Jersey’s first hybrid Project SEARCH model. The program expanded employment preparation opportunities to two populations: high school students (students referred by their school districts receive employment preparation and hands-on workplace experience before exiting special education services at age 21); and adults with disabilities over age 21 (individuals receiving services through the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) access prevocational services and workplace training as a pathway to competitive employment in the community). That pilot program led to a second location at Jefferson Stratford Hospital in 2021 where the Y.A.L.E. Clinic, an approved DDD provider, now offers a Project SEARCH program exclusively for adults over 21 gaining skills and experience for employment.

Y.A.L.E. School is a New Jersey state-approved private special education school with 12 campus locations throughout southern New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia region serving students with disabilities ages 3 through 21. Y.A.L.E. School offers a highly specialized program for students with autism and other social, emotional, learning, and behavioral disabilities that provides low student-to-staff ratios, supervision by highly trained and certified behavior specialists, a comprehensive curriculum, intensive transition support, integrated and consultative speech services, support for families and an extended school year program in the summer. Since 1976, students with disabilities have been placed at Y.A.L.E. School locations by their local school district and attend at no cost to parents.

“Y.A.L.E. School actually celebrates our 50th anniversary this year, and we’re thrilled that it coincides with the 10th anniversary of Project SEARCH,” said Peggy Chapman, director at Y.A.L.E. School. “This is a big year for Y.A.L.E. but we are part of a much larger community, and everyone that’s involved has contributed in their own unique way to this program.”

Earlier during the anniversary celebration, Rocco and Chapman presented the Project SEARCH Vision Award to Solomon Okonkwo, Project SEARCH liaison for the New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, honoring his 10 years of service establishing Project SEARCH programs in South Jersey and throughout the state.

“Let this be a launch pad for what we have to do for the future,” Okonkwo said. “We are not stopping. We keep expanding. Tell your friends, families, whoever – we have this program in our community. Please share it so that in 10 years’ time, we come back and celebrate.”