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Joy Burress Posts: 15
8/16/2019
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Recruitment: DISCOVERIES & INSIGHTS 
· Provide tours of the program for interested candidates & professionals
· Presentations at high schools (classrooms and teachers)
· Community meetings (parent groups)
· Social media
· Marketing at the national level
· Buy-in (from high school teachers, case managers, VR transition counselors, etc)
· Graduate testimonies
· Lunch stipend for financial hesitance
· Host annual open house (introduce instructor, skills trainers, current interns)
o Different colored sheets for each internship site full with info, job descriptions (presented video of current interns)
o Learned what each site did and completed tasks signed off by managers
o Applications doubled!
· Issues getting interns with small school programs
o Potentially change program to allow parents to transport or use buses instead of being in a residential program
· Transportation
o Contact VR for passes/money for Uber
· Go into schools a month or so before open house to give a presentation to transition classes to advertise program. Give students brochures and PS promo items to inform them of the program. Explain program, sites, and watch video.
Supervisor and Mentor Education: DISCOVERIES & INSIGHTS
· Disability awareness
o Once a year
o Provide “I’m Determined” or preference sheet w/ picture to department at start of internship. Talk to new staff due to high turnover, meet/intro to temps, new staff
· Role of skills trainer
o Do good job of explaining role of a site supervisor/mentor
o Remind managers and supervisors/mentors who to contact regarding issues
o Go to new staff orientation to explain Project SEARCH
· Manager Info packet
o Program overview
o Why you should hire
o Resource page w/ links
o Helpful tips and strategies
· Create a mentor buddy system and pair an experienced mentor with a new mentor
· Mentor luncheon
o Bring DVR 15 min education session
o Bring CRP
· Meet and Greet hosted by interns in each dept.
· Ask questions about intern’s interests, collect data and assessments before intern is selected for internship (rubric, Voc Fit)
· Manager and mentor complaints about interns
o Team education
o Identify root cause
o Problem solve first before removal
o Interns interview for each department
Job Searching: DISCOVERIES & INSIGHTS:
Challenges:
· Funding/outside support, lack of assistance
· Getting people on board (employees), push back on need for coaching, not willing to take a chance. Competing against high unemployment rates
Ideas:
· Keep up customer service to help promote return rate, build relationships to help increase rate of acceptance of employment
o Working interviews/external internships - allow interns to show their skills at a potential employer
· Parents afraid of losing benefits, fear of transition
· Deal with Benefits challenges - completing benefit applications, analyzing early on and tell them upfront
· Benefits analysis upfront - sign document that states they are aware they could lose benefits, having discussions on it. Families need to be involved
· Unemployment rates- high applicant rates for few positions - needing to make strong connections with employers, present high attendance rates; support they will get long term
· Tax Credits: what are they good for? Small businesses after the job offer
· Making Job Connections- job fair/ personal connections.
· Feeder programs to assist in job readiness
Internship Development: DISCOVERIES & INSIGHTS 
· Overcoming fears, getting departments to let us in/ buy in
· Small sites- If not many opportunities, find business needs
· Management- If interns seen as a liability/not comfortable with population, EDUCATE THEM!
· Having champions who are employed root for the program
· Intern being hired in dept. causing loss of internship – Look for more
· Other competing programs- make students stand out in a good way
· Building relationships before intern starts – critical to building trust
· Be mindful of the level of support a site needs – be reliable: (train staff), monitor our staff performance
· Educating all partners
· Making internships reflect the job industry
· Building trust with the host business
· What does it mean - adding more things/tasks for internships?
o In hospitality industry build up to public facing jobs
o Employees identifying tasks for interns as they gain skill
o Getting good fits
o If host businesses not open to adding new tasks, look for unmet need/adding value to a department
o Look into programs such as Easter Seals for videos on assistance
o Possibly do a disability training
Analyze internships that don’t work: Do you place an intern into a position that you know they won’t do well in?
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