9/19/2023 Topic: Building a Skills Training List for orientation Holly Opatick	Hello All Please see the attached orientation and transition week document for examples and ideas
10/20/2023 Topic: Can't Find Department Profile Forms Holly Opatick
10/30/2023 Topic: VocFit is Lit! Holly Opatick	VocFit just pushed a new update and is getting some error messages – IT people are working on it – Dennis Cleary and his team are sorry for the trouble! edited by holly.opatick@cchmc.org on 10/30/2023
12/8/2023 Topic: Interview process Holly Opatick	Hello Managers and/or mentors are asked to complete a brief (around 20 minutes) interview before accepting the intern into the department. This provides practice for their future job interviews as well as an opportunity to determine if there is a good match between the intern and internship. There are examples of interview questions, in the Toolkit. Interns should interview in 3 different departments. This typically takes place before Transition Week so that new internships are identified and confirmed. The skills trainers and instructors work with the department managers to determine the best times for the interviews, 2 weeks before the end of the internships. The Project SEARCH timeline and task list that your team completed with the Implementation Team outlines this process and timing for you, maybe ask someone for a copy of that timeline.
12/14/2023 Topic: IEPs for PA Holly Opatick	Hi folks I emailed Mark separately and then decided it would benefit the group to see my response! Typically, when a CRP is supplying the instructor, the home school district creates and updates the IEP. The reasoning behind that is that the CRP is providing a service to that district and the district is still the owner of the IEP. The instructor should be invited to guide the writing of the IEP goals so that they are specific to Project SEARCH and should be attending IEP meetings before the start of Project SEARCH.
12/14/2023 Topic: Hospital Foundation Internships? Holly Opatick	UPMC Passavant used the foundation at one point. I do not know if they currently use them, but if you email the skills trainer, Jeannette Geary, she could share the task list with you. gearyj@upmc.edu
12/14/2023 Topic: Switching P.S. sites Holly Opatick	Hello Typically, Project SEARCH sites are independent of each other even if they are located near one another. I am going to email you and loop your program specialist into the conversation, in case this is a special circumstance.
12/17/2023 Topic: Transition Week Ideas Holly Opatick	Hi Karyn Interns should interview in 3 different departments. This typically takes place before Transition Week so that new internships are identified and confirmed. The skills trainers and instructors work with the department managers to determine the best times for the interviews, 2 weeks before the end of the internships. The Project SEARCH timeline and task list that your team completed with the Implementation Team outlines this process and timing for you, maybe ask someone for a copy of that timeline.
1/10/2024 Topic: Employment Questionnaire for EPMs Holly Opatick	Hell Amber Unfortunately, the document you are referring to is not in the Toolkit. I will send you a copy via email. As the attachment feature was not working properly this morning.
1/10/2024 Topic: Employment Questionnaire for EPMs Holly Opatick	Never mind, it looks like it worked! If not, please email me at holly.opatick@cchmc.org
1/10/2024 Topic: Off Site Singular Day Volunteer Holly Opatick	Hello Zacchaeus. Interesting you posted this question this week as we at Project SEARCH National have been discussing this topic a lot this week. Overall Project SEARCH would discourage volunteering as a pathway to employment. I have attached an article that can be found in our Project SEARCH Book, High School Transition that WORKS! that provides the rationale for that statement. However, Transition Week activities for potential employment include job fair attendance, job shadowing or working interview opportunities. These 2 options are prevalent in the hospitality industry.
1/10/2024 Topic: Steering committee Holly Opatick	Hello Jade The Steering Committee is made up of the same people who were on the original planning committee but the purpose shifts from getting Project SEARCH up and running to a focus on program management and continuous improvement. Members include decision-makers from each of the partners: · Host Business · Education · Supported Employment agency · Vocational Rehabilitation · Developmental Disabilities Agency · Project SEARCH Instructor · Project SEARCH Skills Trainer · Project SEARCH Graduate · Family member of a young adult with a disability (not currently in the program) I have attached the Team of Teams document from the Toolkit to help identify different teams and people who should be a part of them. Hope this helps!
1/11/2024 Topic: Project SEARCH Logo Files Holly Opatick	Logos and guidelines for use including the correct colors are in the Member Portal Toolkit: Essential Documents/Event Planning and Marketing/logos folder
2/5/2024 Topic: Adaptations and Accommodations Holly Opatick	Students requiring one-to-one support for their safety needs may not be ready to join Project SEARCH. A basic entrance criterion for the program is completing travel training/instruction to ensure interns can get to/from and around the host business by themselves. Students with one-to-one support may benefit from first taking time to improve their travel skills and fade from the one-to-one before entering Project SEARCH. Keep in mind that competitive employment by the year's end is the program’s goal.
2/26/2024 Topic: understanding Value Holly Opatick	Hello! The Project SEARCH Employability Curriculum's Financial Literacy (Unit 6) has several lessons on this. There are all kinds of lessons about “Wants versus Needs”, etc. There is also a great lesson on the difference between going out for pizza versus making homemade pizza. We hope this addresses your question. The revised version of Unit 6 will be released soon. edited by holly.opatick@cchmc.org on 2/26/2024
3/18/2024 Topic: 504s Holly Opatick	Hi Tracy Below is Model Fidelity #2. 1.0 The focus of the program is on serving young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who can benefit from personalized support in an intensive year of career search and internship experience. 2.1 Intern Eligibility High school transition programs serve interns who are on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and are eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services. Adult programs serve young adults ages 18–30, or an age range that supports cohesiveness of the group and are eligible for VR services. The program embraces interns with compounding factors such as poverty, homelessness, foster care, mental illness, and/or complex medical needs. · The program will access additional resources as needed. That is not to say that someone on a 504 plan could not attend, but it would have to be a team decision and they would have to be eligible for VR services. Feel free to follow up with Molly Michels for further assistance, molly.michels@cchmc.org
3/20/2024 Topic: Project Search logo code number for Lands End Holly Opatick	Hello Josh If you call Lands' End directly to place the order they have the logo on file. They will send you a mock-up if you like before you order.
3/26/2024 Topic: Project Search logo code number for Lands End Holly Opatick	Please share!!!
4/2/2024 Topic: Recruiting for New Applicants Holly Opatick	Here is a Recruitment PowerPoint Template to get folks started.
4/18/2024 Topic: Press release Holly Opatick	Hello Heather. Feel free to share the Year In Review document with anyone! Additionally, the Project SEARCH Website reports the outcomes. Please visit Outcome Summary - Project SEARCH for the most recent data

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