Gaining relevant job experience before actually being a member of the workforce is a goal of any internship.
That is the idea behind the inaugural Juneau Project SEARCH Alaska internship program for young adults with developmental disabilities at Bartlett Regional Hospital. The program is holding an informational open house from 5-6:30 p.m. today at the Bartlett Regional Hospital Gallery. The open house will give families, potential students and others a chance to see what the program may entail.
“It is pretty much a roll-out for the program,” Stephanie Weitman, Employment Specialist at REACH Inc., Juneau’s largest service agency for those with developmental disabilities, said. “We have invited families, care coordinators and other organizations and Bartlett has members of their department staff involved.”
The internship — which works in part with REACH, Bartlett Regional Hospital and the Juneau School District — has been a longtime coming, but will finally start up at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year in August, Weitman said. The nine-month high school transition program is designed to encourage people with developmental disabilities learn new skills that prepare them for the working world. The program started at Cincinnati Children’s Emergency Department in 1996 and is now an international program covering the U.S. and Europe.
The program will act much like a regular job. Students — ranging from 18 to 23 years old — will have a full day, filled with a classroom-type curriculum where they will discuss good work ethics and job skills before they head off to their respective field. Each day will conclude with a review assessment that will include what the students learned and what they need to address, Weitman said.
The entire program will run the length of the school year — August through May — and with three, 10-week internships. The students can move onto an entirely different field after each 10-week session, or chose to focus on a particular field. Either way, the idea is to make students feel more comfortable having a Monday through Friday job.
“We want people to learn a lot of about independent skills,” Weitman said. “A first job really helps you find out who you really are.”
Weitman said the exact programs have not been set, but during the first days of the internships, the students will have an assessment of individual strengths and where they need to hone in on skills.
“Students will come in and go to different stations to really to get an interest into one of the fields,” Weitman said.
After the program is completed, the hope is that the students will be job-ready in the particular field of study they worked with. According to the Project REACH website, the program has had a nearly steady 92 percent completion rate from 2012 to 2016, and 75 percent of those who completed the program became employed.
“We want them to gain more confidence and see what they are good at,” Weitman said. “So, they can go and become the person they want to be.”
• Contact reporter Gregory Philson at gphilson@juneauempire.com or call at 523-2265. Follow him on Twitter at @GTPhilson.
