Kindred Hospital of North Florida is providing a site for clinical internships for eligible students as the initial Clay County Project SEARCH site.  Project SEARCH is an international program model in which students learn relevant, marketable skills while immersed in the business (Kindred Hospital).  Project SEARCH is a collaboration of several agencies serving young adults with developmental disabilities.

Transition services for students ages 18-22 are required for students with disabilities in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant.  Transition services include explicit preparation in the areas of employment, post-school adult living, community experiences, acquisition of independent daily living skills, and instruction in these.  As such, students with disabilities must have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that addresses these areas.  The IEP for transition must be in place no later than age 14.  The goals for each student are individualized and measurable.  Project SEARCH addresses all of these areas through multiple supervised internships.  This is the first Project SEARCH site in Clay County.  There are two others in north Florida, both in Duval County, and a total of 25 sites in Florida.

Students previously have not had a site for full-time clinical internships in such a structured, comprehensive program.

The outcome of Project SEARCH is competitive employment, which is a defined employment without any supports or coaching.  Participants experience total immersion in the workplace.  The required measurable post-secondary goals are met through this comprehensive, supervised series of internships with Kindred Hospital.  Internships can occur in all departments, including food service, janitorial, maintenance, safety, and personnel.  Students emerge from the yearlong Project SEARCH internships having achieved both their IEP goals and a series of certifications from the hospital affirming the student is ready for competitive employment.  The measurable element of participation in Project SEARCH is students achieve their individual and specific IEP goals, which are monitored every 4 1/2 weeks.  Additionally, students are evaluated approximately every ten days of the eight to twelve week series of internships against hospital-developed rubrics.

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Approve contract with Kindred Hospital for Project SEARCH.