Governor Scott Walker Participates in Project SEARCH Tour at William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital

Madison – Governor Scott Walker toured William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital today in Madison to highlight their Project SEARCH partnership. This one-year transition program focuses on providing training and education to young adults with disabilities. Governor Walker has proclaimed October as Disability Employment Awareness Month in Wisconsin. Throughout the month, Governor Walker and the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) will highlight programs and businesses that provide employment opportunities for people with disabilities, as well as encourage other businesses to provide opportunities for this skilled, dedicated, and capable workforce.

“The students participating in the Project SEARCH program at William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital have the unique opportunity to receive a quality classroom education while developing skills to help them obtain a job upon their graduation.” Governor Walker said. “October is Disability Employment Awareness Month in Wisconsin, and we are proud to celebrate the accomplishments of workers with disabilities. We continue to build a strong and diverse workforce in our state by investing in programs, like Project SEARCH, to help people with disabilities overcome obstacles to employment.”

Providing care to America’s veterans since 1951, the William S. Middleton Veterans Hospital of Madison serves 130,000 veterans living in 15 counties in south-central Wisconsin and in five counties in northwestern Illinois. The William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital was the first VA hospital in the nation to introduce the Project SEARCH program and has been a Project SEARCH site since 2008. It is the only program in the state that operates 12 months a year.

There are currently ten students participating in the Project SEARCH program at William S. Middleton Veterans Hospital of Madison who help to accomplish the daily work of the hospital. Every day, they receive classroom instruction in employability and job related skills, work in various hospital departments, and receive feedback from their teachers and job coaches.

Project SEARCH:

Project SEARCH was developed in 1996 by Nurse J. Erin Riehle at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The cornerstone of Project SEARCH is total immersion into the business environment for students with disabilities. Since 2008, over 200 students have graduated from Project SEARCH programs in Wisconsin.

The Project SEARCH program is an excellent resource for young adults with disabilities. The program teaches students marketable, transferable, and competitive skills which help them transition into Wisconsin’s workforce. Project SEARCH assists students in moving towards greater independence and economic self-sufficiency. Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) staff, hospital human resources staff, and teachers assist in the screening and selection process for Project SEARCH interns. The internship experience is tailored for each specific student to best match their career goals and interests, utilize their strengths, and maximize their independence.

In 2014, Governor Walker announced an expansion of the Project SEARCH program and signed legislation for a $35.4 million expansion to the Wisconsin Fast Forward (WFF) worker training program as a part of his Blueprint for Prosperity initiative. This investment included $850,000 to expand the number of Project SEARCH sites in Wisconsin from seven to 27 over three years.