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According to a survey on the attitudes and
experiences of Americans with disabilities conducted by the Louis
Harris polling firm for the National
Organization on Disability (N.O.D.), unemployment and
under-employment is the greatest divide between Americans with
disabilities and all others. Of the two-thirds of those with disabilities between ages 16 and
64 who are not working, 79% say that they want to work.
In response to this overwhelming employment gap,
N.O.D.
launched the Start on Success (SOS) introductory job training and
internship program for high school students with physical, mental or
sensory disabilities.
THE PROGRAM
The mission of SOS is to prepare special
education students, most of them from low-income urban
families, for competitive employment before they leave high
school. Students spend a portion of their day attending
special education classes taught by their teachers at job
sites – nearby universities, hospitals and corporations –
and the rest of their day is spent working in other
locations on site. Job site supervisors – non-teaching staff
such as maintenance workers and food service personnel –
serve as mentors, providing a constant source of guidance
and support to young people in need of dependable adults in
their lives. Programs have an average cost of $75 per intern
per week.
Since 1994, SOS has expanded from one pilot
site with three interns to 50 worksites in 11 cities
involving 31 schools. Over 2,000 high school students with
disabilities have been trained for competitive employment.
Having started with the University of Pennsylvania as its
original job site partner, the program now works with
universities, hospitals, one community college, and
literally dozens of small businesses, ranging from auto
repair shops to health clinics to food markets. Programs
vary from urban models in Philadelphia, Baltimore and
Pittsburgh to a mix of urban and rural initiatives in
Alabama and Connecticut. |
