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Introduction to Start On Success (SOS)
Since 1994, in pilot projects from urban centers in Pennsylvania to rural
Ohio, we have been searching for the most supportive, cost effective, non-bureaucratic
ways to introduce high school students with disabilities to the workplace. Our focus is on "gap" kids. These are students who, if they cannot
find their place in the working world or in continuing education by the
time they graduate, will be prime candidates for isolation, welfare or
incarceration.
THE NEED
 Access to employment is the most difficult barrier facing
Americans with disabilities – more than 75% are unemployed or
underemployed. The problem begins early – for high school
students with disabilities, the dropout rate is twice that of
their non-disabled peers.
RESPONSE
By
providing paid internships at nearby universities, hospitals and
corporations, SOS introduces young people with disabilities to
workplace realities before they leave high school.
PHILOSOPHY
Given early opportunity and close individual support, young
people with disabilities from low income, mostly urban families,
can be successfully prepared for competitive employment and
lives of independence.
OBJECTIVES
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Help students
with disabilities to discover that they have abilities which
are needed in the workplace
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Help employers
and their non-disabled employees to understand better the
realities and advantages of hiring young people with
disabilities
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Demonstrate what
can be accomplished at the local level through voluntary
partnerships among students, parents, teachers,
administrators, service providers and employers
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Enable these
young people to become self-supporting members of their
communities.
SUMMARY
N.O.D./SOS provides paid introductory job experiences for 225
young people each year at an average cost of $75 per intern per
week. This is a cost efficient, non-bureaucratic, common
sense way to prepare motivated young people with disabilities
for competitive employment. In the years ahead, we hope to
enable thousands of “at-risk” students to distance themselves
from the shadows of poverty and welfare and become productive,
self-supporting members of our society.
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"This was our first year participating in the SOS program, and
to be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was very impressed with
the program, and it is a true pleasure to watch the students grow and to
see the skills that they gain throughout their internships."
Karen Dates
Director of Community Relations
University of Maryland
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