The UNMC Nebraska Medicine Project SEARCH program was initiated in 2015 to create unpaid internship opportunities to help individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities gain knowledge and skills which could potentially lead to paid employment. This 10-month program targets job seekers 20 years of age and older who benefit from total immersion in a business setting. Potential interns are either in their last year of transition or already receiving adult developmental disability day (vocational) services. Total workplace immersion facilitates a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration and hands-on training through three 10-week internship site rotations. A successful outcome for an intern is competitive employment. Project SEARCH students gain experience in a variety of settings:

• environmental Services;
• food Services;
• office administrative support;
• bio Med Instrumentation and Imaging Services;
• clinical Services; and
• patient Services.

This site continues to grow in the amount of internship sites available on campus. Project SEARCH prepares interns for employment on campus or in the community.

Project SEARCH collaborative partners:

• Munroe-Meyer Institute
• Nebraska Medicine
• The University of Nebraska Medical Center
• Madonna School's Employment Services Program
• VODEC
• Omaha Public Schools
• Sodexo
• NE Vocational Rehabilitation (VR)
• Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
• The Assistive Technology Partnership

The UNMC Nebraska Medicine Project SEARCH site is the largest in the state of Nebraska. This is the only mixed site, consisting of transition-age students and adults 21 years of age and older. Currently, there are 15 students enrolled in the 2017-2018 class.

For more information about the program and admission process, please contact Tara Harper at (402) 559-5722. Recruitment information will be available on MMI’s Facebook page in January.

More information about Project SEARCH