Berkeley Lab’s Shiela Dixson (left) supervises Martha Ortiz, who was hired through Project SEARCH.
Kem Robinson, director of the Engineering Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and coach of a soccer team for special needs teenagers, says that many people are uncomfortable interacting with people with disabilities. So when he heard about Project SEARCH, a national program that helps adults with developmental disabilities get employed, he thought it made a lot of sense to bring it to the Lab, which has a strong commitment to inclusion and diversity. In 2013 Berkeley Lab brought on four people through Project SEARCH as limited appointment employees, and less than a year later, it has now permanently hired three of them. "A lot of the difficulty with adults with developmental disabilities is getting into the workforce," said Robinson, whose son graduated from the Project SEARCH program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. "Project SEARCH is focused on providing a structured environment and oversight-they call it internships-where the employees can acquire both experience and work skills. A lot of time, these employees are very good at tasks or jobs that are difficult for enterprises to keep staffed on a regular basis." Locally, Project SEARCH is implemented through East Bay Innovations , which has also placed employees at the County of Alameda. "We try to get people into a wide range of entry-level positions," said Katie Sam, assistant director of supported employment services for East Bay Innovation.
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