Project SEARCH at the University of Tennessee Medical Center is a licensed replication of a nationally recognized program developed at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to provide adults with developmental disabilities with education and experiences to learn skills needed for successful employment. Adults accepted into Project SEARCH participate in nine month internships, five days per week, at UTMC. Each day participants receive at least one hour of classroom instruction on vocational, social, and independent living skills and approximately four hours of training as an intern at a worksite in the hospital. Internship opportunities include:

Project SEARCH interns experience three ten week “rotations” to learn different jobs at the hospital. Upon successful completion of their Project SEARCH internship, participants are provided with individualized supports for placement into employment at either UTMC or a collaborating local employer.

Project SEARCH at the University of Tennessee Medical Center is operated through a partnership with Breakthrough Corporation. Supports to the program are provided by the Knoxville Area Employment Consortium and an Employment Advisory Council comprised of Knoxville’s leading employers. Funding for Project SEARCH Internships, job placement, and job retention are provided by the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and/or the Tennessee Division of Rehabilitation Services.