Work program helps Michigan students with disabilities. Will funding run dry?

Project SEARCH helps students with disabilities with internships, and independence skills with the goal of finding employment
Leaders are asking the Michigan Legislature to renew funding in the next state budget
About two-thirds of graduates are employed within nine months of graduating

EAST LANSING — In a bright room at Michigan State University, Jameson Dye heaves a huge pile of aprons from a blue rolling cart onto a table.

Dye, 20, is an intern at Spartan Linen Services but will soon be a paid employee thanks to Spartan Project SEARCH.

It’s a program managed by Ingham Intermediate School District that allows students with disabilities to rotate through three internships, with the goal of getting a job at the end. It’s one of an international network of Project SEARCH programs that work to secure “competitive employment for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

“We need to set them up for success so they can have those independent lives,” said Ingham ISD Project SEARCH instructor Brooke Locher, adding,“we don’t need to pigeonhole” students with disabilities into certain jobs.

Statewide, about 110 to 125 students participate in Project SEARCH annually. They work at Corewell Health, Meijer and other businesses. Michigan has provided funds for the program since fiscal year 2022.

For the Michigan class of 2024, 67.2% of Project SEARCH graduates were employed for at least 16 hours per week, earning wages similar to others doing the same job, according to Susie Rutkowski, co-founder of Project SEARCH.

That’s about three times the overall employment rate for people with disabilities.

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With 18 Michigan school districts on board and more in the wings, leaders say the demand is growing. But the pool of state funds that support the program is running out, putting that expansion in jeopardy, organizers say. The program relies on state money administered by the Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education (MAASE).

The Michigan Legislature and governor included $1 million for Project SEARCH in the 2024 state budget that could be spent across two years. Last year, no additional money was added. Now, Project SEARCH advocates are hoping the Legislature will restore funding.

Advocates warn that no new funding means school districts will lose support from MAASE to start up and maintain programs. Districts would have to find other funds to pay for their job training efforts .

man poses in a work setting — Jacob McElroy, 21, is an intern in the maintenance department of 1855 Place, a student housing complex. (Isabel Lohman/Bridge Michigan)

Preparing for life after school

When Tiffany Ahn, 22, first learned how to use the public bus system, she was “so nervous,” especially not knowing when to press the button to request a stop.

But now, “I love exploring campus.”

Students travel independently to their job sites. Throughout the year, a special education instructor teaches students about using public transit, building monthly budgets and writing resumes. A skills trainer visits job sites and helps interns learn new job tasks and understand supervisors’ expectations.

At MSU, students work in dining halls, student housing, the library and other sites. At the College of Human Medicine, DeAnthony Thurber built office chairs and organized old files.

They also learn about what jobs they don’t like. Angel Bennett, 26, learned she did not want a repetitive job of cleaning.

“The cleaning is great, but when you’re doing it over and over and over again, like 24/7 or something, I feel like it just gets a little tiring,” she said.

She now knows “cleaning is important,” but would rather be a baker.

Federal and state rules require school districts to provide transition plans and services that help students with disabilities move into jobs or postsecondary education, said Jennifer Coyle, assistant professor of special education at Western Michigan University. Coyle said employment programs should be common in Michigan because of the law but “there might not be as many programs “at a level of Project SEARCH.”

“What I like about Project SEARCH is that students are exposed to more rigor. They have more opportunities to do higher level skill options,” Coyle said.

Project SEARCH also works with Michigan Rehabilitation Services, which helps people with disabilities get jobs.

There are other state programs that help people with disabilities get jobs including vocational skills training from the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons and career planning and job coaching through local community mental health programs.

Michigan allows students with disabilities to attend public schools until they are 26. But advocates say giving students employable skills means they can leave the public education system before 26 and save the state money.

“It’s real value-add work,” said Michael Zivsak, a statewide director for Project SEARCH. “It’s not charity, and I think that’s what demarcates it. Otherwise our host business wouldn’t be hiring 33% of our interns.”

At Spartan Linen Services, former human resources and operations manager Donna Svendsen stopped by the break room.

Interns “probably have the best dependability and the best attendance record and the ability to get the job done,” Svendsen told Bridge.

woman posing in a school — Susie Rutkowski, co-founder and senior program specialist of Project SEARCH, said providing adults with disabilities an opportunity to work exposes them to new ideas and potential friends. ‘We get exposed to things that we never maybe dreamt about.’ (Isabel Lohman/Bridge Michigan)

The 2024 graduating class employment rate ranks 8th out of 47 states with Project SEARCH sites, said Rutkowski.

Svendsen urges employers to have high expectations of interns.

Parent Lisa Wilcox had to adjust her expectations, too, when her son Parker learned to not only ride the bus but transfer between different bus systems. The bus trip to East Lansing took at least an hour.

“I was scared. He’s lived in Grand Ledge his whole life,” Wilcox said. “Everybody here knows him and loves him and he’s very well-insulated and protected and so I was afraid to trust him to the world. And he did extremely well.”

How state funds fuel the program

Saline Area Schools is planning to open a Project SEARCH site for the first time during the 2027-2028 school year.

While community members are supportive of students with disabilities, executive director of special education Julie Voelker believes adding the program will ensure more rigor and higher expectations, allowing graduates to get jobs outside of their community.

Leaders are committed to opening a program even if state funds don’t come through, but say things would be harder.

side-by-side images in academic setting of a woman on left and man on right — Sarah Winslow and Michael Zivsak are statewide program directors for Project SEARCH, an international program that places students with disabilities in internships. They are asking lawmakers to renew funding for the program. (Isabel Lohman/Bridge Michigan)

Sarah Winslow, another statewide program director for Project SEARCH, said the state funding pays a district $100,000 toward staff costs of the first year of the program, $18,000 for the license fee, $350 annual fee for curriculum, assessments and training. MAASE also covers fees for instructors to go to a national conference and provides mini-grants for districts. Some have used the mini-grants for driving simulators.

The future of funding

The uncertainty over future state funding for Project SEARCH comes as education and business groups say high school graduates need more skills when they leave high school.

Student holds a graduation sign while standing outdoors — Parker Wilcox graduated from Project SEARCH in 2020. He now works as a dishwasher in a retirement community. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Wilcox)

Roughly about 53% of high school graduates enroll in college within six months.

While Project SEARCH officials Zivsak and Winslow say they have had positive conversations with lawmakers, it’s unclear whether the funding will come through.

Lawmakers appear supportive of the program, but acknowledge the budget considerations are ongoing. Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Saginaw, is requesting the state include $1.5 million for the program and Kristi James, chief of staff for Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, said “there’s definitely a lot of value” in the program.
Dye, the intern working with the aprons, has already conquered his fears and improved his speaking skills. His advice to others?

“Just be patient with the people who are trying to help you learn.”

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