<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1580740573084.jpeg" alt=" Project Search intern Genesis Coleman cares for children at the Child Development Center on McConnell Air Force Base. Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Project Search intern Genesis Coleman cares for children at the Child Development Center on McConnell Air Force Base. Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By STEPHAN BISAHA, <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/high-school-graduates-disabilities-want-work-kansas-short-help-they-need">Kansas News Service</a>MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kansas — Nikki Heiman was 
excited to learn that the state was sending a job counselor to work with
 her son, Trenton, a high school student with Down syndrome.But 
that excitement fizzled when Heiman learned the specialist could only 
meet with Trenton once a month — and only for 15 minutes. That’s all the
 time the counselor could squeeze into her schedule while handling a 
large caseload that forces her to shuttle between multiple counties.“We
 were very disappointed,” Heiman said. “When you cover five counties, 
you spend so much of your workweek driving and not nearly enough 
providing services to people who need support.”State agencies 
want Kansans with disabilities in the workforce. Even earning a modest 
wage can bring added purpose and pride to their lives, and stability. 
But landing and keeping a job, especially for people with cognitive 
challenges, can prove daunting.To make that happen, counties 
across the state turn to the private Project Search program. The 
national program pairs disabled workers with employers and gives workers
 some of the special tools they need to keep things humming in an office
 or on a shop floor.<h2>Project Search</h2>Genesis
 Coleman’s long legs made for an awkward fit in a chair made for someone
 half his size. But he read to the 1-year-old sitting next to him. The 
day’s book: “Teeth Are Not For Biting.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1580740635275.jpeg" alt=" Project Search intern Genesis Coleman reads to a 1-year-old at McConnell Air Force Base's child care center. Credit Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Project Search intern Genesis Coleman reads to a 1-year-old at McConnell Air Force Base's child care center. Credit Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>After graduating from Derby Public Schools, Coleman signed up for a 
year-long internship at McConnell Air Force Base’s child care center 
through <a href="https://www.projectsearch.us/who-we-are/" target="_blank">Project Search</a>.Coleman
 hopes to earn a job working with children, possibly as a teacher’s 
aide. He has autism and he’s learning at McConnell how to deal with 
kids. That includes adapting to their heightened emotions, especially 
sadness.“I ask them what’s wrong,” Coleman said. “I sometimes 
just let them just stay with me. And, you know, just tell them it’s 
alright sometimes.”Project Search works with <a href="https://www.sunflowerhealthplan.com/members/medicaid/resources/helpful-links/project-search.html" target="_blank">13 Kansas job sites</a>, including hospitals, universities and hotels. Instructors try to keep a light touch on supporting the interns on the job.“We
 have high expectations because we don’t want them to fail when they get
 their full-time, paying job,” said Vicki Rierson, a Project Search 
instructor for Derby Public Schools.Besides the work experience,
 interns spend part of their day in class. The lessons range from 
financial literacy to self-care — topics meant to help students in their
 life during and after work.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1580740664109.jpeg" alt=" Derby Public Schools Project Search instructor Vicki Rierson teaches interns about financial literacy. Credit Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Derby Public Schools Project Search instructor Vicki Rierson teaches interns about financial literacy. Credit Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>After eight years in Kansas, Project Search says 74% of its interns land jobs. Only about <a href="https://www.statedata.info/bbstates/Kansas.pdf" target="_blank">46% of working age Kansans with disabilities are employed</a>. For those with cognitive disabilities, it’s 35%.Project
 Search helps about 100 interns a year in Kansas. The Kansas Department 
for Children and Families estimates that more than 16,000 students 16 
and older have a disability.Kansas offers job counseling for 
students and graduates with disabilities, but the state doesn’t have 
enough counselors for everyone.<h2>Market Forces</h2>Kansas struggles to hire the counselors it needs because they can make more in other states. Counselors in <a href="https://www.indeed.com/salaries/Vocational-Rehabilitation-Counselor-Salaries,-Nebraska" target="_blank">Nebraska make $20,000</a> more than those in <a href="https://www.indeed.com/salaries/Vocational-Rehabilitation-Counselor-Salaries,-Kansas" target="_blank">Kansas</a>.But
 the tight Kansas labor market could also make it easier to convince 
employers to hire more workers with disabilities, their advocates say. 
They say that with workers scarce, businesses can’t afford to ignore any
 job applications.“Any employer you talk to will tell you how 
hard it is to hire good help these days,” said Rocky Nichols, head of 
the Disability Rights Center of Kansas. “Well, guess what? There are 
tons and tons of people with disabilities who have talents, who have 
abilities and skills, who are being unutilized in our Kansas economy.”Even
 after getting hired, Kansans with disabilities still need ongoing 
support, So do their employers. Advocates say businesses need training 
in how to accommodate someone with a disability.With just 
minimal support, like having an advocate check in at work every few 
months, 70% of workers with cognitive disabilities stay successful, said
 Craig Knutson, a policy analyst with the Kansas Council on 
Developmental Disabilities. He said that without the support, most lose 
their job after five years.Employers may need lessons on how to 
communicate with someone who doesn’t speak. A worker with Down syndrome 
may need more supervision and direct instructions to stay on task.And as a task changes — like a filing system going from physical to digital — more training has to happen.Project
 Search approached Jennifer Jull-Sullivan about taking on an intern at 
her veterinary practice a few years ago. She previously had one employee
 with a disability work at Blair Doon Veterinary Hospital for about a 
decade. But the employee’s condition eventually worsened until she could
 no longer work. Jull-Sullivan eventually did take on the intern and 
eventually hired him as a kennel assistant. That’s a choice she likely 
wouldn’t have made without support before and after the internship.“I really did feel like I’d had my hand held all the way through,” Jull-Sullivan said. “It worked very nicely.”Stephan Bisaha reports on education and young adult life for KMUW and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/stevebisaha?lang=en" target="_blank">@stevebisaha</a>.

Kan. falls short helping HS grads with disabilities in workforce