Project SEARCH Tennessee: How the Program Works and Who Qualifies

What Project SEARCH Actually Is

Project SEARCH is a one-year transition-to-work program that embeds students with intellectual and developmental disabilities inside a host business — typically a hospital, hotel, or corporate campus — for three consecutive internship rotations. Unlike classroom-based job-readiness programs, participants spend their entire day at the worksite. The classroom instruction happens on-site in a conference room or training space provided by the employer.

The program was developed at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and has expanded to sites across all 50 states. In Tennessee, Project SEARCH sites operate through partnerships between local school districts, the Department of Human Services Division of Rehabilitation Services (Vocational Rehabilitation), and host businesses. Availability and current host locations are local, so confirm them with the school district or VR office.

Who Qualifies

Project SEARCH participants must be in their final year of educational eligibility — typically 18 to 22 years old — and still enrolled under an active IEP. The program targets students with intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities who have a stated goal of competitive, integrated employment.

The critical eligibility detail: your young adult must have chosen a non-terminal diploma pathway. Students who graduated with a regular high school diploma have already terminated their IDEA eligibility, so they cannot rely on school-based transition-service eligibility for Project SEARCH. The Alternate Academic Diploma, Occupational Diploma, and Special Education Diploma all preserve eligibility through the school year the student turns 22, which keeps the door open for Project SEARCH enrollment.

Project SEARCH sites may coordinate with adult Vocational Rehabilitation services through the Tennessee Department of Human Services. VR can provide employment coaching and vocational support; ask the local site or VR counselor how those services are arranged. Current state guidelines recommend applying for VR 18 to 24 months before the student's anticipated high school exit, which means families should start the VR intake process well before the Project SEARCH application year.

How the Program Year Works

The program follows the school calendar, running roughly September through May. Each participant completes three internship rotations, each lasting approximately 10 to 12 weeks, in different departments within the host business. A student placed at a hospital might rotate through dietary services, materials management, and patient transport. At a hotel, rotations might cover housekeeping, front desk operations, and banquet setup.

Each rotation is supervised by a skills trainer (typically provided by VR or a contracted employment services provider) and a department mentor from the host business. The skills trainer adapts tasks to the participant's abilities and fades support over the course of each rotation. The goal is for the participant to perform job duties independently by the end of each rotation.

Morning instruction covers workplace readiness — timekeeping, professional communication, self-advocacy, and financial literacy. This classroom component is run by the school district's transition teacher and counts toward IEP transition goals.

The Employment Outcome

The program's defining metric is competitive employment at or above minimum wage within the host business or a similar employer. Outcomes vary by site and cohort, so ask a Tennessee site for current placement data rather than assuming a national rate.

"Competitive integrated employment" means a real job with real wages in a setting where most coworkers do not have disabilities — not a sheltered workshop, not a day program, and not volunteer work. This aligns with Tennessee's Employment First policy and the employment emphasis built into ECF CHOICES, which prioritizes competitive work as the preferred outcome for adults with I/DD.

If the host business doesn't hire the participant directly, VR may continue providing job-placement or coaching support after the program year ends; ask the counselor what follow-up is available.

How Project SEARCH Connects to Other Benefits

Families often worry that employment will jeopardize SSI or Medicaid. For Project SEARCH participants who are still in school and receiving SSI, two work incentives are particularly relevant:

• The Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) allows students under age 22 who regularly attend school to earn up to $2,410 per month (2026) without any reduction to their SSI payment, up to an annual maximum of $9,730.
• Section 301 benefit continuation may protect SSI payments for individuals participating in an approved vocational or educational program. Active Project SEARCH enrollment may qualify only if the specific program meets SSA's approval requirements; confirm with SSA.

After the program year, participants who secure employment can use the Trial Work Period ($1,210/month threshold in 2026 for SSDI/DAC) and the general SSI earned income exclusion to transition into work without an immediate benefits cliff.

ECF CHOICES enrollment is a separate track. Families waiting on the referral list should continue pursuing Project SEARCH — transition-age youth ages 18 to 22 who are exiting school with a committed job offer or an active desire to work are placed in Priority Groups B and D on the ECF CHOICES referral list; confirm current criteria with TennCare or DDA.

Finding and Applying to a Tennessee Site

Project SEARCH sites are established through local partnerships, so there is no single statewide application portal. The most direct path is through your young adult's school transition coordinator or the local VR office. Ask specifically whether a Project SEARCH site is available in your county or metro area, and what the application timeline is — site requirements and timing vary.

If there is no Project SEARCH site nearby, Tennessee school districts also operate Community-Based Transition Programs (CBTPs) that provide similar community-based work experiences for students aged 18 to 22. CBTPs are run directly by the school district rather than embedded in a single host business, and they typically involve multiple community job sites.

Planning Ahead

The Tennessee SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide covers the full coordination between school-based transition programs, VR services, SSI work incentives, and ECF CHOICES enrollment — including a VR/Pre-ETS Tracker worksheet for organizing the application timeline. If your young adult is approaching their final years of school eligibility, starting the VR application and Project SEARCH inquiry now gives you the best shot at a placement.

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