Contact: Austin Altenburg
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Ad features governor, Project SEARCH graduate highlighting governor’s efforts to help people with disabilities enter workforce
[Madison, Wis.] – Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign on Tuesday launched a new digital ad featuring Daniel, a young man who has climbed his way up in the workforce after participating in Project SEARCH, the program the governor expanded into a statewide success for students with disabilities. The spot is a follow up to the campaign’s statewide TV ad “To Help People,” which featured another Project SEARCH graduate who has excelled.
Today’s ad features Daniel, a Project SEARCH graduate, and his mother, Linda. Daniel graduated from Project SEARCH in 2017, and earned a job at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Following that, he took the initiative to earn another job at The Home Depot that came with a raise, and he has since moved on to yet another opportunity in groundskeeping that pays even more. Linda says Project SEARCH has built an “amazing” level of confidence and maturity in him, and she’s proud of how he has worked his way up in his career.
You can watch the ad, entitled “Amazing Confidence” here. The ad begins:
Linda: Daniel has always been a hard worker and he’s never let his disabilities get in his way.
Daniel: I worked with Project SEARCH at the zoo and I loved it.
Linda: Project SEARCH gave Daniel amazing confidence and maturity.
Daniel: Now I work at Home Depot with better pay and with benefits.
Linda: Governor Walker has helped Wisconsin become a national leader in hiring people with disabilities.
Governor Walker: We expanded Project SEARCH so students like Daniel, who are transitioning out of high school and want a job, can find a job.
The spot will run on a range of online and social media platforms. It follows eight statewide TV ads the campaign has launched on the governor’s strong record of getting positive things done and his plans for more bold reform to help Wisconsin win the 21st century.
See below for more information on Gov. Walker’s support for developing our workforce with people with disabilities, through Wisconsin’s Project SEARCH and other programs:
- Under Governor Walker’s leadership, Project SEARCH has expanded and Wisconsin has become a national leader in hiring disabled workers.
- The success rate for Project SEARCH in Wisconsin is 88 percent – one of the best in the country. Eight years ago, there was just one program site in the state. When the next school year starts, there will be 27 statewide.
- Governor Walker’s 2017-2019 biennial budget includes several initiatives to promote employment for people with disabilities, including:
o $185 million for the Department of Workforce Development’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
o $1.5 million for Special Education Transitions Readiness Investment Grants, which help districts start programs that connect disabled students to the workforce.
o $6.1 million for Special Education Transitions Incentive Grants, which reward districts that help disabled students connect to the workforce.
