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related information on this site - welfare reform and the Workforce Investment Act |
recent additions to
this
page
The Poverty Institute is now
The Economic
Progress Institute from Kate Brewster. Executive Director:
ESOL UK - an educational website
for those wanting to develop their English language and learn about
citizenship for second language speakers in the United Kingdom.
Street Sights - a forum for
advocates, homeless individuals, students, state officials, and the
general public to share accurate and honest information about
homelessness issues.
Open
CRS - "American taxpayers spend nearly $100 million a year
to fund the Congressional Research Service, a "think tank" that
provides reports to members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant
to current political events. Yet, these reports are not made available
to the public in a way that they can be easily obtained. A project of
the Center for Democracy & Technology through the cooperation of
several organizations and collectors of CRS Reports, Open CRS provides
access to CRS Reports already in the public domain and encourages
Congress to provide public access to all CRS Reports."
Summary
of Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization Legislation - side
by side analysis compares the key state and local provisions of the
Workforce
Investment Act reauthorization bills with those in current law
Living
in
Poverty slideshow
does
the
math: what
does it take to live at the poverty level.
http://www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/povertyusa/tour2.htm
RI Policy Council's website had devoted much time and energy to support devoted to the Task Force process, which worked to develop and articulate a system for adult learning in the state. Building The Critical Links (avaailable as a PDF file), is the Augus, 2004 report of that work, including recommendations for next steps for adult learning and teaching.
Read the Providence Journal coverage of the event here.
Hello. My name is Rhonda Hill. When I was sixteen and left school I didn't realize how important is was to get an education. I came to Dorcas Place a year and a half ago, to get a better education and learn to read, for a better future for myself. I have been working hard on my reading. When I started here I couldn't read too much. Now I am reading much better, and I'm getting there in math too.
While at Dorcas Place I have also been working in janitorial positions after classes. My dream is to get my own daycare going. This has always been my goal, and it's coming true. I am just about licensed. All I need to do is to complete a CPR class and attend one more meeting. I plan on starting my daycare sometime in May. It will run from 3p.m.-11:30, for infants and toddlers. This will help people who work second shift or who go to classes at night. And it will allow me to continue with my education in the day.
I would like to thank my teachers for all their help with improving my reading. I would also like to thank Career Services for helping me to get my daycare license. If it weren't for Dorcas Place, I would still be stuck where I was years ago. But instead my reading is improving and my dreams are coming true.
Thank you.
Statements from
adult
learners,
presented to members of RI's Congressional delegation on October 15,
2001.
Right way to boost wages - op ed piece by David Hayes, Providence Jouirnal, April 14, 2002
Loss of Freedom feared since attacks - Nazneen Rahman speaks to issues of immigrants' rights, April 8, 2002.
In R.I., adult literacy low, as is investment in problem 06/11/2002, Providence Journal
These numbers can be read as disaster numbers 06/12/2002 - Bob Kerr, Providence Journal
Boston Globe Article, August 15, 2002 (subsequently reissued in the Christian Science Monitor) on the lack of space for adult learners in educational programs; read David Rosen's introduction to the article (posted on the NLA list here
Literacy skills hold back nearly half of R.I. adults A report released yesterday shows New England has a serious problem, and that there are not enough education programs to help everyone who needs it. 06/11/2002, Providence Journal
government agencies
A large part of LR/RI's work includes advocating for change on many levels so that adult education policy will most strongly support needed resources for adult education learners and practitioners. This advocacy work includes educating ourselves, legislators, private and public sector individuals and organizations as information, legislation and policy constantly shift.
legislation: The State of Rhode Island General Assembly
Contact information: for RI's Washington delegation; for local representatives, and for US legislators across the country.
Congressional Directory - find members of congress and the senate
find your RI Officials- locate local elected officials by city/town/street
US Department of Education's strategic plans and annual reports - see where adult education fits into the department's larger agenda.
Class Action - Massachusetts-based organization whose mission is "to raise consciousness about the issues of class and money, and their impact on our individual lives, our relationships, organizations, institutions, and culture. We aim to heal the hurts of classism, and support the development of cross-class alliance building and to support the movement of resources to where they are most needed. "
Follow policy-related discussions
on
the National
Literacy Advocacy list - archived here. Better yet, subscribe
to the list and participate in discussions about advocacy and policy
with
literacy workers from around the country and around the world.
Influencing
public policy - the UK's National Institute of Adult Continuing
Educationseeks to represent the interests of the UK's adult learners
locally,
nationally and internationally. This involves maintaining good working
relationships with education providers, broadcasters, the press,
government
and politicians. Part of the Institute's advocacy work involves
responses
to documents and papers issued by other organisations, calls for
evidence
by various committees. commissions and enquiries.
Secretary of state hosts literacy summit - first report from the Providence Journal; filed by the AP
Inman
hears woes of illiteracy fight - The secretary of state
convenes
a summit of literacy advocates and experts in response to a "startling"
report released recently. report from Providence Journal reporter
Marion
Davis, July 26/02.
The report, Outcomes
of a Province-Wide
Consultation:
The Big Picture Up Close - Literacy and Learning in BC
- March 2002
Headlines from around the world - from Worldpress.org, and news from One World,net a global portal and network of over 1,600 human rights and sustainable development organizations worldwide. Important resources for awareness building.
Campaign gives voice to migrants
- article in The Guardian describing a UK campaign - utilizing data,
information sharing and organizing - to restore funding to ESOL
services.
Defending Immigrant Rights - an activist resource kit.
No Human is Illegal: An Educator’s Guide for Addressing Immigration In the Classroom; available at http://www.nycore.org/immigrantrights.htmlLobbyforme.com - The Peoples' Lobby
Ocean
State
Action
- fighting together for social and economic justice
Poverty, Racism and Literacy - ERIC Digest by Mary Ann Corley 2003
Build-Com is a listserv established in Philadelphia by the Institute for the Study of Civic Values on Philadelphia's LibertyNet to build a national network of people active in community organizations, human service agencies, the private sector, and government sharing ideas and information on how we can strengthen neighborhoods and encourage civic engagement throughout the country. It is the email list associated with Neighborhoods Online: National
The Community Tool Box - getting an advocacy campaign off the ground: part of the larger Community Toolbox site which has, as its mission, the promotion of community health and development by connecting people, ideas and resources.E-Square civic center - information on immigration, strategies for speaking to lawmakers and more.
Instigate: An online toolkit for community mobilization; resources for building alliances within and across communities
Civic Participation and Community Action Sourcebook A Resource for Adult Educators - Published by the New England Literacy Resource Center, Edited by Andy Nash
Activities for integrating civics in Adult English Language Learning from the National Center for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE).
Civics
Education
for Adult English Language Learners - NCLE digest
Know
Your Rights - Plain language explanation of constitutional
rights
from the National Lawyers Guild
Election
2006 - Literacy Action Kit from the Movement for Canadian
Literacy
Easy Voter Guide - "dedicated to
making elections make sense; to the ideal that all people should have
access to nonpartisan information about the why, how and what of voting
and other forms of civic involvement;" available in English,
Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Japanese.
New Citizens Vote! Curriculum - 14 sections and includes four hours of material; highly flexible. Many of the curriculum sections can be presented on their own, as a short supplement to a related lesson. It is currently available in 5 languages.
Vote for America - RI Training materials and related resources for learning and using voting rights
voting: how-to: from Kath Connolly, at the Swearer Center for Public Service, clear directions about registering to vote in Rhode Island and around the country; yet more on voting from the Dean of the College. see, too, other resources on this page (and around this site) as we approach local and national elections in November.also read Immigrant Students Advocate for Adult Education, from The Change Agent, September, 1996.
Pick
Your
Candidate
- multi-faceted lesson plan that helps students understand campaign
advertising
and candidate's positions so they can make educated decisions at the
polls,
written by Debbie Tasker of New Hampshire.
Rhode Island Right to Vote - state level campaign to end felony disenfranchisement. The Right to Vote Campaign passed Ballot Question 2! On Tuesday November 7, 2006, we made history by voting to approve a Constitutional Amendment to restore voting rights to 15,000 fellow citizens who previously could not vote.
League of Women Voters - resources and information about voting and the election process; their 2008 presidential guide is avilable here: http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=10414
(using a search engine, such as google, you can also find many resources by search "choose a candidate" or "pick a candidate")
World Education and the New England Literacy
Resource
Center have developed a number of materials related to health
and literacy, an area in which advocacy has wide application.
These materials, posted on the Eastern LINCS site, comprise one of a
number
of special
collections, including civic
participation - all of which are valuable resources for
advocacy
work in adult education. Another compilation of health
education
resources, from our colleagues at SABES, is here.
Avert.org/ international HIV and AIDS charity - resources, information, education
California Health Literacy Initiative, including health advocacy resources
Cultural Competence in Health Care: Is it important for people with chronic conditions? - Issue Brief Number 5, February 2004, Center on an Aging Society
resources on disparities in minority health - part of a larger site addressing health care and politics.
LINCS Health and Literacy Special Collection, including access to MEDLINE plus, a "goldmine of good health information from the world's largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine." Basic (if not plain) language information, tutorials and interactive features.
Health and Literacy - Practice application brief by Sandra Kerka, 2000
HEALTHri - RI Department of Health Website
Health Literacy Studies - health literacy in the news
Kaiser Family
Foundation resources on minority health
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day - coalition of national organizations funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the National Minority AIDS Initiative to provide capacity building assistance free of charge to community-based organizations and stakeholders involved in HIV/AIDS prevention.
The National Health Law Program- including links to advocacy resources for health, and national legislative links
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - whose mission is "to ensure that every person is born healthy and wanted, that women suffer no harmful effects from the reproductive process, and that all children have the chance to fulfill their potential for a healthy and productive life, free of disease or disability. "
Picture
Stories for
Adult
ESL Health Literacy and NCLE/ ERIC Q and A Health
Literacy and Adult English Language Learners
Health
Literacy Provider Toolkit from the Rhode Island Health Literacy
Project.
Virginia Adult Education Health Literacy Toolkit - resource to help adult education instructors and administrators better understand the problem of health literacy as it affects learners
To search for other Rhode Island
Legislation, go
to
the
Secretary of State's information
kiosk
, and follow the prompts to search current (and past) legislation. Key
words and/or bill numbers can be used to locate and track legislation
AN
ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION - ADULT EDUCATION BILL OF RIGHTS
to read more about legislative action re: adult education in Rhode Island, use the search function here and enter "adult education."
This version of the bill was passed, with the deletion of (9).
AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION - ADULT EDUCATION
Introduced By: Representatives Hetherington, Carpenter, Ajello, Aiken and C. Levesque
Date Introduced : February 2, 1999
Referred To: Committee on Health, Education and Welfare
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 16-63-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 63-16 entitled "Adult Education" is hereby amended to read as follows.
16-63-2. Legislative findings and policy - (a) The general assembly, in accordance with the constitution of the state, RI Const. Art XII ,1, which obligates the state "to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education," and also purusuant to RI Const. Art XII, 4, which requires it to "make all necessary provisions by law for carrying this article into effect," finds:
(1) that all citizens, regardless of age, have the right to education;
(2) that education is a lifelong pursuit;
(3) that basic education and general personal development are necessary to enjoy a wholesome life; and
(4) that vocational training is useful in acquiring a marketable skill and thus achieving economic self-sufficiency.
(b) The general assembly therefore declares:
(1) that the public laws shall address the education needs of adults as well as of young people;
(2) that an integrated and coordinated adult education delivery system shall be provided and maintained on a statewide basis; and
(3) that public funds shall be appropriated to support that delivery system and thereby fulfill the constitutional mandate.
(c) All adult education programs and services provided by any department or agency of the state of Rhode Island, local government, or otherwise funded in whole or in part by state funds, shall be offered in the least restrictive environment, be designed to enhance the quality of life for adult learners, and be consistent with and inclusive of the following values that reflect the preferences and needs of adult learners:
(1) Adult learners shall be treated with dignity and respect.
{ 2) Adult learners shall be included in policy development affecting adult education.
(3) Adult learners shall be offered services that are cost-effective and meet the learners needs. ADD}
( 4) Adult learners shall have access to testing, evaluation and requisite accommodation for learning and/or other disabilities.
( 5) Adult learners shall be fully informed about the educational choices available to them.
( 6) Adult learners shall participate in decisions about their educational process, including information exchange and goal setting.
( 7) Adult learners shall be provided with educational programming commensurate with their abilities, including but not limited to basic skills, vocational education and/or secondary education or its recognized equivalent.
( 8) Adult learners shall receive consistent, sustained quality in their education.
[ deleted from final document: ( 9) Adult learners shall not be denied access ancillary services such as transportation and childcare which are necessary to support their educational programs.]
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage
In addition to policy information,
this
page
also contains links to government agencies whose work (data gathering
and
analysis, statistical studies) produces information which may be used
to
support/hinder state plans and other efforts.
Knowledge is power: Census
stats
for
the US and
RI, with thanks
to Johan Uvin for sending them along:
Recent US 2000 Census data on English language ability have been
released.
The data for Rhode Island are at:
http://censtats.census.gov/data/RI/04044.pdf
The data for Massachusetts are at:
http://censtats.census.gov/data/MA/04025.pdf
from David
Rosen - links to demographic information: Profiles of the
Adult Education Target Population: Information from the 2000 Census,
April 2004:
Census Report Section 1 PDF
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/census1.pdf
Census Report Section 2 PDF http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/census2.pdf
Census Report Section 3 PDF
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/census3.pdf
Literacy Statistics from UNSECO Education - and read more about the United Nations Literacy Decade, 2003 - 2012.
National
Center for Educational Statistics search page: useful tool for
navigating the NCES
Pennsylvania
Association
for
Adult Continuing Education (PAACE) including legislative
updates and legislative action kit--how-to advocacy manual
which
aims to remove the mystery and intimidation from advocating for adult
education.
Policy Update, February 1, 1999 - President Proposes Major New Adult Education and Family Literacy Initiative
Policy update, November 19, 1998 - Information on the development of states' five-year plans. From Alice Johnson, at NIFL. A link to the email message or the policy update posted on the NIFL site. (Policy updates are also archived at the NIFL site).
Policy Update - from the National Institute for Literacy: Workforce Investment Act Offers Opportunities for Adult and Family Literacy, September 23, 1998
RI quickfacts from the US Census Bureau - one of 50 sets of stats available here (state and county quickfacts).
Division
of
Adult Education and Literacy - Enrollment
and Participation in the State-Administered Adult Education Programs
see also DAEL's site map
for more links to adult education, evaluation and legislation
standards, reporting, outcomes, accountability - what's online
National
Coalition for
Literacy - a coalition of national literacy agencies working
to advance adult education, language, and literacy in the U.S.
The
National Literacy Summit Initiative - ongoing reports from around
the
country relevant to the findings and recommendations of the summit's
action
agenda, ncluding links to the report, "From the Margins to the
Mainstream:
An Action Agenda for Literacy." States are encouraged to review
the
action steps detailed in the report, which also provides useful
information
for educating funders and policymakers.
The Right Question Project - an organization that focuses on developing educational strategies that help people build skills to get involved in issues that affect them. Specifically, RQP programs prepare people to more effectively: advocate for themselves; participate in decision-making processes that affect them and their families, and hold decision-makers and decision-making processes accountable. Based in Massachusetts, the RQP has been involved in a number of regional trainings and workshops dealing with adults' rights.
TESOL Advocacy Resources - TESOL's (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) advocacy resources and documents
US
General Accounting Office database - General Accounting Office
(GAO) Reports Online via GPO Access - contains all publicly
released
GAO reports beginning with FY 1995.
Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education legislative web site - From: Greg Smith Sun, 23 Jan 2000 to the National Literacy Advocacy list:
Now that state legislatures around the country are gearing up for there sessions, I was wondering if people would share what is happening at the state level to promote adult education and literacy legislation In Virginia our state adult ed. professional association has, for the first time, developed and put forward a legislative agenda. We have been pleased to receive fairly positive initial responses from a number of legislators, several of whom will be sponsoring legislation on our behalf. Adult education and literacy is not even on the political radar here in Virginia, so we have an uphill battle over the next couple of months.
[To review archives of the NLA List: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/nifl-nla/nla.html.
]
April, 2003: Two new lists have been formed to replace /
cotntinue
the work of the NLA: one, a notice/alert
only list, the other a continuation of the NLA
list. Follow the links to subscribe or read archives of these
new lists.
The Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education (MCAE)'s volunteer Public Policy Committee is well organized, and has continued and expanded many of the efforts of earlier organizations. For example, we:
- hold regular monthly meetings;
- spearhead an annual legislator "meet and greet" campaign, where adult
literacy education programs are urged to invite legislators to visit
their
programs and talk with students, or to have students, volunteers and
others
visit legislators' offices to inform them about adult literacy needs
and
present services
- hold legislative briefings
- Inform adult literacy programs about opportunities to testify at
state and regional adult education hearings;
- sponsor postcard campaigns through which students who are put on
long waiting lists for adult education services can inform their
representatives
about the need for more services;
- collaborate with other Massachusetts organizations such as the
Committee
on Adult Education advising the Board of Education, and the state ABE
Directors'
Council, to develop new adult literacy public policy;
- led a successful effort to include language in the Massachusetts
Educational Reform Act which--for the first time--included adult basic
education as part of statutory language, and
- sponsored state-wide "Tax Teach-ins" to help students understand
state tax policy, and where their tax dollars go.
Fast, Effective Communication Requires Planning In Advance
Massachusetts has over 400 adult literacy/ABE/ESOL programs. They are sponsored by community-based organizations, community colleges, volunteer organizations, public schools, corrections institutions, public libraries, companies, unions, and other organizations. Through the state Adult Literacy Hotline, MCAE has information about all of these programs. Using this information, and its regularly updated list of members the MCAE Public Policy Committee has organized a telephone tree, which is updated regularly, and which is used to reach practitioners across the state. MCAE members also use fax machines, and e-mail.
We Work Closely With Legislators
Over the past several years MCAE's volunteer Public Policy Committee members have worked with key legislators in Massachusetts who have, in turn, formed a legislators' Literacy Caucus. This group meets periodically, files and supports legislation, and attempts to influence the budget process. We have found that having this kind of leadership and organization within the legislative body is essential. Building and maintaining the interest in adult literacy among legislators is a critical function of a state literacy public policy group. The Literacy Caucus provides a way for adult literacy practitioners to keep legislators informed. It provides opportunities to strategize together to find or make opportunities for possible new resources. And it has protected adult literacy from inadvertent havoc or dismantling as a result of efforts to consolidate employment-related services or from attempted takeover by other state-level agencies. Caucus members have also provided us with important insights about our state's legislative process.
We Follow "Tip" O'Neill's Advice
But how do legislators become interested in adult literacy as an issue? Former U.S. Speaker of the House Thomas P. (Tip) O'Neill used to say "All politics is local." We have many examples of legislators -- and former Governor Michael Dukakis, as well -- who were moved by a conversation with someone who said he or she could not read or write and needed help, or someone who was helped to read or write by a literacy program. These are often people whom the politicians know, or who are in jobs where their literacy was taken for granted.
We also Link with National Efforts
The Public Policy Committee has shown interest in national adult literacy issues and has been exploring how we might contribute to having an impact at this level Creation of a new federal Adult Education Act, unsuccessful efforts to include adult literacy programs in the technology section of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and concern about proposed national efforts to consolidate literacy in employment and training agendas, have drawn our state organization into the national arena.
Some members of the Public Policy Committee have joined an electronic list of nearly 700 people across the country who are interested in literacy policy. The National Literacy Advocacy (NLA) list, we feel, was doing for adult literacy nationally what the Boston Network for Alternative and Adult Education did for us locally -- introducing us to each other, and providing a forum for discussion. Perhaps out of this, and other national organizing efforts, such as the National Coalition for Literacy, will grow a strong national movement of adult literacy public policy advocates, a movement made up of strong local and state coalitions. [please do read the full article]
David J. Rosen is an MCAE Board Member and member of the MCAE Public Policy Committee. He is the NLA List Moderator, and is Director of the Adult Literacy Resource Institute in Boston, MA. He can be reached via email at DJRosen@theworld.com.
At MCL, we're gearing up for the annual Literacy Action Day (LAD) on October 25, 2001. On LAD, literacy representatives from across the country meet with MPs and Senators on Parliament Hill to discuss literacy challenges and solutions. This exchange is especially important this year as the federal government designs a new national Skills and Learning Initiative which could have far-reaching implications for the literacy community. In order to push for greater federal government commitment to literacy, and ensure that local expertise and realities are taken into consideration as national policy is developed, MCL has just launched a Literacy Action Campaign. We are encouraging all literacy organizations to reach out to their local Members of Parliament (MPs) during the month of September. Our hope is to make literacy "come alive" for MPs in their communities so that they will make it a priority when they return to Ottawa for the new parliamentary session. By getting involved, you can help advance a literacy agenda that is national in vision, but respectful of local expertise and realities. Most important of all, you'll be making sure your voice is heard by decision-makers at this time of literacy policy development. To help you in building alliances with your local MPs this September, we've posted an electronic Literacy Action Campaign Toolkit on MCL's website. It includes ideas and guides for literacy workers/programs, resources to share with your MP, a section to support learner input, and background materials on literacy issues, the Skills and Learning Initiative, "Who's Who" in Canadian literacy, Literacy Action Day, and more! As Senator Joyce Fairbairn said at a literacy "roundtable" in June, literacy in Canada has a window of opportunity right now that was never there before and may not be again. Please check out the toolkit and do what you can to help us make the most of it. Best wishes for "back to school" and all your activities this coming year. - Wendy DesBrisay
page created August 31, 1998
updated May 8, 2012
return to LR/RI home