Announcements

Bridges to Practice Grantees

The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) established four "hubs" to disseminate the information in Bridges to Practice and to support the first training corps in the Nation. Two of the hubs continue to receive funding, and two have completed the majority of their work but continue to work with NIFL to develop more trainers and produce new training packages. Funding support for this work was also received from the US Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Laubach Literacy Action/Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc.
The training of volunteers in all areas of adult and family literacy programs, so the volunteers could recognize learning disabilities and work with the agencies in their communities to get better service for adults, was the charge of the LLA/LVA Hub. Several excellent training teams have been developed nationwide, and the teams work in collaboration with other agencies in their States to build strong service systems for adults and families. Over a period of five years, NIFL has granted more than $600,000 to these organizations for this project.

The Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council
Training of trainers for staff and employers who work in One-Stop Centers was the task that was assigned to this Hub. Social services intake workers and case- workers, service providers in the related employment agencies, and the employers were the major recipients of the training in 13 States. Information gathered from the screening and diagnosis of welfare clients by programs trained by this Hub provided excellent information for the development of programs and the planning for budgets for agencies involved in this area of human service, and has provided the foundation for a national evaluation project to be conducted this year in 12 States. Over a period of five years, this group has received grants of $800,000 for this project.

The New England Partnership
This Hub includes Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. They trained adult educators in their area to recognize adults with learning disabilities and to work with diagnosticians and with other service agencies to obtain appropriate services for their clients. The work is being highlighted in a series of tapes that will discuss the successes in New England. The tapes will be made available on the NIFL website. Over $600,000 was granted to New England for this work.

The Arkansas Adult Learning and Resource Center
The training of interagency training teams in 13 Southern States, and the development of a model interagency steering committee in Arkansas that has resulted in a major increase in the number of adults who receive accommodations for the GED have been the major contributions of this grant program. Currently still working with several States, the Arkansas Hub has also accepted responsibility for the official taping of the TABE test for use with adult populations with disabilities, and for a research study that will provide useful information about adults who need accommodations. The Hub received over $600,000 in grant funds to support this work.

For further information about the Hubs and their work, please contact the NIFL Program Officer at 202-233-2064, or email June Crawford.