Over 36 million adults in the United States cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third grade level. Further, 43 percent of adults with the lowest literacy levels live in poverty, and 70 percent of adult welfare recipients have low literacy rates. The Office of Family Assistance hosted a webinar on December 12, 2019 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET exploring how programs are addressing these challenges and providing an overview of the current state of adult literacy and education in the United States. The webinar featured successful program strategies for improving literacy levels and preparing adults for sustainable employment. 

Speakers included:

Cheryl Keenan, Director, Division of Adult Education and Literacy, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), U.S. Department of Education

Daphne Greenberg, Distinguished University Professor and Principal Investigator, Center of the Study of Adult Literacy, College of Education & Human Development, Georgia State University

William Durden, Policy Associate, Basic Education for Adults, Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC)

Stacey Wedlake, Research Coordinator and Analyst, Technology and Social Change Group, University of Washington Information School

 

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) requests caseload data for October 2019 on the number of foster children supported with public funds and the number of children in families receiving TANF payments in excess of the poverty income level under the 2019 HHS Poverty Guidelines. The data will be used as part of a formula to allocate FY 2020 U.S. Department of Education, Title I, Part A of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) funds. Data provided to ACF must include the name of the local education agency (LEA) (or county, if not available by LEA) and reporting code shown on the list. Form ACF-4125 must be submitted by December 31, 2019 by regular mail or e-mail. Failure to provide data will result in the loss of Title I funds.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is soliciting invitations from ACF program offices, state- or county-administered human services programs, and local ACF grantees for participation in a pilot study under the Human Centered Design for Human Services (HCD4HS) project. Human-centered design (HCD) is a means to generate innovative solutions to complex problems through new, creative ways of thinking about a problem, and through intentional engagement with the beneficiaries of the solution. Learn more on how to nominate a state or county-administered, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) program office, or local ACF grantee to participate in a pilot study under ACF’s Human Centered Design for Human Services project. Self-nominations are allowed but all nominations are due by December 5, 2019. Submit your nomination here!

The Social Capital Webinar Series is part of the Emerging Practice Series of the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative. Comprised of three parts, the Social Capital Webinar Series includes insights from subject matter experts with experience building social capital from research-based, programmatic, and workforce development perspectives, as well as testimonials from TANF participants. Part 3, “Applying Social Capital in the Real World” offers strategies for TANF agencies to build agency social capital and to integrate the building of clients’ personal social capital into their overall program approach.

The Social Capital Webinar Series is part of the Emerging Practice Series of the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative. Comprised of three parts, the Social Capital Webinar Series includes insights from subject matter experts with experience building social capital from research-based, programmatic, and workforce development perspectives, as well as testimonials from TANF participants. Part 2, “Building Social Capital” highlights examples of current programs that are partnering with clients to help them grow their social capital, with a testimonial from a former TANF participant.

The Social Capital Webinar Series is part of the Emerging Practice Series of the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative. Comprised of three parts, the Social Capital Webinar Series includes insights from subject matter experts with experience building social capital from research-based, programmatic, and workforce development perspectives, as well as testimonials from TANF participants. Part 1, “Understanding Social Capital,” provides an overview of the most current research on social capital and the potential impact of social networks on low-income individuals’ employment opportunities.

This Office of Family Assistance video from the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program highlights the role of navigators who help HPOG participants address barriers to healthcare careers. The video presents innovative case management techniques in King County, Washington, a grantee of the HPOG program.

This Administration for Children and Families blogpost, authored by the ACF Assistant Secretary, highlights a listening tour that provided the public an opportunity to discuss the challenge of improving access and increasing the affordability of child care. Represented at the listening tour were parents, employers, teachers, child care providers, state and local administration officials, and charities. Findings and feedback from these roundtable discussions will inform program and policy development, research and technical assistance, and proposed legislation to expand affordable child care. The blogpost also notes that a Request for Information has been posted in the Federal Register so that agency officials can obtain additional information beyond the roundtables.