This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report assesses the first round of HPOG grantees and reports the impacts of the HPOG model three years after a random controlled test. The report examines the impact that locally implemented HPOG programs have on program participants and their families, the extent of these impacts among selected subpopulations within each grantee programs, and whether employment following HPOG training follows an identified career pathway. HPOG 1.0 covers the first set of grant awards made in 2010 to 32 organizations, including five tribal organizations.

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison will host a webinar on January 15, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT to discuss the Pathways to Prosperity and Well-Being program. This program is a comprehensive systems transformation approach that addresses policy formulation, program management and supervision, and program implementation and practice. The webinar will include presentations from representatives of human services agencies in Olmsted and Dakota counties in Minnesota, as well as discussions by evaluators from the University of Minnesota’s Future Services Institute about the program’s design and initial implementation.

This webpage provides information on City College of San Francisco’s noncredit Vocational English as a Second Language classes which introduce students to work-related vocabulary and help with employment-related language skills. Also provided is a link to I-BEST/Supported Instruction classes, as well as information about the college’s Adult Education Program and a link to the current schedule of classes.

The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) promotes language learning and cultural understanding by contributing to the areas of English as a Second Language, bilingual and dual language education, and the education of culturally and linguistically diverse individuals. Visitors to CAL’s English Learners webpage can click on links to CAL’s projects, resources, and services addressing the needs of English learners.

The Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment defines the basic skills needed to use a computer and the Internet in daily life, higher education, and employment. Northstar’s Standards for Essential Computer Skills provide lists of skills pertaining to basic computer use, connecting to the Internet, using email, utilizing Windows and Mac operating systems, and navigating the suite of Microsoft products, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The Literacy Clearinghouse of the American Library Association (ALA) brings together resources promoting literacy in individuals of all ages. As part of the Literacy Clearinghouse, the Digital Literacy Webpage defines digital literacy as “the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.” The webpage includes links to resources such as white papers and webinars that pertain to digital literacy.

More than 36 million U.S. adults cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third grade level. No state is immune to low literacy, and in Washington State, one in six adults lacks basic skills for acquiring a livable wage job. While Seattle is one of the most literate cities, tens of thousands of individuals struggle with low literacy. To address Seattle’s low literacy rates, Literacy Source program staff and volunteers assist adults in gaining the basic literacy skills needed to succeed in school, find a job, and fulfill life goals.

Established in 1998, the Oklahoma Department of Libraries’ TANF Literacy Initiative is a collaboration between the Oklahoma Department of Libraries (ODL) and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS). Library and community-based literacy programs offer basic literacy instruction to TANF participants with up to 30 hours of weekly instruction in reading, math, writing, and life skills. After initial assessments by DHS staff, TANF participants are referred to local programs where they remain until they are employed or reach a sixth-grade proficiency level and are referred to other DHS education partners. The TANF Literacy Initiative is supported by funds provided to ODL by DHS. Participating programs receive resources, support, and funding.

The Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), measures the proficiency of working-age adults (16-65 year-olds) in three key information-processing skills: literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments. In addition, the survey collects information on the reading- and numeracy-related activities of respondents, their use of information and communication technologies at work and in everyday life, and on a range of generic skills, such as collaborating with others and organizing their time, required of individuals in their work. The first cycle of the Survey of Adult Skills was conducted over three rounds of data collection, surveying around 166,000 adults aged 16-65 years in 24 countries (or regions within these countries) in 2011-12. Nine countries (or regions within these countries) took part in a second round of data collection in 2014-15 with 50,250 adults surveyed, and a third round of 34,972 adults was conducted in 2017-18 in six countries (including the United States).