Created by three social justice activists in 1965, Arriba Juntos (originally named the Organization for Business, Education and Community Advancement) is committed to meeting the needs of the Latino population of the Mission District in San Francisco, including adequate housing and education, health care, reliable child care, and improved employment opportunities. Arriba Juntos’ English as a Second Language classes help new immigrants find employment and become involved in their children’s education.

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).

This Lumina Foundation brief offers a synthesis of third-party evaluations that measure and assess the impact of strategies used by two-year colleges to improve adult completion of non-degree credential programs. Strategies include the use of academic and non-academic student supports, the creation and implementation of career pathways, and the deployment of prior learning assessments. The brief also offers data pointing to the limited labor market opportunities for the more than half of Americans ages 25 to 64 who do not hold a postsecondary credential.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report is a feasibility evaluation of the Bridges to Pathways (Bridges) program. The Bridges program addressed youth ages 17 to 21 exiting the criminal or juvenile justice system. Through the program, participants who did not have a high school diploma earned this credential. They also engaged in social-emotional learning workshops, and participated in a subsidized internship. The Bridges evaluation is included in OPRE’s Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration and assessed the Bridges program’s impact on 480 participants and their outcomes for employment, earnings, and decreased criminal activity.

This Child Trends report evaluates Nebraska’s Bridge to Independence (b2i) program for young adults who have recently exited from the foster care system. The program offers supportive services such as medical care, housing, and case management and assists participants as they attain education and employment in coordination with an assigned independence coordinator. This report’s assessment of qualitative and quantitative impacts of b2i are incorporated as part of the Nebraska Children’s Commission 2018-2019 Annual Report and will be used to set future priorities on the b2i program expansion.