Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program

Adult education provides an opportunity for adults with low basic skills to achieve education levels equivalent to those of high school graduates. Adult education offers foundational skill development including math, reading, writing, critical thinking, and digital literacy; and is intended to prepare learners for further education, training, and employment.

 Adult education provides the following critical services and activities to support adult learners in Michigan:

• Assist adults to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills for employment and economic self-sufficiency;
• Support the educational and skill achievement of parents and family members to participate in the educational development of their children and improve economic opportunities for families;
• Assist immigrants and English learners in improving their English and math proficiency and understanding the rights and responsibilities of citizenship; and
• Assist incarcerated individuals in strengthening their knowledge and skills to promote successful reentry into society.

 In Michigan, adult education has historically been delivered through a decentralized process. This decentralization was put in place to allow local communities to address their specific needs. At the time these programs were established, Michigan’s economy was booming, funding was plentiful, and little attention was given to a decentralized process.  Today, funding is limited; the mission of adult education has changed; and a greater emphasis is placed on collaboration rather than isolation. There is a need to ensure that adult education and training programs provide cost-effective and non-duplicative services designed to prepare workers with the education and training needed to land family sustaining wage jobs and to supply industry with a skilled, flexible workforce that will help move Michigan’s economy forward.

 As the changing economy presents greater challenges to job seekers, adult learners and dislocated workers need a streamlined system that helps them move from basic skills training to relevant credentials and into good jobs.  To ensure our state prospers in the changing economy, the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity – Workforce Development (LEO-WD) will encourage adult education services to incorporate career pathways into the delivery of services as a critical step in meeting this goal.  The career pathway approach connects progressive levels of education, training, support services, and credentials for specific occupations in a way that optimizes the progress and success of individuals with varying levels of abilities and needs.  This approach is not about implementing a new program or idea, but it is a new way of doing business.  It reorients existing education and workforce services from a myriad of disconnected programs to a structure that focuses on the needs of employers and individuals in need of education and training to be successful on their career paths.  The career pathway approach benefits all learners - traditional and non-traditional - and is especially beneficial for adult learners that have difficulty navigating the various systems and making the transition from secondary to postsecondary education.

 The foundation of the career pathway approach is robust partnerships, and adult education providers will be required to build and maintain collaborative partnerships within the region. Literacy councils and community organizations with a proven track record of working with and advancing the lowest level learners should be at the regional planning table.  These organizations play a vital role in many communities and should be an integral part of the service delivery system for low functioning and illiterate adults. The Michigan Works! Agencies should be utilized to identify regional employer needs through established employer engagement, labor market information, and real-time data. Local providers may utilize the Michigan Works! Agencies for workforce preparation activities, as well as to create opportunities for integrated education and training for higher level learners.

 Adult education providers must offer a range of programs and services to meet the varying needs of adult learners, including adult basic education (ABE), adult secondary education (ASE), high school completion, high school equivalency, and English as a second language (ESL).  These services should be offered in combination with career navigation, workforce preparation activities and financial literacy so all adult learners have access to academic instruction as well as the life and work skills necessary to obtain family sustaining employment.

 Adult Education plays a key role in supporting and advancing the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s strategic plan and has identified the following five priorities:

 1.Expand access to adult education services in Michigan.  About 30,000 adult learners in Michigan enroll in adult education programs each year.  According to the Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, there are over 900,000 adults in Michigan without a high school diploma or that speak English less than very well.  Based on those figures, adult education programs are currently reaching about 3% of the individuals in need of adult education services in the state.  LEO-WD will continue to support and expand the Learn More, Earn More outreach campaign to raise awareness and increase enrollment in adult education programs across the state. 

 As shown in Figure 20 of the workforce analysis, there are 30 counties in Michigan where the percentage of adults without a high school diploma is 11 percent or higher.  The majority of these counties are in rural parts of the state that also lack access to postsecondary education and training providers. Expanding access in the rural areas of the state is as critical as increasing enrollment in the highly populated urban areas, but the challenges are drastically different. LEO-WD will work with the adult education providers and core partners to better understand the challenges and propose solutions appropriate for the dynamics of the region or community.

 2.Ensure equity in the delivery of adult education services.  Adult education providers must collaborate with local partners and leverage community resources to remove participant barriers to success.  Transportation, childcare, housing, substance abuse, and mental illness are barriers that often prevent adult learners from persisting and successfully completing the program and require collaboration from multiple partners to effectively overcome.  Access to comprehensive support services is key to the success of many adult education participants, especially low-level learners.

 3.Ensure adult education services are high-quality and utilize best practices and evidence-based research.  Adult education administrators and practitioners must use curriculum that is aligned with the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) and the Michigan Merit Curriculum requirements for high school completion.  Where appropriate, adult education teachers should contextualize academic instruction and consider the content of occupational and industry standards.  LEO-WD will offer professional development opportunities to ensure teachers are trained and supported to implement standards-based instruction.   

 4. Build equitable career pathways to high-wage careers and expand access to integrated education and training (IET) programs.  Adult education providers must work collaboratively with the WIOA core programs to develop career pathways that prepare adult learners for in-demand, high-paying jobs.  The career pathways should include IET programs that offer adult education services concurrently with workforce preparation activities and occupational training.  IET accelerates learning and is a highly effective mode of delivery for higher level learners.  However, is not appropriate for all learners because of the time commitment and rigor of the program, so participants must be evaluated on an individual basis and placed in programs appropriately. 

 Based on the IET data collected under WIOA, participants in IET programs across the state reported higher rates of retention in the program, educational gains, and employment after exit from the program.  In program year 2018-2019, there were just over 260 adult learners that participated in an IET program which is about 1 percent of participants. LEO-WD has established a goal to double the number of adult learners that participate in an IET program over the next four years.

 5.  Increase the number of adults in Michigan with a secondary credential.  Adult education will support the Governor’s goal of 60 percent of Michigan residents completing a post-secondary certificate or degree by the year 2030, by increasing the number of adults in the state with a secondary credential or equivalent.  The secondary credential is a critical milestone on the path to a postsecondary credential or degree.  The above priorities – increasing enrollment in adult education, removing participant barriers, and ensuring high-quality services – are essential to increasing the number of adults that obtain a high school diploma or equivalent. 

 LEO-WD is also encouraging expansion of workplace literacy programs.  The primary reason for the recent decline in adult education enrollment is because of the strong job market and the availability of jobs for low-skilled adults.  Partnering with employers that employ individuals without a high school diploma and offering adult education services at the worksite has been an effective way to reach those low-skilled adults that are employed but at-risk of losing their job if there is a downturn in the economy.  Workplace literacy programs allow adults the opportunity to obtain their secondary credential while working.

 The competition to select the eligible providers of adult education and literacy services will ensure that providers offer services that align with the priorities identified above, as well as the following considerations per Section III.(b)(5)(B):  

• Are responsive to regional needs and serving those in the community that are most in need of adult education and literacy services;
   
• Have the ability to serve individuals with disabilities;
   
• Demonstrated effectiveness to meet state performance benchmarks, especially serving those at the lowest literacy levels;
   
• Demonstrated alignment between proposed activities and one-stop partner services;
   
• Offer sufficient intensity and quality to achieve substantial learning gains;
   
• Effectively use technology to increase the amount and quality of learning;
   
• Deliver activities by well-trained instructors, counselor, and administrators and have access to high-quality professional development;
   
• Whether there is a demonstrated need for English language acquisition programs and civics education.
   
  Eligible local providers will be required to describe in the application for funding how the instructional materials used align to the CCRS, and providers that offer IET programs must describe how occupationally relevant materials are used in the classroom. 
   
  Eligible providers must also describe how services are aligned within the program to ensure seamless transition between programs.  ESL services must support the transition of learners from ESL to adult basic education.  Adult secondary education, including high school completion and high school equivalency, should be aligned with postsecondary and workforce entrance requirements in the region.  The adult education providers should be working closely with the community colleges, Michigan Works! Agencies, and employers within the region to identify the skill requirements needed for adult education participants to be successful in the next step in their journey, whichever path it may be, and ensure the curriculum and instruction are adequate to prepare learners with the identified skills.
   
  The Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity will ensure to the extent possible that comprehensive adult education services are available in each WIOA planning region to meet the identified needs of each region.