Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program

e. State Leadership.

1. Describe how the State will use the funds to carry out the required State Leadership activities under section 223 of WIOA.

Alignment of Adult Education and Literacy Activities with other core programs and One Stop partners

Stakeholder input on the State’s adult educational programming is regularly sought from WIOA partners and community members through the Benchmarks of Success committees. The State also convened the Adult Education and Career Pathways work group in 2016, tasking it with developing policy and creating and implementing a statewide career pathways system that supports the progress of adult learners across the education and employment continuum to achieve economic self-sufficiency.

Adult Education participates on WIOA workgroups promoting agency alignment, professional development, and policy as well as the Skilled Immigrant Task Force. Adult education assists with planning, facilitating and presenting at the statewide WIOA Convenings.  

Maryland has made significant progress in improving the coordination and alignment of initial assessments of literacy, numeracy and English language skills and the selection of testing instruments to facilitate co-enrollment and referrals between WIOA Title I and Title II programs. MD Labor’s Title I and II programs have jointly issued the Basic Education Skills and English Language Assessments Policy to establish unified standards for the following programs:

• WIOA Title I Adult Program;
• WIOA Title I Dislocated Worker Program;
• WIOA Title I Youth Program;
• WIOA Title II Adult Education & Family Literacy Act Program; and
• Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers Program (Trade Program).

Local Areas were required to submit plans for aligning assessment practices in their local plans.

The Establishment of High Quality Professional Development to Improve Instruction

High quality professional development programs are vital to ensuring that Maryland’s adult learners obtain the best instruction possible. To improve the instruction provided pursuant to local activities required under Section 231(b) of WIOA, including instruction incorporating the essential components of reading instruction as such components relate to adults, instruction related to the specific needs of adult learners and dissemination of information about models and promising practices related to such programs, Maryland’s Adult Education programming:

• Allocates resources to promote the development and implementation of statewide, regional and local training activities for adult education practitioners to improve academic instruction, digital literacy and transitions to post-secondary education and employment;
• Conducts an annual statewide needs assessment to provide the State agency with input from the provider network as well as other stakeholders;
• Requires adult education teachers to receive professional development that will provide them with the tools to meet the new challenges in daily practice including college and career readiness standards for adult education and opportunities to learn more about the careers for which they are preparing their students; and
• Requires administrators of local provider programs receive professional development on the best practices for management and collaboration.

Provision of Technical Assistance

Maryland provides technical assistance to eligible providers of adult education and literacy activities receiving funds under Title II, including:

• The development and dissemination of instructional and programmatic practices based on the most rigorous or scientifically valid research available and appropriate, in reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, English language acquisition programs, distance education, and staff training; the role of eligible providers as an AJC partner to provide access to employment, education, and training services; and
• Assistance in the use of technology, including for staff training, to eligible providers, especially the use of technology to improve system efficiencies. The adult education program will develop and maintain repository of information on research-based and best practices for adult literacy instruction and disseminate findings to local programs.

The State also:

• Maintains a list of adult education providers, including all grant-required leadership positions for disseminating information about adult education;
• Communicates regularly through a monthly webinar;
• Conducts in-person and virtual meetings to highlight best practices; and
• Disseminates information through the MD Labor website and other virtual platforms.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation is important to ensure the quality of, and the improvement in, adult education and literacy activities and the dissemination of information about models and proven or promising practices within the State. Maryland will ensure the collection and reporting of valid and reliable data consistent with the current state and federal data collection guidelines and requirements through:

• Maintaining the use of the LACES Management Information System database;
• Providing training and technical assistance to all agencies using the system;
• Conducting annual on-site monitoring of funded adult education program providers;
• Providing feedback and information on improvement strategies/models; and
• Conducting other activities necessary to ensure compliance with federal and state requirements and to determine the effectiveness of the program.