Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program

Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) is defined as “education services provided to English language learners who are adults, including professionals with degrees and credentials in their native countries, that enables such adults to achieve competency in the English language and acquire the basic and more advanced skills needed to function effectively as parents, workers, and citizens in the United States. Such services shall include instruction in literacy and English language acquisition and instruction on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and civic participation and may include workforce training.”

IELCE funds are allocated to States by the federal government using a model that takes into account need for services that references adult English language learner demographics for a state and immigration patterns. It is anticipated that the Vermont AOE will receive the established minimum as it historically has, $60,000 per year; this amount is distributed by the Vermont AOE in one or more grants or contracts to provide IELCE services through an open competition for funding.

The Vermont AOE will request formal proposals from local service providers eligible for funding under WIOA Title II to provide the services of IELCE with a priority focus on serving communities with significant concentrations of adult English language learners, and operating in partnership with established programs so as to supplement and not supplant existing efforts while accomplishing the purpose of IELCE.

IELCE programs will be delivered in combination with integrated education and training (IET) activities. Grantees will collaborate with local employers, Career Technical Education (CTE) centers, WIOA Title I programs and/or others to develop and implement IET programs. In addition, grantees will explore developing IET programs that are also pre-apprenticeship programs in order to prepare students to succeed in Vermont’s Registered Apprenticeship programs, which has sponsors representing in-demand industries including line maintenance, electrical, childcare, plumbing, carpentry, and others.

IELCE will not be provided in every county or community through this funding source. The Request for Proposals (RFP) will be shaped by an in-state demographic data analysis, environmental scan of existing programs and funding sources outside of WIOA Title II, and ability to work with partners to accomplish the purposes of IELCE, as demonstrated in the funding competition.

The Vermont AOE will comply with Subpart C by requesting formal proposals to provide IELCE services from eligible providers under WIOA Title II. As described above, eligible providers may submit proposals as part of a single grant application in response to the funding opportunity that will compete all Title II funds under sections 225, 231, and 243. The funding opportunity will be widely announced as an open competition for eligible providers as previously described.

No more than four awards will be made to serve AOE identified geographic regions with significant concentrations of adult English language learners. Vermont does not have a large population of English language learners, but has geographic concentrations of refugee resettlement. AOE will use demographics and data from the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, census data, and other relevant sources in order to determine the geographic regions that are positioned to meet the intended goals as set forth in section 243 (c) IELCE funds. The grant application will specify the geographic regions to be served by IELCE funds.

In consideration of proposals for Integrated English Language and Civics Education funds, the Vermont AOE will apply the 13 considerations specified in section 231(e) and review whether the program makes use of highly trained instructors including those who hold degrees, credentials, or coursework in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

IELCE programs will prepare adults who are English language learners for and place such adults in unsubsidized employment in in-demand industries and occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency. Grantees will use the state plan and local workforce system data to  identify in-demand industries. They will collaborate with local employers, in coordination with the one-stop network, in these industries to identify the specific skills that will be addressed in the workforce training component of the IET programs designed for the IELCE participants. Whenever possible, grantees will obtain commitments from employers to hire IELCE participants upon completion of their training and studies.

The risk of overwhelming employers with contacts from multiple “helpful” one-stop partners dictates the need for coordination with local regional core partners in offering services to employers and in identifying job placement opportunities for students. AEL providers participate in local Creative Workforce Solutions (CWS) groups hosted by the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. These groups share information about employers who are hiring and what skills are needed. Though the CWS groups focus on placing disabled workers in gainful employment, the connections established and information disseminated through these regular meetings with local one-stop partners benefits all customers and students. Other services that facilitate access to employment are coordinated in response to the in-demand local industries. AEL providers have also historically engaged in state-level collaboratives for Work-Based Learning, which provides opportunities for sharing of best practices, alignment of strategies and resources and coordination across systems.

As a small state, Vermont has one workforce development board that is responsible for meeting WIOA requirements and one Federally-recognized One-Stop Center. The One-Stop Center is located in Burlington, the center of the most populous region of the state. Regional workforce development systems include the one-stop partner convenings, and local workforce investment boards (some are state-recognized), secondary and adult career and technical education centers,  local colleges, the Vermont Refugee Resettlement program, and others. Local AEL providers will design IELCE programs to integrate with the local workforce development system and its functions to carry out IELCE activities, including IET programs. This will be accomplished through participation in meetings and events of the local workforce development system and ongoing communication and collaboration with the one-stop partner network.