[NLA] Literacy Coalitions

[DoughtyHRC@aol.com]

David and Margery - to follow up on the conversation about systems, indeed 
there are many models of literacy coalition networks at the city and state 
levels.  I would define a literacy coalition as a collaboration of literacy 
service providers working in partnerships with local stakeholders to increase 
literacy levels in a defined community.

You ask what programs and services are included in local systems - and the 
answer depends very much on the level of coalition development that the 
system has achieved.  At a very basic level coalitions bring providers 
together to network, share information, develop a level of public awareness, 
and offer the services of a hotline for learner and volunteer referral.   At 
the other end of the spectrum stakeholders include local government, WIBs, 
higher education, media, business, correctional systems, and a multitude of 
organizations interested in and impacted by achieving higher literacy levels. 
  Coalitions develop community plans that may be endorsed by local government 
and can be 'owned' by the community at large, rather than just literacy 
providers.

Services at this end of the coalition development spectrum include: 
coordinated multi-source fund development, coordinated marketing, advocacy, 
regional communications, collaborative staff development and technical 
assistance and research.   

Such partnerships developed in response to the need for service providers to 
work together across funding streams.   The funding silos of federal and 
state funding often do not support community collaboration or partnership 
development to support learners with a very diverse range of needs (homeless 
shelter funding only for homeless organizations, state and federal adult 
education funding primarily for the school districts and community colleges 
in that system, etc.)   This creates a very fragmented literacy delivery 
system, especially in large urban areas.   Coalitions often include 
institutional literacy programs, school and college programs, community and 
faith-based programs that all work collaboratively together despite different 
funding sources.  There are some great examples of good models and 
collaborative projects.

I can fill a book with examples to illustrate the point that literacy 
coalitions provide a framework for better service delivery, increased 
capacity and expanded resources.   However, the message for the listserv is 
to be concise!   If you'd like to learn more about literacy coalition 
development I will be happy to answer questions from the many coalitions I've 
supported over the years.  You could also go to BuildLiteracy.org on the web 
to look at the collection of urban coalition profiles that have been 
collected or better still call the National Alliance of Urban Literacy 
Coalitions at 1 888 269-4902.

Margaret Doughty
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