[NLA] Aels and Welfare

[KathleenBombach@aol.com]

Ref: Welfare and the AELS

It would be interesting to compare different workforce development 
areas--overall numbers may not fluctuate much, but workforce development 
areas are taking different approaches. From 1996 to 2002, I wonder how many 
students are former welfare recipients? The welfare rolls have been cut in 
half during those years.

>From what I hear from people around the country, the approaches taken by the 
WDBs vary considerably. Some people have nothing but praise for their local 
WDB. Others have nothing but anger.

BTW, Nancy Hansen, our local WDB is being sued by a group of dislocated 
workers because they are not serving non-English speakers at the same level 
as English speakers. It does take an intermediary to organize this; in this 
case, a well-funded workers advocacy group. When it comes to non-dislocated 
workers, the WDB, through its for-profit contractor, is refunsing to serve 
non-English speaking applicants at all, unless they are forced to because 
they are welfare recipients. Were I to create a program in El Paso where I 
only served 8th-10th grade level English speakers, and insisted they have a 
GED or HS diploma before they walked in my door, I would be very, very 
successful. That is their strategy.

I have noticed that that is the strategy of a number of programs around the 
country who are then held up as models for the rest of us. There are several 
well-known programs in Texas that are held up as success models to those of 
us who have done programs with the lower level student.  I was interested 
enough to do some research:  one of these programs takes only one in ten 
applicants.  The accepted applicants must have a GED or high school diploma, 
a tenth grade level in English literacy and numeracy skills, and no major 
presenting problems like family violence, mental health, large numbers of 
children.  Anyone could be successful with that student!

I actually know how to cream quite well, prediction approaches that I packed 
up by the very limited research done in the workforce development system and 
through personal experience.  I used to use these intentionally because if I 
took in enough likely successes to carry a program, I could make room for the 
individuals who no one wanted to serve.

Kathleen Bombach 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.literacytent.org/pipermail/nla-nifl-archive/attachments/20020625/bdbff609/attachment.htm