[NLA] Discussion: Adult Basic Education and Literacy Budget

[Jon Randall]

Earlier today, Hal Beder wrote:
"What I gather from what you  write, the administration
plans to use the budget process rather than the law under
WIA re-authorization to foster accountability.
1. Does this mean there will now be two accountability
systems, one around the budget and one around the WIA NRS?
2. Does it mean that the budget process will be used as a
lever to make employment the prime criterion for funding
adult literacy?
3. Is OMB now a proactive agency enforcing the
administration's will?"

[Question numbers added by me to streamline answers below.]

Hal,

Each year the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) makes
its funding recommendations to the President based on its
own internal evaluation of each program's performance. It
uses data required under each program's statute - in this
case, the Workforce Investment Act's (WIA) core indicators
of performance, WIA Section 212, upon which the National
Reporting System is based. The measures by which OMB will
assess the performance of adult education and literacy are a
subset of what is currently being collected. So, to question
#1, the answer is no - just one system.

What is troubling is that OMB has not indicated it will use
any of the EDUCATIONAL performance indicator data in
assessing program performance - just the employment
indicators. Answer to question #2: possibly yes, unless the
Department of Education and the literacy field can prevail
upon OMB to base funding recommendations on, or at least
factor in, educational performance data.

As to question #3, I'm not sure whether OMB at the behest of
the Administration is trying to effect a change in WIA
program priorities through the budget process or whether it
feels our field's data is just becoming available to  make
an assessment of WIA Title II as per its interpretation of
the original intent of WIA.

Re: the Administration's WIA reauthorization proposal ...
Some preliminary indications are that it may support the
broad EDUCATIONAL program purposes to a greater degree than
WIA does presently. That's why the employment-only
performance measures in the FY'04 Budget Briefing Book
warrant concern. They don't square up with what we've
heard - preliminarily - about WIA reauthorization.

That's why I say stay tuned. We've got to look into this
further before we can decide what action to take.

Best,
Jon

Jon Randall
Consultant, Government Relations
ProLiteracy Worldwide
and Public Policy Committee Chair
National Coalition for Literacy
www.natcoalitionliteracy.org

ProLiteracy Worldwide continues to underwrite
the coordination of NCL policy efforts
www.proliteracy.org

FedStrategics, LLC
8413 Park Crest Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Tel: (301) 588-5304   Fax: (301) 588-5353
jrandall at FedStrategics.com



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