[NLA] Discussion: NLA Perennial Issues

[Jon Randall]

Re: yesterday's comments by Tom Sticht: "What should the
field be advocating for? ... no one has said how we can or
should go about advocating for every part of this highly
fragmented 'system.' "

Tom, quite some time ago Rich Long, a lobbyist for the
International Reading Association suggested that the
literacy field engage the services of a social marketing
firm to develop a strategy to move adult literacy to the
"front burner" of the general public and policy-makers at
the highest level. The idea was nixed by the National
Coalition for Literacy (NCL) because the NCL did not have
the capacity to raise the funds that would be required to
implement such a strategy, let alone hire the social
marketing firm to develop it.

Your blue ribbon commission and significant funding
increases will only be possible if literacy somehow gets
onto our nation's front burner. Perhaps the social marketing
firm idea could be revisited once the NCL is incorporated
and develops its capacity to raise money.  In the mean time,
it would be helpful to try to build some consensus in our
field around each of the six perennial issues you mentioned.

Clarification/info re: NLA Perennial Issues #1-2 ...

1.  Re: "How many adults in the nation (or state/local
region) are in need of the services of literacy providers?"

Yes, Tom. State Grants under the Adult Education and Family
Literacy Act of 1998 >are< apportioned based on the number
of adults 16 years or older who are out of school and do not
have a high school diploma. The eventual use of 2000 Census
data rather than 1990 data will change each state's
proportion of "target population." With the population
increase/decrease figures I provided in my posting last
Friday, I was attempting to illustrate the approximate
impact for States of switching to the 2000 Census data for
apportionment of State Grant funds.

2.  Re: "What percentage of the "target" population is being
served ... ?"

Tom, for the third year now the NCL is advocating for
additional funding for NIFL, in part to do a study of the
TOTAL number of adult learners being served and the total
expenditure - public and private - for such service in ALL
public and private sector literacy programs. Congressional
staff ask this question all the time. Perhaps someday we'll
be able to answer it.

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



_______________________________________________
NLA mailing list: NLA at lists.literacytent.org
http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/nla
LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
http://literacytent.org