This chapter reviews how the impact of WIOA on adult education provision in the United States may be limited because of persistent structural problems within adult education policy and practice.

The social, economic, political, historical, and racial context shaping the criminal justice system is complex and extensive. As a result, individuals who have been incarcerated face limited opportunities--particularly for education and training--both during and after incarceration. Historical investments in corrections and policies that…

Research has identified the barriers adult learners face in attaining their education and English proficiency goals, entering and advancing in employment, succeeding in postsecondary education and training, and navigating service systems. Most adult learners face long odds in trying to meet these goals. What would it take to address these barriers…

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on current and past literature as it relates to family literacy. Reviews that related to models of literacy programming that include a library instruction component were considered as part of this review. Overall, researchers perceived that there are transformative long term benefits for the participating…

Every day, an estimated 2,500 students across the nation drop out of high school. In the last decade, approximately 30 percent of students who enrolled in high school have failed to graduate four years later. The situation is even more dismal for youth of color. In 2003, only 55 percent of African Americans and 53 percent of Hispanics graduated…

The college participation rates of African Americans and Latinos continue to lag behind those of other racial and ethnic groups in the United States, despite the efforts of financial aid and affirmative action policies. Two recent federal policies that are "work-first" in nature threaten to further exacerbate racial and ethnic…

The percentage of adults with high school diplomas is higher today than 10 years ago in every Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) state, but most SREB states will not reach the goal of 90 percent of all adults with high school diplomas or equivalent by 2000. The change is the result of state and local efforts to identify and attract more…

The state-administered grant program authorized under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), enacted as Title II of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, is the major source of federal support for adult basic and literacy education programs. The purpose of the program is to provide educational opportunities to adults sixteen…

The Perkins Act and the Workforce Development Act (WIA) brought major changes to the arena of nontraditional employment and training. Perkins eliminated set-asides for displaced homemakers, single parents, and single pregnant women but mandated increased enrollment in high-wage nontraditional training. With the WIA, the Nontraditional Employment…

The School to Work Opportunities Act of 1994 requires that all young people, including young people with disabilities and out-of-school youth, have equal opportunities to participate in the activities funded by it. Local intermediary organizations that provide a critical convening role and offer services to core education and business partners can…

According to the most recent National Adult Literacy Survey, nearly half of Illinois adults lack sufficient reading proficiency to ensure job success and advancement in 21st century workplaces. The Test of Adult Basic Education is currently used as a pretest/posttest in Illinois' existing adult basic education, adult secondary education, and…

This handbook is designed to help Maine's citizens and business persons understand why work force development is important in Maine and how Maine's new work force development system will be organized to enable the state to implement the Workforce Investment Act. The following are among the topics discussed throughout the handbook: (1) the…

The practices and perceptions of Wisconsin employers regarding welfare recipients were examined. First, 500 employers outside the Milwaukee metropolitan area were interviewed by telephone. Those data were merged with data from a survey of Milwaukee-area employers, resulting in a statewide sample of about 1,250 Wisconsin employers (25%, 35%, and…

This guidebook is intended as a road map to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III) for career-technical education (CTE) practitioners and policymakers in Illinois. The following topics are among those covered: (1) framework for Perkins III (national educational reform, Illinois provisions for quality CTE,…