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Temple University Center for Research
in Human Development and Education |
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Literacy Providers: A
Resource for Referral
115
by
Michele Benedict and Judith C. Stull
Temple University
The National Literacy Act of 1991 brought to public
attention the fact that "much too little is known about how to improve access
to…adult literacy programs …and evaluation efforts; there is neither a reliable
nor a central source of information about the knowledge base in the area of
literacy." Eleven years later substantial progress has been made in this area at
the local, regional, state, and national levels. There is a wealth of
information sources available both online and offline. Social workers, case
managers, and counselors may search for programs suitable for their clients in
an array of national, regional, and state literacy directories. The difficulty,
however, still lies in locating these directories.
LiteracyLink, International Literacy Institute (ILI), Voice
for Adult Literacy United for Education (VALUE), the Council for Advancement of
Adult Literacy (CAAL), and Literacy Volunteers of America are just a few of the
many organizations contributing to order amidst the chaos. Federally funded
resources include the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and
Literacy
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(NCSALL), the National Center for ESL Literacy
Education (NCLE), and the National Assessments of Adult
Literacy (NAAL). There are State Directors of Adult
Education, State Directors of Vocational-Technical
Education, and State Literacy Resource Centers. However,
finding a direct path to a provider of specific adult
literacy services in a specific locale remains a challenge.
Searching Online
Using average Internet skills, individual online searches
for literacy service providers were conducted in each of the
mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia with the
keywords "Adult Literacy," "Department of Education,"
"Department of Adult Education," and "Adult Education."
The states have done a thorough job of making information
available online. Each search yielded sites that were
informative, user-friendly, and reflected careful planning
and expertise. However, each site has so much to offer that
searching for specifics can be a time-consuming task. There
is substantial state-specific data about all aspects of the
field as well as national news updates and events, but no
clear path to providers of services. A social worker in
Altoona, PA, looking for an ABE evening class near a
client's future home in Frederick, MD, might spend a great
deal of time on the Internet before finding a suitable
provider.
Serving the Mid-Atlantic Region
The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) has a
national literacy telephone hotline, an online Literacy
Information and Communication System (LINCS), America's
Literacy Directory, and a Directory of National and State
Literacy Contacts. The LINCS homepage states that the goal
"is to bring adult literacy related resources and expertise
to a single point of access for users throughout the world."
As an Affiliate of Eastern LINCS, the Mid-Atlantic Regional
Technology in Education Consortium (MAR*TEC) echoes that
goal on a regional scale.
MAR*TEC serves as a technology resource
to increase the knowledge and skill base of literacy
providers in the region. The MAR*TEC Web portal serves as a
source of information about software, seminars, funding
sources, and training events for administrators, teachers,
and service providers throughout the region.
In 2001, to ensure the provision of high
quality literacy instruction to adult students and to aid
referral sources for those students, MAR*TEC staff developed
and added to the portal an interactive database called the
Online Searchable Directory of Adult Literacy Providers in
the Mid-Atlantic Region. The directory contains nearly 300
entries serving Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. It can be accessed at
http://www.temple.edu/martec .
An essential component of the R*TECs'
mission is to "serve as catalysts and providers of services
to foster regional cooperation and resource sharing." The
objective of the MAR*TEC database is to provide the shortest
distance between client and provider: a path that is
coordinated, comprehensive, and coherent for each state in
the region and Washington, DC.
The database contains basic information
regarding each program: contact person, street address, and
phone number. By clicking on the provider name, a user may
access more detailed information such as type of program,
course offerings, staff and student count, and class/tutor
schedule information.
A search allows the user to fill in
specific information and locate, for example, a program in
Delaware that has ESL tutors available in the evening. As
the database is updated and expanded, a resident of the
region will be able to refine his or her search for the
ideal program in terms of location and specifics provided.
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