The State Council for Adult Literacy Education Services
(SCALES) is a bipartisan body created within the State
Employment and Training Commission by Public Law 1999, c. 107,
to facilitate state and local policy development, planning and
oversight in consultation with stakeholders in the area of adult
literacy education.
SCALES focuses on improving the literacy
delivery system for adults and older youth. In carrying out its
role, the Council is responsible for developing a comprehensive,
broad-based State Literacy Plan, appropriate performance
standards, system-wide impact measures, statewide benchmarks to
evaluate adult literacy services, and advocating for
professional development and information sharing for
practitioners and policy makers. Robert Santare, SETC member and
President of Champion
Fasteners, Inc. is Chair of the Council.
Key Action Items
Equipped for the Future (EFF)
SCALES adopted EFF standards for New
Jersey’s adult literacy system. EFF was developed by the
National Institute of Literacy (NIFL) to define the skills and
knowledge adults need to be successful in their roles as
workers, family members and citizens.
Work Readiness Credential: To
ensure all workforce system customers have an opportunity to
build solid work readiness skills, New Jersey is one of nine
states to implement the National Work Readiness Credential
model, which has been benchmarked to employer standards. Local
One-Stop Career Centers are testing participants to determine if
they have acquired these essential literacy skills during their
training.
Literacy Program Funding Guidelines:
SCALES provides input on the guidelines under which literacy
programs receive WIA Title II funding and general operational
criteria and outcomes for these programs. SCALES successfully
advocated for a unified assessment strategy, documentation for a
referral process between literacy programs and other One-Stop
partners, professional development funding for grantees, and
acquisition of the Work Readiness Credential as an acceptable
outcome.
Teacher Standards: In conjunction
with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce
Development (LWD), standards for adult education instructional
staff were developed that delineated minimum qualifications
required for instructional staff in WIA Title II and Workforce
Learning Link (literacy) programs.
Ubiquitous Literacy Services: A
critical issue for adult literacy is how to increase access to
literacy services for the significant number of adults who need
to improve their skill levels. The current place-based literacy
model can only serve a small percentage of the low skill
population. SCALES is taking the lead in crafting a vision and
strategy for a ubiquitous literacy system that incorporates the
use of online technology.
Transitions from Adult Secondary
Education to Postsecondary Education: Facilitating
transitions from adult secondary programs to postsecondary
education and training has been adopted as a critical issue.
There is consensus within SCALES that New Jersey should improve
its focus on helping learners develop both work readiness and
college readiness skills and that the goal of the adult
education system must extend beyond the high school credential
to completion of at least one year of postsecondary education
and the acquisition of a industry-recognized certification.
Adult High Schools: There are three
options for adults in New Jersey to earn a high school diploma:
complete 30 college credits, pass the GED exam, or complete an
adult high school program. Access to the latter option is
continually shrinking as districts choose to use funding for
other priorities. SCALES is preparing a report that will more
clearly define the significance of a high school diploma for the
adult population and the strategies essential for meeting this
workforce need. 2010 goals include:
§
Issue a “white paper” that outlines a strategy for
successfully transitioning adult learners to postsecondary
education and improving their work readiness skills.
§
Facilitate the piloting of a Learner Web distance
learning project in the State and evaluate its fit within the
ubiquitous adult literacy concept.
§
Facilitate development of an adult literacy web
portal that provides information about programs, etc.
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