ISSUES FOR THE FUTURE

Although these community partnerships have made great strides in meeting the needs of adult learners, they are all works-in-progress. Across the partnerships, a number of common issues continue to present challenges. These include:

• Building capacity. All partners know there are more adults in need of literacy services than they can presently serve, despite their substantial progress in reaching more learners through the partnerships and despite the other providers in their communities who also serve adult learners. For example, although JCPSAE serves more than 35,000 adults yearly, there are approximately 130,000 people who lack a high school diploma in the greater Louisville area. In San Diego County, recent estimates indicate that some 422,000 adults are functionally illiterate; each year, READ/San Diego serves about 1,200 learners in the city and county combined. In Holyoke, estimates show that at least 9,000 adults are in need of ABE, EL, or adult secondary education.⁶ Several partnerships have long waiting lists.
  
  Nonetheless, despite the data problems discussed above, the figures gathered by Juntos, READ/San Diego, and Cedar Riverside (see page 18 ADD LINK INSTEAD) demonstrate clearly how these communities have been able to serve more learners by creating partnerships.
  
  Another area in which most partnerships felt that they were lacking capacity was in serving adults with learning disabilities. Partners cited the difficulty of identifying such learners, the cost of assessments for them, and the lack of expertise and/or funds for serving them well.⁷ Louisville has partially addressed this issue by hiring a special education teacher to help staff the Ahrens Learning Center; she consults with teachers to develop strategies for assisting learners who may have learning disabilities.
  
  
• Collecting and using partnership data. Partners find it difficult to collect and use data for program improvement because required reporting takes place on multiple and incompatible data systems (i.e., the National Reporting System, Workforce Investment Act, TANF, local and state reporting systems, etc.). As a result, the partnerships generally are not able to document how many more learners have received services because of the partnership, nor can they use the data to pinpoint and address any problems or gaps in services. Client confidentiality issues also impede the sharing of data among partners, an issue that affects not only reporting and data collection but also coordination of services. Partners also note the inherent difficulty of tracking adult learners, who may move frequently, leaving no forwarding address, or often live with relatives.
  
  
• Securing funding. Although the partnerships generally do a good job of leveraging their resources and many engage in joint fund-raising efforts, virtually all partners say that available funding is inadequate to the needs. Some programs see urgent community needs, such as for family or English literacy programs, that could be met if more funds were available.
  
  Several partnerships, however, have been highly entrepreneurial in securing grants and other funding by collaborating. Juntos, Nine Star Enterprises, Cedar Riverside, JCPSAE in Louisville, and the Decker Family Development Center have all made great strides in expanding their funding base. The Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition and the Certified Literate Community Program partners host high-profile fund-raising events as well.
  
  
• Strengthening outreach efforts. The partnerships understand that attracting and keeping learners depends in part on providing high-quality programs that meet adults' needs, and all are working on strengthening their services. However, although most providers are aware of substantial numbers of unserved adults in their communities, they also know that getting them through the door of programs is no simple matter. Recruiting learners is a continuous effort for all. Some providers say they are very dependent on their partners for referrals, and even in Louisville, with its extensive partnerships and history of collaborative efforts, recruiting learners remains the biggest challenge, according to the director of adult education, and they are seeking funds to underwrite a public advertising campaign for adult education.
  
  Several partnerships, however, have formal outreach and public awareness strategies in place to inform adults about their services and recruit learners and volunteers. For example, the Palm Beach Literacy Coalition operates a hotline that can link callers to the appropriate provider, and it disseminates information about the programs and services of local adult education and literacy providers through local television stations, newspapers, advertising on buses, and fund-raising/awareness events. READ/San Diego recruits learners by choosing its partners carefully. They know that the best partners for them are those that can provide both learners and tutors, and they seek partners accordingly. WAGE works closely with local businesses and the One-Stop Center to recruit learners for their workplace literacy programs. And other programs make a special effort to involve faith communities to reach learners who might not otherwise hear about literacy services.
  
  
• Finding the right partners. The partnerships have all been successful in engaging key organizations and individuals in their communities, but they recognize gaps they need to fill. In several places, for example, stronger links are needed with higher education and the business community. In other areas, it may be faith-based organizations that represent an untapped asset or key political leaders who need to be involved. Some have strategies for addressing this need, such a creating a business liaison staff position, while others acknowledge the need but don't have specific plans for bringing potential partners on board.
  
  WAGE and the Midlands Literacy Initiative have been very successful in engaging local businesses in their efforts, mainly because they both largely provide workplace literacy services. READ/San Diego, as noted above, has a clear and explicit idea of the kinds of partners it needs to fulfill its mission. And the Londer Center and Decker Family Development Center have built strong relationships with the educational and social services partners most essential to serving their special populations.
  
  
• Acknowledging issues that partnerships cannot solve. Partnerships are definitely making a difference in the lives of the adult learners they serve, but they are not a panacea. Many learners have multiple problems (educational, social, physical and mental health, legal, etc.) that go beyond the scope of services normally available through the partnerships. Partners note that these especially difficult-to-serve learners will always be a challenge for their system. One partner observed that the partnership "can't be all things to all people," and partners need to know when to encourage other organizations to take on responsibility.
  
  Funding is also a perennial challenge that partnerships can do only so much to meet; when state budget cuts eliminate funds, staff, and programs, partnerships cannot necessarily take up the slack. Although the partnerships generally do well at leveraging resources, the regulations and policies of some individual agencies and organizations prevent the kind of integrated services most helpful to learners. Changing these generally falls outside the purview of the partnerships.