HOW LEVERAGING RESOURCES INCREASES CAPACITY

By sharing resources, services can be spread across organizations, enabling them to respond to the multiple needs of clients. For example, job services are now available to adults who attend classes at the North Idaho College Adult Education Center. The North Idaho Job Service staff have regular hours every week at the Center to meet with clients, register them on the Job Service database, and teach them to use the Job Service web site. The Job Service develops an individual "plan of action" for all clients, describing what each agency will provide for them.

Partnerships are increasing the capacity of the local adult education providers to serve more learners by linking publicly funded (typically local education agencies and community colleges) and privately funded providers (such as community- and faith-based organizations). Mixed-provider collaborations are making a difference in the communities served by Nine Star Enterprises, READ/San Diego, the Certified Literate Community Program, Juntos, the Cedar Riverside Adult Education Collaborative, and the Midlands Literacy Initiative. Although many of these partnerships have difficulty tracking adults in their programs, some have data that show an increase in their capacity to serve more adults:

• The Cedar Riverside partnership enrolled 728 adults in its programs, for a total of 83,134 participation hours during the 2001-02 school year, a 100 percent increase over the partnership's first year (1999-2000).
  
  
• By 2002, the Juntos partners had increased the number of places for adults in need of adult education services by 100 percent since the beginning of the partnership in 1995.
  
  
• READ/San Diego expanded after it absorbed the county's library literacy programs in 2000. Now the program brings literacy services to 69 communities. Through this partnership, READ was able to expand or improve a wide range of program activities in the county:
  
  
• There were no family literacy programs in county library branches before the partnership; now there are four.
  
  
• Tutor training sessions increased from an average of three to seven yearly.
  
  
• There are now seven learner orientation training sessions a year; previously there were none.
  
  
• Four neighborhood learning centers have been established; previously there were none.
  
  
• The number of learners from the county in the program increased from 115 to about 400.
  
  

The twelve community partnerships are making changes in how adult education is delivered in their communities. As a result of the partnership, most communities are able to make several, if not all, of the following improvements:

• Providers can offer programs and services previously unavailable.
  
  
• Professional development opportunities are expanding. Providers share staff development opportunities, and teachers working for different providers share expertise, ideas, and materials.
  
  
• Curricula based on adult education standards or job task analyses are developed jointly.
  
  
• More learners are being served, and services are offered in more locations.
  
  
• Partners can supplement their own services with those of other organizations to meet the diverse needs of adults, such as assistance with transportation, childcare, healthcare, etc.
  
  
• Partnerships are providing customized workforce education, supplying local employers with trained workers and qualifying local workers for entry-level jobs.
  
  
• Challenges posed by hard-to-serve adult learners are being addressed collaboratively, since no single organization alone can supply all the necessary resources.
  
  
• Learners are offered guidance and support in making the transition to postsecondary education, job training, or employment in communities where this was not possible previously.