Community type
Rural county with three small cities; population of 117,000

Location
Houston County, Georgia

Geographic region
South

Partners
Middle Georgia Technical College; local employers; state, county and city agencies; community- and faith-based organizations; the Hispanic Collaborative; and others.

Population served
Adults needing adult basic and secondary education, English literacy instruction, GED preparation, and workplace literacy and family literacy services.

Lessons learned

• The state certification process for becoming a Certified Literate Community provides guidelines, a goal, and a basic structure for local literacy programs, but allows considerable local autonomy in identifying needs and providing services.
  
  
• Local leadership involvement is crucial. The mayors of Houston County’s three cities made adult literacy and the CLCP important public priorities.
  
  
• A diverse board of directors ensures that critical sectors of the community are represented.
  
  
• What makes the partnership work: a committed executive director and board of directors; support and involvement from the major literacy provider in the county; creativity in pooling resources to meet needs; and a strong workforce development focus.

Partnership highlights

• More than 1,000 people use CLCP services each year, and the program is more than halfway to its ten-year goal of serving 6,945 adults.
  
  
• The procedure for applying to participate in the state CLCP program requires and encourages partnerships and broad community involvement.
  
  
• Outreach to local churches allows the CLCP to reach learners who might not otherwise hear about the program.
  
  
• Business partners provide financial support to the CLCP, assist with fund-raising events, identify and refer employees with literacy needs, and provide information about literacy services through their human resources departments.

Resources
City of Warner Robins; fund-raising events; and in-kind contributions.

Contact

Bob Getter, Executive Director
Houston County Certified Literate Community Program
Houston County CLCP, Inc.
P.O. Box 8337
Warner Robins, Georgia 31088
(478) 329-4765
director@houstoncountyclcp.org

www.houstoncountyclcp.org