NYC Center for Economic Opportunity

The Young Adult Literacy initiative creates several pilot literacy projects for young adults based on best practices. Programs include targeted instruction, work readiness, and support services.

Problem Statement
The Commission for Economic Opportunity identified basic literacy services as a crucial need for young adults and the working poor - CEO's primary target populations. In New York State, approximately 30% of young adults between the ages of 16 and 18 and 22% of young adults between the ages of 19 and 24 have "below basic" literacy skills.

Research & Evidence
Few literacy programs are specifically targeted to young adults, and opportunities for them to study are extremely limited. Adult literacy education is chronically under-funded and only a small amount of rigorous research has been conducted regarding best practices. Little research exists concerning the unique needs of 16-to-24-year-olds, a demographic often poorly served by adult literacy programs. Although adult education programs have long waiting lists, retention is a persistent problem among 16-to-24-year-olds, with dropout rates approaching 50% at many sites. GED programs generally serve participants reading at the eighth grade level or above and very little is available for young people with fourth to eighth grade reading skills.

The Center for Economic Opportunity has invested in several initiatives that include a literacy component:

• CUNY Prep helps out of school youth pass the GED and prepare for college.
  
• SBS Customized Training Grants support employer-based contextualized literacy and ESL for low-wage workers.
  

Program Description
The programs target curriculum and instructional approach to the needs and interests of young adults who read at Pre-GED level. The program offers a work readiness or internship/job placement component, modest participant incentives, and case management services to support sustained participation. Programs serve cohorts of approximately 20 students and engage them for six months or longer, as most students need to advance several grade levels to enter GED programs or realistically compete in the job market.

The New York Public Library, Queens Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library each receive funding to establish two model programs. The Department of Youth and Community Development contracted with five community based organizations to develop model programs.

CEO has hired the Youth Development Institute (YDI) as a literacy consultant to coordinate the projects, promote lessons learned, and ensure that the programs provide high-quality services.

Target Population
The programs target disconnected youth or young adults between the ages of 17 and 24, with reading skills between the fourth and eighth grade level, with a particular focus on those who read between the fourth and sixth grade level.

Expected Outcomes

• Improved young adult program attendance and persistence
  
• Literacy and numeracy gains
  
• Successful transition of participants into GED programs, employment, or employment training