Extension of Texas State Plan for
Adult Education and Family Literacy
9.0 Integration with Other Adult Education and Training (Sec.
224 (b) (11))
9.1 Description of
Planned Integrated Activities
The Texas Education Agency has a long and successful history of carrying
out adult education and literacy activities with other agencies and organizations
that serve individuals with similar needs. The descriptions by agencies
and initiatives presented below include the specifics of the collaboration.
Workforce Development Entities:
Texas Workforce Investment Council, the Texas Workforce
Commission, including Local Workforce Development Boards and One-Stop
Workforce Centers
Workforce Development
Over a decade ago, the Texas Legislature passed legislation
requiring the system alignment of ABE services
and workforce development activities, an effort in which the Texas Education
Agency has been a participant. Sustaining and expanding this alignment
requires the close coordination of all stakeholders both at the State
level, between agencies, and locally, between local workforce development
boards, colleges, school districts, community based organizations and
other partners. The coordination efforts of these entities ensure efficient
and effective state-level guidance and local service delivery.
Several state and local agencies collaborate to provide workforce development
services to ABE customers. The TEA and
its network of local ABE providers comprise an important service delivery
mechanism for workforce development in Texas. Local workforce center
contractors compliment and strengthen this network by implementing programs
and guidance developed by local workforce development boards. Workforce
Adult Literacy initiatives conducted by the Texas Workforce Commission
(TWC) bring innovation
and new models for employer collaboration to the field. Under the leadership
of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
community and technical colleges provide highly valuable workforce education
programs and are a significant provider of ABE services. These learning
institutions also provide critical infrastructure support such as teacher
training and the development of curricula. The Texas Workforce Investment
Council (TWIC)
provides interagency guidance and planning on the development of goals,
objectives, and core performance measures among these partnering agencies
and leads the development of the state's strategic plan for workforce
development.
The State Board of Education requires that each fiscal agent’s
advisory committee must include workforce development representation
(Texas Administrative Code Chapter 89, Subchapter B. Adult Basic and
Secondary Education). In support of this rule, TEA issued
a competitive adult education Request for Applications (RFA)
encouraging a consortium approach to service delivery. The agency defined
a consortium as “a community or area partnership of educational,
workforce development, human service entities, and other agencies that
agree to collaborate for the provision of adult education and literacy
services.” Applicants must describe the written coordination and
cooperative agreements in place with local workforce development boards,
one-stop workforce centers, and employers. These criteria will be reviewed
in the application process and in on-site visits.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Services
The Texas Legislature has appropriated funds to TEA for adult education to
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
participants since 1989. Adult education fiscal agents have developed local
agreements with Local Workforce Development Boards for the delivery of services
to TANF participants. For FY 2004, $2 million in state funds and $4 million
in TANF funds are being used for adult education services to TANF recipients.
TANF participants are referred to adult education programs by Local Workforce
Development Board contractors in accordance with the Texas CHOICES program
(employment services for TANF recipients). TEA requires adult education providers
to develop written collaborative agreements with workforce partners for the
delivery of adult education services to TANF recipients.
Additional information on workforce development and TANF Services are
provided in the following sections describing activities with TWC and TWIC.
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)
TWC is the state agency responsible for most employment and training
programs, including Title I of the Workforce Investment Act, the employment
and training program under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)
of 1996, and The Trade Act program, which provides training and job search/relocation
assistance to people who lose their jobs due to foreign imports.
TEA has long promoted
the importance of workforce development within the wide array of services
offered through local ABE programs, and this effort continues to be a
priority. On January 5, 2004, Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners
from TEA, TWC, THECB,
and TWIC met with staff from the Texas Governor's office to discuss and
reach agreement on an outline for further enhancing collaboration between
the adult basic education and workforce development partners in Texas.
The paper produced by this collaborative, Adult Basic Education
in Texas-- An Architecture for System Change, represents a starting
place for future efforts by state and local education and workforce
agencies to enhance collaborations, develop further strategies, and
implement special projects that will bring value to the students
and stakeholders in the ABE system.
The paper presents four goals, one goal on which the ABE system
must focus: Increased Results through Improved Performance.
Improve Adult Basic Education (ABE) system outcomes and
performance for direct customers (students) and other stakeholders
(employers, local workforce boards, and communities). Ensure that
funding is directly linked to participant outcomes.
This goal will be addressed by implementing four broad strategies:
- Collaboratively Plan at both the state and local levels;
- Segment Customers and Increase Service Options so students
can access learning alternatives that more directly meet their needs;
- Increase Employer Access and Utilize Industry Sector Approaches to
align learning opportunities for students looking for employment that
fulfills the needs of employers;
- Provide Intensive Professional Development to ensure that
both education and workforce entities are prepared to deliver on these
strategies.
Progress to implement initiatives that address these four strategies
is outlined below.
Local Level Activity:
Locally, TEA has long promoted local cooperation with the over 280 local
workforce centers in the state's 28 workforce development areas. Fourteen
(14) local adult education and literacy administrators are members of
local workforce development boards. In addition, adult education
programs are sometimes co-located in local workforce centers. The workforce
centers provide unique opportunities for adults to access various services,
including career guidance, and childcare and transportation services
to eligible customers. In places where workforce centers are located
on college campuses, local institutional funds may also support adult
education activities. These services include the local agreements between
adult education providers and workforce entities for the delivery of
services to TANF recipients in the CHOICES program.
TEA annually provides information to TWC regarding the amount of state
and federal funds that flow into each Local Workforce Development Area
for adult education and literacy, and local fiscal agents share adult
education data with local boards. Currently, all applicants for adult
education funds are encouraged required to consult and develop written
agreements with local workforce development boards and workforce centers.
While specific configurations for collaborations between adult education
programs, local development workforce boards, and the workforce centers
vary, a common arrangement is that of client referral, shared costs,
and co-location for the provision of adult education and literacy services
to workforce center customers. This includes shared responsibility and
fiscal support for assessment and instruction (including teacher salaries,
instructional materials, and professional development). Collaboration
in some parts of the state is more sophisticated than in others and includes
not only the co-location of services, but also a coordinated effort in
providing client/student activities and in seeking additional funding
for enhanced student services.
Planned Activities under Adult
Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA). The following
are the state and local collaborative activities identified for 2004-2005:
- State and Local Interagency Planning: Services
under AEFLA will be planned under the guidance of both state and local
workforce development participation on ABE advisory groups. The state
level Texas Adult Education Advisory Board includes agency-level representation
from TWC. In addition, representatives of the Local Workforce Development
Boards are members on each Regional Advisory Committee and provide
input on regional ABE planning and professional development services
conducted by the GREAT Regional
Training Centers of Excellence.
- Curriculum Development: As mandated by Senate Bill
280, Article V, passed during the 78th Texas legislature,
TEA and TWC will collaborate on the development of demand-driven workplace
literacy and basic skills curricula. This project will include local
level collaboration between education providers, employers, and Local
Workforce Development Boards. The goal of the legislation is to develop
curricula "aimed at assisting local workforce development boards
to equip workers and job seekers with the skills necessary to compete
for current and emerging jobs in this state." Through this initiative,
ABE students who are looking for employment outcomes will be able to
take “basic skills” courses connected to the training needs
of employers; and ABE providers will be better positioned to offer
such courses.
- Employer Access: TEA will collaborate with TWC and
the Local Workforce Development Boards to pursue efforts to increase
employer access to workplace literacy services, as well as all other
ABE services funded under AEFLA.
- Cross-Training: TEA is using federal adult education
funds to provide technical assistance training through eight GREAT
Regional Training Centers of Excellence. Collaboration with Local Workforce
Development Boards is included in those Centers. These Centers will
include "cross-training" activities between local adult education
personnel and local workforce development personnel designed to enhance
coordination efforts, particularly with regard to the implementation
of workforce literacy programs for TANF participants.
- Joint Conference Work: Through its contractor, Texas
LEARNS, TEA and TWC will show interagency leadership by collaborating
in joint conference and meeting presentations. In January 2004, staff
from both agencies conducted joint presentations at the TWC Planning
Conference and the Texas Association for Literacy and Adult Education
Conference. These sessions were aimed at providing both ABE and workforce
development stakeholders with updates on policy and guidance, as well
as to facilitate discussion on what education and workforce development
providers need in order to strengthen this partnership.
- Services for Customers with Learning Disabilities: For
FY 2004 and FY 2005, TEA will collaborate with TWC and other agencies
to strengthen existing services and policies regarding services to
Texans with learning disabilities. Interagency cross-training has already
been facilitated between the agencies on learning disabilities. In
February and March 2004, the ABE provider network was invited to two
learning disabilities conferences in Victoria and San Angelo, which
were funded by TWC. The goal of this joint training was to better ensure
that stronger, interconnected employment and educational services are
available for customers with learning disabilities.
- Collaboration with TANF Services: TEA will continue
to administer the federal and state funds for education services available
to TANF eligible participants. Staff in the local workforce centers
will continue to collaborate with the ABE network to refer TANF eligible
participants for services. These services include adult basic education,
adult secondary education, and English as a second language.
- Common Assessment Parameters: In 2004, TEA will
explore with TWC the possibility of establishing common assessment
parameters between ABE providers and the workforce centers. By implementing
a mechanism to share assessment results, duplicative efforts will be
held to an absolute minimum.
- Data Sharing: TEA will pursue efforts with TWC
to establish communication one-stop linkages between the management
information systems used by the service providers. This initiative
would link the Adult and Community Education System (ACES)
management information system and The Workforce Information System
of Texas (TWIST),
which is used by all workforce centers to facilitate data sharing.
- Local MOU’s: TEA will continue to require
that all applicants for adult education funds develop written agreements
with Local Workforce Development Boards and one-stop workforce centers. Under
the Workforce Investment Act, the local boards must develop Memoranda
of Understanding with adult education providers. TEA will collaborate
with TWC to facilitate this process.
- The long term objective is as follows :
- The Texas Education Agency/ Texas LEARNS, Texas Workforce
Commission, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
have entered into a Tri-Agency Action Plan. The intended outcome
of the long term objective is:
Intended Outcomes
Partner agencies participate in collaborative state- and
local-level planning and in the development, refinement and
standardization of administrative systems and processes. Technical
assistance and training for system partners including teachers
and local advisory committees are enhanced. Program
content, delivery method and access options are implemented
and evaluated. The System recognizes certain participant
outcomes as indicative of success. Achievement of this
LTO will demonstrate programmatic successes within the greater
workforce development system.
A complete list of major tasks and milestones to carry out this long-term
objective is listed in Section 3.1.
The Texas Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness
(Human Resource Investment Council)
The Texas Workforce Investment Council was created by SB 642
passed by the 73rd Texas Legislature. As the state's Human
Resource Investment Council and part of the Governor's Office, TCWEC has
developed goals, objectives and core performance measures for the delivery
of quality programs that promote the coordination of employment and training
activities at the state and local levels. These goals, objectives and
core performance measures drive the planning and coordinating efforts
among local education, training, employment and support service providers
and apply to all state and federally funded workforce development programs,
including WIA, employment
service, state welfare reform, welfare-to-work, school-to-careers, and
adult education and literacy.
The Commissioner of Education is an ex-officio member of the Council. TEA
was one of nine system partner agencies that participated in the strategic
planning process facilitated by TWIC. There
are 10 Strategic Action Plans (SAP)
and 11 Agency Action Plans (AAP)
in Destination 2010: FY2004 – FY2009 Strategic Plan for
the Texas Workforce Development System. Two of the AAP’s
specifically address adult education. They include an “increase
in the percentage of adult education students completing the level enrolled” and
an “increase in the percentage of adult education students receiving
a high school diploma.” As a system partner TEA has a direct
role in the implementation and achievement of the system-level objectives
over the six-year timeframe of the plan. System partners are required
to address the applicable SAP’s and AAP’s in their agency
strategic plans and budgets.
Texas Department of Human Services
TEA has had a relationship with TDHS since
1989 and the inception of the REFOCUS program then JOBS, the CHOICES
predecessors. Although the employment and training program for TANF recipients
has been consolidated into TWC, TDHS continues to maintain the database
for TANF eligible persons in the state and provides that data to TEA
on an annual basis for use in the allocation of TANF funds to adult education
fiscal agents. Also, representatives of TDHS participated in the state
planning process.
Eligibility for TANF is determined by the Texas Department of Human
Services as the IV-A Agency. Once a client is certified, he or she is
referred to TWC/local workforce boards for participation in the CHOICES
and/or Food Stamp programs. TANF is a time-limited benefit, and the length
of benefits is determined by THDS workers.
Planned Activities under AEFLA.
Since eligibility workers are the first to come into contact with potential
clients, a renewal of information about adult education for those workers
is warranted. Information about services available to TANF recipients
can be delivered through the TDHS program, Texas Works. TEA will work
jointly with TWC and TDHS to improve the information flow about adult
education to TANF recipients at the earliest possible time.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Texas Youth Commission
Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)
manages offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional
facilities that contract with TDCJ. The agency also provides funding
and certain oversight of community supervision (previously known as adult
probation) and is responsible for the supervision of offenders released
from prison on parole or mandatory supervision.
Windham School District (WSD)
provides academic and vocational education to eligible offenders incarcerated
within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Windham operates
in Institutional Division (ID)
prisons and State Jail (SJD)
facilities. The district, which began operation in 1969, was established
by the Texas Legislature. It is the first education system of such scope
to be established within a statewide prison system. Classes are conducted
in prison units across the state.
WSD education programs operate within the confines of each prison facility,
where custody and security are of paramount importance. Each prison may
have agriculture and/or industry operations, as well as other support
services such as food service, maintenance, laundry, health services,
etc. The principal of each school coordinates with other departments
of the facility to schedule offenders for classes.
WSD has grown in size proportionally to the Texas prison system. The
Texas Board of Criminal Justice serves as the school board of the district,
which is headed by a Superintendent. The district is divided into four
regions. Each WSD region has a regional administrator who reports to
the Superintendent of Schools. The mission of the Windham School District
is to provide appropriate educational programming and services to meet
the needs of the eligible offender population in TDCJ and reduce recidivism
by assisting offenders in becoming responsible, productive members of
their communities.
The goals of WSD are:
- To reduce recidivism,
- To reduce the cost of confinement or imprisonment,
- To increase the success of former offenders in obtaining and maintaining
employment, and
- To provide an incentive to offenders to behave in positive ways during
confinement or imprisonment.
The Texas Youth Commission (TYC)
is the state's juvenile corrections agency. TYC provides for the care,
custody, rehabilitation, and re-establishment in society of Texas' most
chronically delinquent or serious juvenile offenders. Texas judges commit
these youth to TYC for mostly felony-level offenses committed when they
were at least age 10 and less than age 17. TYC can maintain jurisdiction
over these offenders until their 21st birthdays.
TYC operates a system of 15 secure institutions and eight residential
halfway house programs. The agency also contracts with approximately
30 private or local government providers for a wide range of services
to TYC offenders.
All offenders sent to the Texas Youth Commission start at the Marlin
Orientation and Assessment Unit in Falls County southeast of Temple.
During the 50- to 60-day average stay at Marlin, they receive:
- A physical evaluation and survey of medical history
- Educational testing and assessment
- Psychological evaluation
- Social summary
- Introduction to the TYC Re-Socialization Program and to behavioral
expectations
- Assessment of needs for specialized treatment such as sex offender
behavior, chemical dependency, mental retardation or violent crime
behavior
The evaluations help staff determine placement. Approximately 80 percent
of offenders are assigned to a TYC secure correctional facility, and
20 percent go into facilities and programs run by contract providers.
Halfway houses are used for some youth as a transitional assignment after
they have completed their stay in a secure setting.
Project COPE (Community
Opportunity Programs in Education), which is a consortium of the TDCJ-Paro
le Division, Texas Youth Commission, TDCJ Windham Schools, Community
Supervision and Corrections Departments, and community adult education
providers. COPE’s goal is to deliver education services to releasees
who have education skills below the sixth grade level and to assist releasees
in obtaining General Equivalency Diplomas.
What adult education assistance is available for offenders?
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and the Texas Youth Commission
(TYC) are the state agencies for adult offenders and youth offenders respectively.
TEA has a significant history of collaboration with TDCJ, having worked closely
with Windham School District, the adult school system for TDCJ, The Division
of Pardons and Paroles, and the Community Justice Assistance Division (adult
probation) over the years. State funds are appropriated by the Texas Legislature
to the Windham School District and the Texas Youth Commission for education
services to inmates. However, no funds are provided for those services once
inmates are released.
State Level Activity:
TDCJ and TEA collaborated closely in the implementation of Project COPE,
a special project funded by TEA that developed a process and procedures
for collaboration between Windham Schools, Probation and Parole, and
adult education in serving parolees and probationers. Project COPE was
originated to respond to a state legislated mandate to serve parolees
functioning below the sixth grade level. The project was quickly expanded
to include adults on probation. As a result of the project, collaborative
efforts for the referral and service of offenders became more systematized
across the state. TDCJ is interested in the adult education performance
measures and standards. Several TDCJ staff members participated on the
state plan advisory committee.
TEA and TDCJ have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
that sets out the respective responsibilities of the board and the agency
in implementing a continuing education program to increase the literacy
and maximum integration in the community of releasees. Under the
terms of the MOU, TDCJ will establish and provide adult education programs
with assessment and educational profile information to facilitate placement
in the appropriate adult education program(s), and will coordinate with
the programs to develop a system for identification of releasees' needs
and barriers, referral, outreach, and releasees' compliance with educational
requirements. TDCJ will also identify resources that will assist
adult education programs in expanding services for releasees. In
turn, TEA will coordinate with TDCJ to inform local parole offices of
services available through the adult education system and assist that
system in developing the capacity to serve released offenders, including
a referral process. TEA will also coordinate with TDCJ in regard
to collecting data to establish educational performance standards for
released offenders and providing training to local parole officers to
assist them with the coordination of releasees' adult education services.
The criminal justice collaboration benefits adult education due to the
various sources of funds and facilities that have been leveraged to expand
adult education services. Criminal justice also benefits from the
availability of services and continuity of services afforded by adult
education as offenders are released into the community. This collaboration
has extended into the workforce development arena (during public testimony,
one local adult education program described a successful collaboration
among adult education, workforce development and adult probation where
each entity shares costs for the instructional program).
Local Level Activity:
Almost all local adult education fiscal agents participated in Project
COPE, and implemented local procedures for collaboration in serving adult
parolees and probationers. Under the current MOU between TEA and TDCJ,
adult education providers continue to serve releasees.
In addition, more than 30 adult education fiscal agents currently administer
National Literacy Act Section 326 funds in the state, and many of these
projects are extensive. The proliferation of federal and state
corrections facilities plus the tremendous numbers of individuals served
in county jails in the state has caused significant demand for adult
education services within correctional institutions. In addition,
this phenomenon also places significant demand on adult education programs
in the community as offenders are released and in need of continued educational
services, and adult education providers struggle with this tension daily.
Planned Activities under AEFLA:
Until recently, collaboration with the Texas Youth Commission has been
minimal, limited primarily to sharing of curricula and professional development. Currently,
state funds are appropriated to TYC for educational services. However,
recent discussions with the superintendent of education at TYC are indicating
the need for collaboration in regard to transition of TYC youth into
the community and their continued need for educational services. Work
toward a memorandum of understanding between TEA and TYC has been initiated.
Other planned activities with the corrections community, including TDCJ,
include:
- TEA and TDCJ will collaborate in the implementation of the MOU activities,
including dissemination of information about the renewed MOU and implementation
of the agreement by local adult education programs and parole offices;
- Setting aside funds from AEFLA Section 222, not more than 10 percent
of the 82.5 percent to carry out programs for corrections education
or education for other institutionalized adults. Eligible providers
will apply for these funds on a competitive basis and will give priority
to serving individuals who are likely to leave the correctional setting
within 5 years of participation in the program; and
- Completion of a Memorandum of Understanding regarding educational
services available to youth transitioning out of Texas Youth Commission
facilities.
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