1. Executive Summary

1.1 Background

The relationship between literacy and employment is well understood – the higher one's level of literacy, the greater the likelihood that stable employment is attainable. Only 45% of working age adults who functioned at the lowest literacy level were employed in Canada according to a study conducted in 1994 (Shalla and Schellenberg, 1998). The study also showed that 75% of working age adults functioning at the highest literacy levels were employed in the same period.¹

There is a reasonable body of knowledge which suggests that a higher percentage of persons with disabilities function at the lowest literacy levels than the population at large. We also know that a lower percentage of persons with disabilities is employed than the population at large. It is therefore, not surprising that TEAM Work Cooperative (TWC) and a number of its shareholders and other stakeholders have been concerned with literacy and its relationship with employment and employability for their client group for some time. TWC is a collaborative effort of 29 shareholder organizations, focused specifically on employment for persons with disabilities.

This study was focused on issues related to adult literacy for persons with disabilities in the Halifax Regional Municipality. The purpose of this study was to –

• Examine the accessibility and availability of literacy services in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) for persons with disabilities;
• Research the factors which contribute to the utilization of community based literacy programs by persons with disabilities;
• Identify barriers to learning and models which have had success with this diverse population;
• Recommend approaches and / or changes necessary to eliminate the barriers to successful literacy learning for adults with disabilities

1.2 Literacy Profile

In June 2000, Statistics Canada and the Organization for Economic Co–operation and Development (OECD) released the final report from the groundbreaking 1994 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). The first international survey of its kind, IALS provides a comparison of literacy levels across nations, languages and cultures. Canada and 19 other countries participated in the survey. The study found that 48% of Canadians and 52% of Atlantic Canadians read at a grade 8 skill level or below.

¹ Joel Macht, Literacy and Disability, page 9