• Deliver and sustain these literacy training programs on a long term basis; and
  • Recruit qualified instructors and / or ensure appropriate training is made available.
  1. Funding for Individual Adult Students with Disabilities

    Current funding for adult literacy is based on a program funding model. Little individual funding is available for adult students with or without disabilities as discussed in Section 7 earlier in this report. Findings in Section 6 of this report indicate that a variety of support needs are not being met for students with disabilities and that health and medical issues are a significant barrier to their learning.

    In British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, the case has been made for a move from program funding to individual funding primarily for social service programs. A recent report about individualized funding in British Columbia describes the issues with program-based funding in the following manner –

    "Service delivery generally falls under a block funded or managed care style, wherein the state fund-holder funds the service provider agencies, and they then deliver services or programs to the individual. Block funded services are set up for a predetermined general need and not to meet the needs of a specific individual…it is the service provider, rather than the individual or family, who defines what those needs are."

    Where the current program-based funding for adult literacy provides students generally with an opportunity to upgrade their literacy skills, a person with special needs is unsupported in this model. Furthermore, the special needs are not education–related for this student population but rather health–related. And the special needs tend to be quite individualized.

    An individualized funding approach is necessary to provide the supports for adult students with disabilities, including transportation, assistive technology and psycho–educational testing. These costs however, are at best only partially education related. Since the cause is health related, costs could be shared by the Departments of Health and Community Services.

    Moving from a program–based funding model to an individualized model is a big leap but one which warrants consideration and examination to allow this student group to progress in upgrading its literacy skills. This is an initiative which should be championed by a partnership of literacy and disability organizations, perhaps with TEAM Work and the HRM Literacy Association at the helm.

    24 'Changing the Rules of the Game' Individualized Funding in B.C.: Implications for Families and Social Workers; Suzanne Salter, August 2002 – page 11