Another observation which can be made about the supplementary services provided as part of ABE programs concerns the time when these services are offered. Most are offered during the day. Only one provider reported childcare and transportation services being offered in the evening. Yet, counselling services are available during both day and evening hours. Childcare services which are offered only during the day are not helpful to women who work full-time and attend evening classes.

A third observation about the provision of supplementary services pertains to the funders of these services. In general, childcare and transportation services tend to be funded by provincial and federal non-educational agencies. On the other hand, personal and career counselling (both psychological and labour-related work) are funded mainly by ministries of education. There may be a lack of coordination in the provision of these supplementary services to meet two quite different types of needs. Both are necessary, but not at the expense of each other.

5.4. CONCLUSIONS

One could argue that the inadequacy of the provision of supplementary services for women in ABE programs is, in large part, a function of the institutions which deliver these programs. In terms of the sample. these institutions are mainly community colleges and school boards. Community colleges are designed primarily for young adults with a minimum of personal responsibilities such as homemaking and caring for children. School boards are mainly concerned with the education of children and adolescents. It is no coincidence, therefore, that personal and career counselling services are provided more than childcare and transportation in ABE programs; that supplementary services are offered mainly during the day; and that funding for them comes mainly from non-educational agencies.

In the sample. private non-profit organizations. which include Literacy Councils, were the next type of agency mostly frequently providing ABE programs. Such agencies often do not have the financial means to provide support services.

These observations do not imply that school boards and community colleges should not continue to provide educational programs for under-educated women, but rather that decision-making about program delivery and supplementary services should take into account the alternative needs of women with both personal and employment responsibilities. Committees responsible for making such decisions should include adult educators who are sensitive to the need for flexibility in programming and service delivery and women who can accurately represent the needs of under-educated women.