The National Institute for Literacy is administered by the Secretaries of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services, who make up the governing Interagency Group. A 10-member advisory board, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, includes prominent individuals from a wide range of groups with a stake in literacy: academic and nonprofit institutions; business, industry, and labor; and private foundations.
Most of NIFL's funds support programs and services designed to improve the quality of literacy programs nationwide. Primary activities include:
-
Bringing technology to the literacy field through LINCS, a state-of-the-art Internet-based information and communication system. LINCS operates through a network of partners nationwide to provide a single point of access to a broad array of literacy-related information and public discussion lists as well as technology training opportunities.
-
Improving services to adults with learning disabilities through Bridges to Practice, a four volume research-based guide. The Institute has provided training in more than 30 states in the use of Bridges and is now focusing on training trainers.
-
Promoting adult literacy system reform through Equipped for the Future, a long-term initiative that developed content standards to ensure that every adult can gain the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill real-world responsibilities as workers, parent,s and citizens.
-
Connecting those in need of adult, child, and family literacy services with information about programs in their communities through America's Literacy Directory, an easy-to-use on-line searchable database.
-
Providing copies of NIFL publications through the National Institute for Literacy Hotline and Clearinghouse, where English- and Spanish-speaking operators are available between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. EST Monday through Friday. Hotline operators also make program referrals using America's Literacy Directory.
-
Offering policy information to government agencies, Congress, and the adult literacy field through briefings, Policy Updates on developments of national importance, and State Policy Updates on issues of concern to state and local literacy programs.
-
Developing and disseminating scientifically based reading research and research-based products to educators, parents, policymakers, and others through the Partnership for Reading, a collaborative effort among NIFL, the US Department of Education (ED), and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Recent partnerships with the private sector include work with Verizon, the telecommunications firm, on projects to make information about literacy and literacy programs more widely available to the general public. The "Ask Verizon Reads" website encourages visitors to ask questions about adult and child literacy. Answers are provided by the Institute, the American Library Association, ProLiteracy Worldwide, Reading is Fundamental, and the National Center for Family Literacy.
|
