Florida's Adult Homeless Literacy Training & Basic Skills Assistance Project.http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED366849

Florida State Dept. of Education, Tallahassee. Div. of Vocational, Adult, and Community Education.

Some facts about the homeless population in Florida are the following: (1) 40,000 persons in Florida are homeless on any given day, with 40 percent of the total being families; (2) 65 percent are new homeless (not chronic); (3) 30 percent of the homeless are addicted to drugs or alcohol and 20 percent are mentally ill; (4) causes of homelessness include a lack of affordable housing, unemployment and low wages, substance abuse and mental illness, family disintegration, migration, and illiteracy; and (5) single women heads of households are particularly vulnerable to homelessness. Attempts to alleviate the problem of homelessness in Florida include implementation of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act's Adult Education for the Homeless (AEH) program, which provides a basis for local programs that include outreach, cooperation with employment and training and other social service agencies, individualized instruction, written goals, a reasonable budget, and an evaluation plan. More than $500,000 has been provided to Florida in AEH funds for 1993-94 year. The AEH program includes the following components: collaboration with rehabilitation and treatment programs; self-esteem, social interaction, and coping skills training, General Educational Development (GED) test instruction; referrals to meet survival needs; adult basic education, with emphasis on functional skills; and linkage to jobs, and vocational and other training. During the 1992-93 program year, approximately 3,200 homeless people in Florida received instructional services through the AEH program through seven local agencies at numerous sites. Approximately half the participants were Black, one-third were White, 12 percent were Hispanic, and 1 percent were other ethnic groups. The largest number of participants were aged 25-44, followed by the 16-24 age group and the 45-59 age group. The following results were found: 1,358 students improved their basic skills; 2,207 learned reading, writing, and mathematics; 60 obtained a high school diploma or passed the GED test; 115 completed beginning classes in English as a Second Language; and 169 obtained a job. (KC)