File #: Res 0584-2006    Version: * Name: Restore funding for the New York City Adult Literacy Initiative program of the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development.
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on Youth Services
On agenda: 10/25/2006
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution calling upon the New York State Education Department to restore funding for the New York City Adult Literacy Initiative program of the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development.
Sponsors: Michael C. Nelson, Leroy G. Comrie, Jr., Inez E. Dickens, Lewis A. Fidler, Helen D. Foster, Vincent J. Gentile, Alan J. Gerson, Letitia James, John C. Liu, Darlene Mealy, Annabel Palma, Helen Sears, David I. Weprin, Thomas White, Jr., Robert Jackson, James F. Gennaro
Council Member Sponsors: 16
Date Ver.Prime SponsorAction ByActionResultAction DetailsMeeting DetailsMultimedia
12/31/2009*Michael C. Nelson City Council Filed (End of Session)  Action details Meeting details Not available
10/25/2006*Michael C. Nelson City Council Referred to Comm by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
10/25/2006*Michael C. Nelson City Council Introduced by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available

Res. No. 584

 

Resolution calling upon the New York State Education Department to restore funding for the New York City Adult Literacy Initiative program of the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development.

 

By Council Members Nelson, Comrie, Dickens, Fidler, Foster, Gentile, Gerson, James, Liu, Mealy, Palma, Sears, Weprin, White Jr., Jackson and Gennaro

 

                     Whereas, According to the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) Literacy Programs Overview (the “Overview”), one in three New York City residents are immigrants, many of whom face challenges in securing jobs or in succeeding in school due to limited English proficiency; and

                     Whereas, The Overview also indicates that 25 percent of New Yorkers 25 years of age and older do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent, a basic requirement for many entry-level employment positions and post-secondary educational opportunities; and

                     Whereas, According to New York State Education Commissioner Richard Mills, the adult literacy problem in New York is “quite serious…[and] New Yorkers in the 29 to 35 year-old age group are significantly below their national peers.  That’s a serious problem because the demands of the workplace are rapidly evolving…When literacy skills are weak, that’s a real drain on the work force.” and

                     Whereas, Effective communication skills are essential to the ability to successfully participate in and contribute to the social, economic and political life of the City; and

                     Whereas, To meet the City’s literacy needs, the DYCD runs many programs designed to teach literacy skills to New York City residents; and

                     Whereas, Part of the funding for such programs comes from the New York State Department of Education (the “State Education Department”); and

                     Whereas, According to DYCD, the agency will lose approximately $5.7 million of Federal Title 2 literacy funds previously allocated through the New York State Education Department; and

                     Whereas, DYCD believes this situation will result in $6.4 million in programmatic cuts being made to this vital adult literacy program in view of the fact that such funding was previously accompanied by a City matching grant; and

                     Whereas, This severe loss of adequate funding for the New York City Adult Literacy Initiative, cut by the State Education Department, threatens the existence and continuity of these and other vital literacy programs; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Education Department to restore funding for the New York City Adult Literacy Initiative Program of the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

 

MB

LS# 1430

9/28/06

 

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