In attendance: Elsa Bengel, Carolyn Blanks, Angela Brown, Bruce Dahlquist, Ann Dunphy, Cathy Gannon, Maria Grace, Todd Lee, Shirley Lyon, Andre Mayer, Connie Nelson, Mina Reddy, David Rosen, Dawna Perez, Andrea Perrault, Sofia Rasher, Brunir Shackleton, Laurie Sheridan, Jude Travers, Beverly Wing.

Announcements:

• Commonwealth Workforce Coalition conference Match 8 at the DCU Center, Worcester.
• ACLS has a US DOE monitoring visit in February; they will be looking at to what degree ABE is visible within the workforce development community.
• ECCLI: CommCorp has received 30 letters of intent, this round focuses on ESOL.
• Mass. Workforce Alliance is holding a State House briefing on February 14.
• In Boston, JCS/DOE/SABES/ALI are holding an event promoting collaboration among ABE programs, career centers, and community-based skills training organizations on Feb. 14, and a full-day conference on April 28.
• Skill Works has released a new RFP, $1 million over 3 years for a community health worker advancement initiative, starting with a 10-month planning grant; proposals due March 7.
• House 1 for FY'07 includes $29.6 million for ABE.
• The Economic Stimulus bill and all budget items are held up in the legislature, pending action on the health care legislation.
• Jenn James (DWD) is holding a statewide event for career centers and WIB's on April 10 in Marlboro; it will highlight ABE. (NOTE: this has been postponed–L.S.)

SABES FY'06 Activities
Laurie summarized SABES activities in the current fiscal year, completed and continuing. They include: workshops, technical assistance, resource/s materials, SABES web site, and curriculum development. Emerging needs include continuity and follow-up activities to help programs and practitioners build on learning gained at workshops; information about promising practices and program models; additional funding to develop and implement integrated programming; and need for designated staff to promote WFD integration, funding, and relationships with WFD organizations and employers. Practitioners also need information about where jobs are for which ABE learners are eligible, and how to access them. Small programs need assistance in collaborating together in securing funding, employer relationships, and developing integrated/contextualized programming.

SABES has completed a large number of activities with ABE practitioners and programs that are consistent with the ACLS priorities. DOE made workforce development a priority, not a mandate. In the recent RFP for ABE programs, workforce development only comprised 3 points; had the ACLS staff/student survey results been available before the RFP, perhaps there would have been a stronger priority for workforce development, as students indicated their greatest need was for ABE to help them do their job, and both staff and students strongly indicated a need to understand how to find a job and where to get employment-related information.

Charlie Herbert, Western SABES WFD Coordinator, has created a "wiki" on workforce development/workplace education on the NLA listserv, where anyone can pose a question related to research/practice around ABE and workforce development or workplace ed, and respondents will contribute comments. It is available at www.literacytent.org, free and open to all.

What is SABES' definition of a partnership, or an effective partnership? SABES needs to develop a "Field Guide" to partnerships. Does SABES have the resources to help develop real partnerships? SABES has few resources related to workforce development: part-time staff in five regional centers plus the Central Resource Center. Partnership should be included in the next DOE RFP.

ABE has a structured rate system. There is not enough money or time for programs to add workforce development programming. Many requirements are not negotiable with DOE, and without additional funding, few can take it on. Workforce development must be marketed to ABE programs and teachers, or they will resist it. Can SABES "sell" it to them? Businesses must stand up, commit to significant investment.

Mary Jayne Fay of MA DOE heads the unit that certifies training and education programs. There are several training options, including public higher education, that meet different kinds of needs of students. ABE students typically have bad jobs-it is our obligation to help them get out of them. David suggested we include teachers with other jobs or experience (as most teachers have work experience only in teaching). We could explore what kinds of opportunities SABES might have to change this, e.g., teachers involved in workplace education, teachers working in a multi-service agency, with a job training program. Teachers and programs often do not talk to each other.

Discussion of Recommendations from "Vision/Identify/Ideology" Subcommittee
There is currently a systemic deficiency-ABE program graduates typically cannot meet the requirements of job training programs. Elsa noted that previously, under CETA, pre-training was funded. Today, this leaves a large gap. How to ramp up workforce development options within ABE? There is a significant difference between funded streams for WFD and for ABE. It is in the interest of ABE networks to advocate for workforce development. Language proficiency for ABE learners can take seven full years. Bruce commented that all programs must have community planning. Do teachers know about community planning? This might be a next step.

"Employment education and training"-we need to integrate them. How to use the idea incorporated in the SABES WFD "vision statement," how to talk within the field, address the experiential gap. Martha Oesch's workshop helps address the systemic deficiencies. When several teachers bring this back to their program, change is possible. What does a system look like that works for them? We need to develop a way for teachers to get guidance. We recommend:

1. Endorse the opportunities section.
2. Move towards more full-time employment for the field-as the norm. We want parity for ABE teachers with K-12, in order to carry out our mission, and to professionalize and improve quality in the field. We need to increase the capacity of the field so as to make it a viable occupation. We need workforce development for ABE!

A "straw vote" was taken on whether to endorse the proposal to endorse more full-time employment for the field. It was unanimous. Mina and Brunir will wordsmith the proposal, present it as an opportunity for learners to be contributing members of society.

Discussion of recommendations from "Building Capacity of the Field" Subcommittee
Utilize the Community Partnerships. Infuse workforce development information, employment opportunities in a local area. Community Partnerships must see that job readiness training is genuinely available. Reference to New York state model (BOCES): Community Planning units provide services to all programs, incorporate skills training, are required to invite all stakeholders. (e.g., community colleges). What is the function of ABE? Workplace basic skills, job readiness skills. There is a big gap here, and no mandate.

The DOE ABE RFP only offered three points for workforce development. Where are job-readiness skills identified? We can borrow from MA DOE's Work-Based Learning Plan (Keith Westrich), employability skills certificate programs-community colleges, new basic skills from MassINC. There are many good answers: WIB's, SCANS, SABES employment kits (we should promote these). DOE should set points and offer them for WFD/ABE integration, and then it will happen.

Why are ABE programs afraid of us (WFD)? There is a real tension between ABE and WFD. We can highlight best practices, devote a session to sharing all of that. How can we have better conversations about this? Beverly has worked for several years on building capacity among Skill Works-involved programs. There are useful lessons in how those CBO's built their capacity, how we can learn about new best practices. SABES should utilize that learning. We need a glossary of terms (from ABE and WFD). Sometimes we use different "languages," sometimes we use the same words but mean different things. In SABES' required 15-hour New Staff Orientation, we should include the basics of workforce development, and the same thing for career centers (basic of ABE).

Teachers don't have "real" jobs (like those of their students). We have to transform the field. Incorporate workforce development into professional development for ABE teachers. Teachers do a lot of this automatically. But they don't see their students as workers-it's not in the realm of teachers' experience. We should encourage time-limited externships, as has been done in school-to-career programs. For Cathy, even a few weeks working in a shoe factory provided real insight into her learners' lives and work experience. Use career counselors for this.

English for New Bostonians has done a new survey of ESOL students, inventorying what skills they have. We could do a survey across the state on assets of immigrants. 80% of new jobs don't exist at present. Skill sets-how to learn-are more important than specific occupational skills, which can become quickly irrelevant as the economy changes.

It's hard to use the SABES website, even though there is great information there. We need an "idiot's guide" to SABES, a table of contents with what to find where.

We should provide contextualized workplace education, and workforce education. Intermediate-contextualize to particular sectors (students may well be working). Provide on-line-by sector, across programs. There is not a lot of on-line contextualized work-related curriculum. What's there, is mostly found in the UK, New Zealand, Canada. There is more in health care, leading to a GED.

What is needed is a broader role for employers. Private employers don't invest enough in the workforce development system. It requires more buy-in from employers. We should take a Community Partnership approach-develop partnerships, engage employers more as real stakeholders. Remember Steve Gunderson's talk at the City of Boston workforce development conference three years ago. There is an economy of small employers, similar to the providers. Employers don't know what the needs of employees are. It's a very fragmented system.

SABES is in the process of developing a two-year workplan with MA DOE. In this meeting, we have addressed two things: 1) recommendations for the SABES workplan, and 2) policy. SABES cannot directly address the policy recommendations, but can utilize them in shaping the workplan, especially as they have bearing on professional development. SABES has been surveying ABE programs throughout the state to ascertain their experience with and interest in workforce development, and their specific needs for SABES assistance.

Discussion of Recommendations from "Integrated/Specialized Programming" Subcommittee
The subcommittee has identified several integrated programs and promising practices, and is in the process of posting them on the SABES web site pending permission from programs. ABE programs want to learn about what other programs are doing, barriers they face, ways of integrating WFD. It may or not be sector-specific. Codify information management and access. In programming, need clear access to information. The SABES web site, which has been recently re-organized, will include promising practices and models of ABE/WFD integration. Make it simple-anything that requires knowledge of internal specifics of the organization is not accessible to outsiders.

Identify staff in programs interested in workforce development (e.g., the International Institute of Boston has done this). Develop externships for these "champions" in programs. SABES can talk with employers, develop an exchange program -for a year? Exchange employees, provide corporate sabbaticals to work in ABE programs! It's more fun than teaching in K-12, which is what most corporations think of.

Discussion of recommendations from "Describing the Universe of Clients' Needs" Subcommittee
Is ABE part of Workforce Development? ABE is not necessarily just part of WFD, because it addresses multiple needs and goals of learners, including, but not limited to, workforce development. Employers find it difficult to work with DOE-e.g., community college assessments were never funded.

An exciting new vocational school is about to open in Worcester, with 245 business advisors, equipment and supplies provided by employers. It will be a NE training facility, including child care, bank and a bakery all on site: the Worcester Technical High School/Central Mass. Institute for Workforce Development.

There has been discussion with Anne Serino, Director of ACLS at MADOE, about the need for more counseling staff for ABE programs, revisiting the rate system, utilizing more case management. Not clinical case management, but linking learners with resources and supports. It's important for it not to appear to be welfare-type programs. Rather, workforce development for everyone: coaching, counseling, advocacy. There is a great diversity of needs, guidance, for a "connections counselor."