Narrative Report | National Reporting System

State Leadership Funds (Adult education and family literacy act Section 223 (AEFLA))

Describe how the State has used funds made available under section 223 (State Leadership activities) for each the following:

AEFLA Section 223(1)(a)

Alignment of adult education and literacy activities with other one-stop required partners to implement the strategies in the Unified or Combined State Plan as described in section 223(1)(a)

Title II programs are actively involved in the certification process of one-stop centers in Utah. All one-stop centers have been certified and many centers have been recertified. Section 223 funds are used to provide activities described in the Unified State Plan, including aligning adult education activities with core partners in all the state’s regions and developing career pathways that are accessible to adult education students. Adult education services provided include instruction in basic literacy, high-school completion, and English language acquisition.

AEFLA Section 223(1)(b)

Establishment or operation of a high-quality professional development programs as described in section 223(1)(b)

Utah has used section 223 funds to provide the following professional development opportunities in program year 2021: statewide Directors’ Meetings (6); database and data usage trainings (11); an English Language Acquisition Teachers’ Summit (1); a corrections education meeting (1); professional learning community meetings; Reading Horizons trainings (2); and a comprehensive fall conference for adult educators.

AEFLA Section 223(1)(c)

Provision of technical assistance to funded eligible providers as described in section 223(1)(c)

On-site and virtual technical assistance is provided upon request. Regular desk monitoring conversations are held with funded eligible providers to identify provider needs and ensure technical assistance is provided in a timely manner. Additionally, onsite program reviews focused on providing technical assistance to programs. Regional professional learning community meetings were held to share best practices and facilitate program improvement. One-stop certification meetings included training on the roles and responsibilities of one-stop partners and on a statewide partner referral system to facilitate referrals between one-stop partners. Data meetings explaining the nuances of federal reporting requirements were held monthly.

AEFLA Section 223(1)(d)

Monitoring and evaluation of the quality and improvement of adult education activities as described in section 223(1)(d)

Utah conducted monthly desk monitoring with programs. Program reviews provide a deep dive into program practices that yield actionable recommendations for program improvement. Monthly data meetings were held throughout the year to disseminate recommended data practices to programs across the state. As a state, Utah continues to work on correcting errors through user training, mentoring, and system improvements that mitigate error options.

AEFLA Section 223(a)(2)

As applicable, describe how the State has used funds for additional permissible activities described in section 223(a)(2)

Funds were used to support activities surrounding the implementation of statewide broadcast courses and the expansion of remote learning within the state. Funds were also used to provide a text-based communication tool for outreach to instructors and students.

Performance Data Analysis

Describe how the adult education program performed in the overall assessment of core programs based on the core indicators of performance. Discuss how the assessment was used to improve quality and effectiveness of the funded eligible providers and any plans to further increase performance in future reporting years.

Student achievement is a factor of provider quality and effectiveness. As programs focus on the needs of the student and work with that student to achieve individual outcomes, the effective use of funds is improved and student progress is increased. Utah has been working with providers to change the expectations of program staff to better retain students. However, the data below show the negative impact of COVID on both enrollment and testing. It is hoped that the continued emphasis on retention will result in an increase in the percentage of students enrolled and post-tested. Post-testing is also being emphasized as a tool in helping personalize instruction and mark progress. Programs were informed that corrective action plans would be required for all programs below a 20% post-testing rate in the 2022-2023 program year.

Data Element	2017 - 2018	2018- 2019	2019 - 2020	2020 - 2021	2021-2022
# of Students Served	15,222	13,795	12,245	9,942	12,280
# of Students Pre and Post-Tested	8,399	7,875	5,129	3,431	5,444
	55.17%	57.09%	41.89%	34.51%	44.33%

Utah will continue to emphasize the importance of transitioning students to postsecondary education and training by providing financial incentives to programs for students who enroll in postsecondary education and training.

Data Element	2017 - 2018	2018- 2019	2019 - 2020	2020 - 2021	2021-2022
% of participants with employment second quarter after exit	34.21%	28.45%	27.24%	23.26%	42.85%
% of participants with employment fourth quarter after exit	30.06%	27.92%	13.15%	22.15%	35.63%
% of participants who attained a secondary school diploma/equivalent and enrolled in postsecondary education within 1 year of exit	15.34%	2.2%	0%	9.95%	11.11%

Integration with One-stop Partners

Describe how the State eligible agency, as the entity responsible for meeting one-stop requirements under 34 CFR part 463, subpart J, carries out or delegates its required one-stop roles to eligible providers. Describe the applicable career services that are provided in the one-stop system. Describe how infrastructure costs are supported through State and local options.

Collaborative efforts with all core partners and local required partners have made the one-stop system successful. The State Workforce Development Board has kept the one-stop certification process as a high priority throughout the process. Adult education providers have been an integral part of the process at each step. Programs, where necessary, have simplified delivery to avoid duplication and have created strong referral processes to ensure clients receive needed services, regardless of which program provides those services. Career services have been provided in the form of career pathway counseling and transition to post-secondary partner programs.

Infrastructure costs agreements with all core partners and required partners have been developed and a memorandum of understanding and accompanying cost agreements are in place. Because Utah is a single area state the State option was triggered.

One-stop certification was transferred to a virtual process in April 2020 to avoid disruption of certification processes due to COVID restrictions. All one-stop centers have been certified and several one-stop centers have now been recertified through the virtual process. Although many activities have returned to in-person meetings, the one-stop center certification has remained virtual to accommodate the needs of all individuals participating.

Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education

Describe how the state is using funds under Section 243 to support the following activities under the IELCE program:

IELCE Funds and grants

Describe when your State held a competition [the latest competition] for IELCE program funds and the number of grants awarded by your State to support IELCE programs.

Utah held a competition for IELCE program funds in the spring of 2021. Five programs received IELCE awards.

Training activity

Describe your State efforts in meeting the requirement to provide IELCE services in combination with integrated education and training activities;

Utah has been training and updating programs on the WIOA requirements to provide IELCE services with integrated education and training activities. Specific trainings with current providers have been offered to provide a community of practitioners for shared lessons and content development.

IELCE Section 243(c)(1)

Describe how the State is progressing towards program goals of preparing and placing IELCE program participants in unsubsidized employment in in-demand industries and occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency as described in section 243(c)(1) and discuss any performance results, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing those program goals; and

Utah continues to work on increasing the number of opportunities for employment in in-demand industries and occupations. We are working with the Utah Transit Authority to start a targeted training program for English language learners to become bus operators. This is a career level position that would allow the student to achieve economic self-sufficiency. This is just one example of several programs within the state; including Certified Nursing Assistants, beginning courses in Information Technology, Welding, Automotive Technician, and several others. We have also been working closely with the Refugee Services Office to increase opportunities for refugees. We are in the process of redesigning instruction at the Humanitarian Center that primarily offers educational and workforce preparation skills for low level refugees.

The high cost of living in Utah has posed a serious challenge in finding jobs that will offset the increasing costs of housing and inflation. This has made education even more important in opening job opportunities that pay enough to make housing affordable.

IELCE Section 243(c)(2)

Describe how the State is progressing towards program goals of ensuring that IELCE program activities are integrated with the local workforce development system and its functions as described in section 243(c)(2) and discuss any performance results, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing those program goals.

Adult education programs work with the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) to identify in-demand industries before creating IELCE programs. DWS personnel are involved in discussions surrounding creating IELCE programs and in referring potential students to IELCE programs. Programs utilize DWS personnel and programs to provide workforce preparation activities for some of the IELCE and adult education programs. We have learned that bringing employers into the planning and implementation processes better ensures the success of the program. Some challenges include raising student skills to the level necessary to succeed in IELCE program activities, finding a cohort of students that are prepared and interested in the specific occupational training that the program is designed around, and sustaining the program despite high turnover rates in adult education, DWS, and partner employers. Generally, students are more engaged and show better persistence and outcomes when they are in an IELCE program than a traditional adult education program.

Adult Education Standards

If your State has adopted new challenging K-12 standards under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, describe how your Adult Education content standards are aligned with those K-12 standards.

N/A

Programs for Corrections Education (AEFLA Section 225)

What was the relative rate of recidivism for criminal offenders served? Please describe the methods and factors used in calculating the rate for this reporting period.

The Utah Department of Corrections (UDOC) defines recidivism as a return to prison for either a technical violation of parole conditions or a new criminal event within 36 months of release. The most recent data from UDOC is for releases to parole supervision in 2018 (n=2883), 21.6% (n=622) returned for a new crime, and 48% (n=1385) returned for a technical violation only within 36 months. This gives an overall parole recidivism rate of 69.6% (n = 2007).

Narrative Report for Utah 2021