Adult Education and Family Literacy Act

Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (Closed)

The federally funded Adult Education and Family Literacy Act was reauthorized as Title ll of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in July 2014. The federal program provides formula funding to state agencies that distribute funds as grants to local adult education programs. Allowable services include adult basic and secondary education and English language acquisition in many contexts: foundational literacy, high school equivalency, family literacy, integrated English literacy and civics education, workforce preparation, workplace education, and integrated education and training.

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) Office of Adult Education Initiatives (AEI) solicited applications from eligible providers within Colorado to develop, implement, and improve adult education and literacy activities within Colorado by establishing or operating programs that provide a comprehensive service model for adult education and literacy services and instruction, including programs that provide such activities concurrently.

Approximately $7.7 million is estimated to be available for adult education and literacy services under AEFLA (WIOA § 222(a)(1)) for the 2024-2025 fiscal year (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025), with funding contingent on federal appropriations. As is allowable according to WIOA § 222(a)(1), AEI will set aside 20% (roughly $1.5 million) of the available AEFLA funds (not including available Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education funds) for corrections education to provide adult education and literacy services, leaving approximately $5.1 million general AEFLA funds available for awards through the competitive grant application process in the 2024-2025 fiscal year (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025). Of this $5.1 million, approximately $1.1 million is estimated to be available specifically for Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) services for the 2024-2025 fiscal year (WIOA §243(a)).

CDE anticipates awarding grants for a four-year period. Funding in subsequent years for grantees is contingent upon continued federal appropriations and upon grantees meeting all grant, fiscal and reporting requirements.

Note: Applicants must demonstrate a match of 35% of the funds requested.

Unit: Adult Education Initiatives

Timeline

Competition: February 21 - June 3 , 2024
Award Period: July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2028
Corrections Education (CE) Only Competition: June 25 - October 14, 2024
CE Only Award Period: October 14, 2024 - June 30, 2028

Full details of the review and scoring processes, funding decisions, and appeals process are available in the AEFLA RFA and Narrative Application Planning Document (linked below).

Application Planning Documents

The AEFLA competition was run through GAINS. The documents linked below were for planning and review purposes only and were not submitted in GAINS. AEI suggested using the AEFLA Narrative Application Planning Document to prepare narrative responses in advance and then copy and paste them into GAINS.

AEFLA RFA and Narrative Application Planning Document (Word, Updated 03-06-24)
PY 24-25 AEFLA Budget Worksheet (Budgets were submitted in GAINS)
PY 24-25 IELCE Budget Worksheet (Budgts were submitted in GAINS)
AEFLA Assurances
- Assurances available by request. Assurances were required unless otherwise stated. If funded, applicants were required to complete and sign each assurance via DocuSign.

PY 24-25 Accessible Design Assurances
PY 24-25 Assessment Assurances
PY 24-25 Attendance Assurances
PY 24-25 Conflict of Interest Assurances
PY 24-25 Data Assurances
- PY 24-25 Sample Student Intake Form
PY 24-25 Distance Education Assurances (If applicable)
PY 24-25 Family Literacy Assurances (If applicable)

PY 24-25 Fiscal Assurances
PY 24-25 General Assurances
PY 24-25 IELCE Assurances (If applicable)
PY 24-25 IET Assurances (If applicable)
PY 24-25 Professional Learning Assurances
PY 24-25 Transition Planning Assurances
PY 24-25 Workplace Literacy Assurances (If applicable)

Resources

College and Career Readiness Standards
Demonstrated Effectiveness Overview Recording (mp4, added 03-06-24) and Transcript (Word, added 03-06-24)
English Language Proficiency Standards
GAINS Technical Assistance Webinar (02-22-24)
- Watch the recording (mp4)
- View the presentation (PDF)
Grant Application FAQ
- Q&A form is now closed.
- View responses to questions about the grant application submitted to the AEI Office.
PY 24-25 Colorado Assessment Policy - Draft Pending OCTAE Approval (Word)
PY 24-25 Distance Education Policy (Word)
PY 24-25 AEI Approved Distance Education Platforms
Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act
WIOA Shared Infrastructure Funding Costs (Webinar)
- Colorado Infrastructure Funding State Formula and Attachments (WIOA-2016-03)
- Colorado Infrastructure Funding Local Negotiations and Attachments (WIOA-2017-07)