With Funding Restored, NYC’s Adult Literacy Providers Restart Programs Amid an Uncertain Future

After months of uncertainty, adult literacy organizations that weren’t selected earlier for city contracts will receive funding to continue their programming thanks to a one-time, $10 million infusion funded by City Council initiatives for fiscal year 2025.

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At RiseBoro Community Partnership, a man who was caring for his son while living in a homeless shelter had enrolled in the Brooklyn organization’s high school equivalency program, RiseBoro CEO Kieran Harrington narrated over the phone.

But last spring, the father failed a portion of his high school equivalency exam at the same time that the city’s funding had lapsed for many of these programs, so he couldn’t continue it, and didn’t graduate.

“He had hoped to return to take the second part of his exam and when the program stopped, he was very anxious to be able to finish his high school equivalency,” Harrington explained.

After a few months of uncertainty, adult literacy providers that weren’t selected for contracts through the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) will receive funding to continue their programming thanks to a one-time, $10 million infusion by City Council initiatives for fiscal year 2025. 

The restoration funding comes after the DYCD updated its formula for allocating the adult education funds, which providers bid on through Requests for Proposals (RFPs). This time, DYCD selected providers within certain Census-based geographic communities called “Neighborhood Tabulation Areas,” targeting locations with low English proficiency and educational attainment, and high poverty rates.

In July, RiseBoro was selected for a contract to provide adult basic education and high school equivalency classes, and was allocated additional Council funding later on. The father was able to return to the group’s high school equivalency program as soon as it reopened in September, and is now studying for the exam. “What I’m grateful for is he’s now back enrolled, and at ease progressing towards that, towards that degree,” Harrington said.

While some organizations like RiseBoro experienced only a brief lapse in funding, others had to pause classes for longer periods. When asked why some contract assignments took more than two months to complete, a DYCD spokesperson said that the department received over 130 proposals that needed to be evaluated.  

But the lag in notification delayed the Council’s $10 million in discretionary funding for adult literacy initiatives—which encompass adult education, high school equivalency,  bilingual education, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes—as lawmakers waited to identify what organizations didn’t get funding before they awarded their discretionary money to fill the gap.

According to Speaker Adrienne Adams’ office, the Council and the Literacy Assistance Center determined that the amount of funding providers lost in the latest DYCD RFP was $7.1 million compared to the year before, affecting 23 providers.

Ira Yankwitt, executive director of the Literacy Assistance Center, said that all providers that weren’t selected for DYCD contracts or weren’t awarded the same funding through the agency as prior years would receive the difference from the Council’s discretionary bucket.

“We believe tens of thousands of New Yorkers will be served through the adult literacy funding provided by the Council,” a spokesperson for the speaker’s office said. “The Council prioritized fighting to prevent the adult literacy system from losing capacity as a result of the issues with the RFP.”

Sunnyside Community Services (SCS) in Queens, for example, lost all of its DYCD funding  after June 30, had to let go of four full-time staff and nine instructors, and closed over 89 percent of its classes while continuing to waitlist students. After being notified of the Council’s funding in mid-September and beginning recruitment for ESOL classes, SCS began offering courses again on Oct. 8.

“The City Council and Council Member Julie Won have allocated $539,000 in discretionary funding for FY25 to allow us to restart our ESOL program,” SCS’ Associate Executive Director Monica Guzman said, adding that it matches their fiscal year 2024 funding.

Won’s office told City Limits that ESOL funding has been restored to SCS, Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement, and LaGuardia Community College.

Despite those gaps, according to DYCD, there will be an increase in adult literacy programming this year: 61 programs compared to 40 last fiscal year. Of the 40 providers awarded contracts, 16 are new to the competition: four were awarded funds for adolescent literacy, seven for adult education and high school equivalency courses, and five for bilingual education and ESOL.

Mark Zustovich, a DYCD spokesman, said the city is expected to provide adult literacy programs to more than 17,000 New Yorkers, a number that includes those funded by both DYCD and the Council’s discretionary money.

“Whether through DYCD’s network or through external providers such as CUNY, the public library systems, and Office for New Americans, adult literacy programs give learners the skills they need to navigate their everyday lives and thrive,” he said in a statement, adding that Mayor Eric Adams is committed “to providing critical services to often unrepresented communities.”

Julia Jean-Francois, co-executive director at Center for Family Life, was overjoyed to receive the Council’s funding after the organization had paused classes. “We are immensely grateful to Councilmember Alexa Avilés for her leadership and work to secure essential funding for English language learning,” Jean-Francois wrote in an email. “This is one of the most sought-after services that we offer at Center for Family Life.”

While organizations that spoke to City Limits were grateful to their local councilmembers and the funding they allocated, providers also now face a shorter implementation period as they have less time to develop their programs.

DYCD said that it will orient providers on the contracting process and expectations while organizations launch programs as soon as possible, or start more intensive programming with more concurrent classes to deliver the funded service levels.

“We are happy to report that nine instructors and two program staff have already signed up to return to Sunnyside Community Services,“ Guzman said.

However, beyond the logistical sprint that some providers are now running through, many face uncertain futures after June 2025, when the Council’s money dries up.

“Once again, students do not know if they can continue to advance their literacy skills past June. Staff are being hired knowing this contract is only through June 30, 2025,” Guzman said. She hopes that DYCD will support the organizations receiving discretionary funding in fiscal year 2026.

A spokesperson for the speaker’s office said they will advocate for adult literacy providers to receive the funding they need in the next budget cycle.

“While there is joy and celebrations now, we know that we will have to spend much of our time in the first half of 2025 advocating for this funding when we should be focused on our work in the classroom with our students,” Guzman said.

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