Family Literacy grants

This program is administered by the Department of Education (Department) for family literacy programs that will:
 1) Target families living in areas of high concentration of poverty who are receiving welfare benefits and who have educational needs.
 2) Enable communities to foster cooperative partnerships that build on existing community resources to create a new range of services.
 3) Provide services that are of sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient duration, to make sustainable changes in a family, and that integrate all of the following:
 a. Interactive literacy activities between parents and their children.
 b. Training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children.
 c. Parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency.
 d. An age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life experiences.

Eligibility—To be eligible to receive a grant, an eligible entity must submit an application that demonstrates it has the qualified personnel needed to develop, administer and implement an Even Start program under Part B, Subpart 3 of Title I of the ESEA; will provide access to the special training necessary to prepare staff for the program, which is offered by the Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (Bureau); and will address each of the following program elements addressed in Section 1235 of the Even Start statute.

Selection Process—Consideration will be given to applications that meet the following conditions:
 1) Reflect the family focus of Even Start.
 2) Effectively implement the program elements in the Even Start statute.
 3) Demonstrate that the area to be served by the program has a high percentage or a large number of children and families who are in need of those services as indicated by high levels of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, limited English proficiency or other need-related indicators, such as a high percentage of children to be served by the program who reside in a school attendance area served by a local educational agency eligible for participation in programs under Part A (that is, Title I school attendance area), a high number or percentage of parents who have been victims of domestic violence or a high number or percentage of parents who are receiving assistance under a State program funded under Title IV Part A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.A. §§ 601—619).
 4) Provide early childhood services for at least a 3-year age range.
 5) Demonstrate the greatest possible cooperation and coordination between a variety of relevant service providers in all phases of the program. Relevant service providers include, but are not limited to, adult education and literacy programs; county assistance offices; social service agencies; public libraries; PA CareerLink® One-Stop Centers; Workforce Investment Act programs; elementary schools; family centers; preschool programs such as Head Start; licensed child care centers and other community groups or agencies that provide services and assistance to persons in need of basic literacy skills or support services, or both.
 6) Submit a cost-effective total budget which contains a local match beyond the required Even Start statutory percentages.
 7) Are representative of urban and rural regions of the State.
 8) Show the greatest promise for providing models that may be adopted by other family literacy projects and other local educational agencies.

See more details and guidelines here.