NOTE: POST A MESSAGE TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS!

WHEREAS, national statistics show adults with minimal or no reading and writing skills comprise 75 percent of
the unemployed, one-third of the mothers receiving AFDC, 85 percent of the juveniles that appear in court, an estimated 60 percent of prison inmates, and nearly 40 percent of minority youth; and

WHEREAS, 1.6 million Tennesseans (approximately 50 percent of the adult population) have less than a high
school diploma, including one-half million adults having less than an 8th grade education; and

WHEREAS, the inability to read negatively affects family life, the state's ability to compete in the national and
international economy, and productivity and safety in the workplace; and

WHEREAS, over one hundred local literacy programs of varying sizes, public and private, are now operating in
the state; and

WHEREAS, actions by the State of Tennessee to address the problems of illiteracy have included the development
of literacy programs in all counties, the development of workplace literacy programs in numerous businesses, and the establishment of literacy programs in inner-city housing projects and apartments; and

WHEREAS, the TN Families First Act recognizes the crucial importance of literacy skills to enable former AFDC
recipients, now, Families First consumers, to acquire employment by providing education as a basic component;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that TCSW support the TN Department of Education and other appropriate
organizations in advocating a comprehensive approach to literacy and basic skills education from the pre-school level through adult programs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW explore additional ways to support and encourage a coordinated
approach to persons whose literacy problems contribute to a variety of other problems.