
The Enhancing Access for Refugees and New Americans project provides resources and technical assistance to adult education state agency staff, local programs, and instructors who serve or are aiming to serve English learners in Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) programming and are interested in using an immigrant integration approach.
Executive Order 14012: "...as a nation of opportunity and of welcome, it is essential to ensure that our laws and policies encourage full participation by immigrants, including refugees, in our civic life."
What is Immigrant Integration?
The Migration Policy Institute defines immigrant integration as “the process of economic mobility and social inclusion for newcomers.” Other definitions describe immigrant integration as “a dynamic, two-way process in which immigrants and the receiving society work together to build secure, vibrant, and cohesive communities.”
Why does it matter in adult education?
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) requirements offer IELCE programs the opportunity to support learners’ linguistic, economic, and civic integration needs. This matters because “beyond studying to meet citizenship requirements, many immigrants also seek to continue advancing their English proficiency, educational attainment, digital literacy, and workforce skills, given the relationships among these assets and their earning potential and ability to better support their family”. This also aligns with Executive Order 14012, which calls upon the United States to be “a nation of opportunity and of welcome” by ensuring “that our laws and policies encourage full participation by immigrants, including refugees, in our civic life.”

About the Project Team
RTI International leads the Enhancing Access project team, which includes researchers from RTI International, Word Education, Safal Partners, and WestEd. For more information, email Jessie Stadd at jstadd@rti.org.
Comments