Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES $1.3 MILLION IN LITERACY GRANTS
Money builds on W-2’s success in moving people from welfare to work

MADISON – Gov. Tommy G. Thompson today announced that nearly $1.3 million in literacy grants have been awarded to 28 organizations throughout the state, building on the governor’s efforts to help residents attain self sufficiency and move from welfare to work.

Gov. Thompson said the grants will provide one-on-one tutoring and small group classes for adult welfare recipients to help improve reading, writing, math and English as a second language skills.  The grants, included in the 1999-2001 state budget, are funded by the federal government’s Temporary Assistance for Need Families program.

"These grants will give people the most basic skill required to apply for a job, get a job and keep a job," said Gov. Thompson.  "That skill is the ability to read."

Groups receiving money and the size of the grants:

• Adult Learning Center, Milwaukee: $35,000
• ADVOCAP Literacy Services, Green Lake: $40,000
• Coulee Region Literacy Council, La Crosse: $10,000
• Family Learning Center, Holmen: $11,200
• CAP Services, Stevens Point: $6,400
• Fond du Lac Adult Literacy Services, Fond du Lac: $10,000
• Fox Valley Literacy Coalition, Inc., Appleton: $40,000
• Janesville Literacy Council, Janesville: $10,000
• Literacy Council of Brown County, Green Bay: $160,000
• Literacy Council of Sheboygan County, Sheboygan: $97,600
• Literacy Council of Wood County, Marshfield: $25,800
• LVA-Chippewa Valley, Eau Claire: $50,000
• Milwaukee Achiever, Milwaukee: $160,000
• Polk County Literacy Council, Balsam Lake: $16,000
• Racine Literacy Council, Racine: $50,000
• Richland County Literacy Council, Richland Center: $20,000
• Stateline Literacy Council, Beloit : $159,600
• Journey House, Inc., Milwaukee: $80,000
• Winnebago County Literacy Council, Oshkosh: $60,000
• Indochinese Learning Center, Milwaukee: $28,000
• Literacy Volunteers of America-Price County, Phillips: $16,000
• Portage County Literacy Council, Stevens Point: $16,000
• The Neighbor's Place, Wausau: $15,000
• Jackson County Literacy Vol. of America, Black River Falls: $10,000
• Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha, Waukesha: $37,600
• Kenosha Literacy Council, Kenosha: $60,000
• Council for the Spanish Speaking, Milwaukee: $40,000
• Omega School, Madison: $40,000

The grants are in addition to several literacy initiatives Gov. Thompson introduced in his 2000 State of the State Address.  During the speech, Gov. Thompson proposed an aggressive Excellence in Reading Initiative that:

• Directed $1 million to develop innovative reading academies around the state.
• Invested $350,000 to distribute the "best reading practices" over the Internet.
• Called a statewide Governor’s Reading Summit to be chaired by Wisconsin First Lady Sue Ann Thompson, with the help of Barbara Manthei of the Governor’s Office of Literacy.

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