Dear ……………….. ,

This is exciting news! The local project "Building Bridges for Adults with a Developmental Disability" received grant approval and has hired me to bring the project to fruition. It is my task to bring practitioners from the fields of literacy and disability together for a meaningful exchange of ideas, educate each other about direction in the field, support philosophy and identify positive developments, barriers, gaps and overlaps between the service sectors. As the focus groups develop, participants would explore building mutually beneficial partnerships that promote effective and efficient service to people.

Together we can develop a common understanding of how we can join forces to improve literacy services for people who have developmental disabilities. In addition, training on Literacy Preparation Skills for Adults who have a developmental disability will begin to be coordinated.

Practitioners in the Literacy Field have identified a need to improve the appropriateness of referrals coming from agencies serving people with developmental disabilities. Service Providers for people with Developmental Disabilities have challenged Literacy Programs to ensure that their services are accessible and non-discriminatory. According to the Literacy Preparation Project for Adults with Developmental Disabilities, (Beck, Hatt, 1998) "worker/counsellors also noted their own desire to gain more knowledge and skills about basic literacy." The implications outlined in the recently published Best Practices in Literacy for Adults with Developmental Disabilities, (MET, 1998) indicate "cooperative and interagency partnerships are recognized by successful programs as absolutely necessary for the provision of the best service to adult learners". It also noted that "flexibility in approaches to networking, resource sharing and cooperation is essential."

The project will culminate in a workshop on February 23, 2000. We have speakers coming in for a great day and we will provide an update on the project status. We have tentatively booked the Country View Golf Course (just north of Chatham). A great time for sharing and learning, and to get rid of those mid-winter blahs!!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, otherwise I will call you during the week of November 8th in order to arrange a personal meeting to obtain your input as well as inform you of the schedule/agenda for the focus groups.

I look forward to meeting with each of you personally and working with you. I know that this exciting venture will provide a great benefit to the adults with disabilities in the tri-county region and hopefully will provide an enviable model for regions everywhere.

Sincerely,

Glenn Yates,
ABILITY … Health and Social Services Consulting
Project Co-ordinator, Tri-County Literacy Network