Adult Education & Employment

SCAA has explored the issues of adult education and employment since the 2007 publication of Working to Learn, Learning to Work: Unlocking the Potential of New York’s Adult College Students. Working adults are the cornerstone of the New York State economy. Unfortunately, 2.8 million working-age young adults and adults in the state do not have a high school diploma. The odds of this population going on to postsecondary success are slim if they don’t receive the necessary supports - both financial and emotional.

SCAA’s work on this issue also includes an in-depth look at the GED-to-college track, with the publication of Getting Serious About the GED in 2009. SCAA’s work in this area is primarily funded by the Working Poor Families Project. WPFP is a national initiative focused on state workforce development policies involving: 1) education and skills training for adults; 2) economic development; and 3) income and work supports

Getting Serious About the GED: How New York Can Build a Bridge from High School Dropout to Postsecondary Success

This November 2009 SCAA report answers the following questions: Why are GED pass rates in New York State so poor? Why do GED holders fail to achieve postsecondary success—primarily by not enrolling and succeeding in college? Then, it recommends strategies for increasing both pass rates and successful transition to higher education and training, with the belief that the educational funnel can be widened significantly.

Diploma Attainment Among Teen Mothers

New Child Trends research finds that one in three (34 percent) of young women who had been teen mothers did not earn a high school diploma or a GED, compared with only 6 percent of young women who had not had a teen birth.

Governor's Resources Page for Working Families

A one stop shop for services, located on the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance website, has links to information about nutrition programs, tax filing assistance, job placement services, and more.