By CATHERINE HORSLEY
@newsroom.byu.edu
Of the 335,635 residents who live in Utah County, 21,000 of them cannot read, said Janice Gilchrist, director of Project Read in Provo.
According to the National Institute for Literacy, half of all American adults sixteen years of age and older function at the lowest levels of prose, document, and quantitative literacy.
In 1994, the annual report of the Utah Adult Education Program found approximately 1 in 5 adults in Utah County are functionally illiterate.
So what is being done in Utah County to improve literacy?
A program called Project Read was started in 1986 in Utah County. Gilchrist started as a tutor in 1990 for Project Read and two years later began working full-time.
'About 250 people sign up for Project Read each year, and the results are outstanding,' Gilchrist said.
Project Read is staffed by two experienced literacy employees and a pool of volunteer tutors, Gilchrist said. Project Read offers a basic one-on-one tutorial service for a minimum of two 1.5 hour sessions each week.
'We are just getting started,' she said. 'With only 250 students each year, it will take us some time to get to the other 21,000 illiterate people who live in Utah County.'
The 1993 report on literacy programs by Business Publishers Inc. estimated the cost of illiteracy to businesses and the taxpayer at $20 billion each year. Five billion dollars in taxes go to support people receiving public assistance who are unemployed due to illiteracy.
Judge Kay Lindsey, a judge in the 4th District Juvenile Court, said it is important to have literacy programs. She said illiteracy is one of the causes for juvenile delinquency.
'When children can't read, they begin to get into trouble at school,' Lindsey said. 'Truancy becomes a problem and eventually they drop out of school.'
Lindsey said this cycle can result in drugs, crime and future unemployment. Therefore it is very important to get to the root of the problem, which is illiteracy, she said.
The National Institute for Literacy reported the federal government provided $361 million for adult education programs in 1996. Federal adult education funds leverage an additional $800 million each year in state funds for literacy, and millions of dollars in private funding.
'We are here ready to help,' Gilchrist said.
However, Project Read cannot stand alone. Volunteers are a must, she said.
'Our program would fold without the help of BYU students,' she said.
Gilchrist said the spring and summer terms are difficult because many of their volunteers go home. She said the LDS Relief Society involvement has somewhat increased tutor volunteers, but not like she had hoped.
'A lot of Relief Societies call and are willing to do a project for our program. Unfortunately, many of them do not offer to volunteer as a tutor because it requires more of a commitment,' she said.
Tutors are required to commit to one and one-half hour tutoring sessions twice a week and to a minimum of 8 months to one year service, Gilchrist said.
According to The National Institute for Literacy, over 140,000 certified volunteer tutors teach 250,000 adult literacy students annually, and volunteers give 7 million hours of literacy service each year.
The Long-term National Center for Family Literacy follow-up studies found the following:
-Fifty-one percent of adults participating in family literacy programs earned their GED or the equivalent.
-Forty-three percent became employed, compared with 14 percent before enrolling.
-Thirteen percent enrolled in higher education or training programs and another 11 percent continued in GED programs.
-Twenty-three percent of those who were on public assistance when they enrolled are now self-sufficient.
'The results are terrific,' Gilchrist said. 'This is a huge undertaking and we need all the help we can get.'
Gilchrist said getting the people to enroll as a student of Project Read is very difficult.
'Many people hide the fact they cannot read,' she said.
The following are some signals Gilchrist said to watch for in adults you might know who could be illiterate: (bullets)
-Do they ask you to fill out forms for them, or make a lot of mistakes when they fill them out themselves?
-Do they bring a friend to help with forms?
-Do they take forms home to fill out?
-Do they make excuses for not reading brochures or written explanations of services: 'I forgot my glasses,' 'I have a headache,' or 'I don't have time.'
-Do they repeatedly ask you to explain what they have just read?
-Do they fail to respond to mailed notices, bills, etc.?
-Do they ask you to call rather than mail information to them?
-Do they continuously forget appointments?
-Do they turn down opportunities that require reading and/or writing?
Gilchrist said if you know someone who show signs of illiteracy to please contact Project Read at (801) 852-6654.