There is a significant connection between participation in adult basic skills programs and increased employment and income levels, high school equivalency and postsecondary education attainment, and civic participation. This return on investment, however, remains mostly unknown to policy makers, funders, and the general public. ProLiteracy’s new white paper, The Case for Investment in Adult Basic Education, is based on a 10-year research study conducted by Dr. Stephen Reder,

At the tiny public library in Winterport, Maine, 43-year-old Robert Hartmann bends over The Little Engine That Could and slowly sounds out the first line. "Ch-chug, right?" he asks his volunteer tutor, Sandy DeLuck. "Yup," she encourages him. He presses on: "Puh-puff ... puff ... puff. Ding ... ding-dong?" Hartmann is burly, with five facial piercings, his arms inked with tattoos. This is his second session with DeLuck. He reads at about a first-grade level. He is one of the