City of Baltimore - File #: 05-0108R

• File #: 05-0108R
• Version: 0
• Name: Informational Hearing - Is Baltimore the City That Reads?
• Type: City Council Resolution
• Status: Adopted
• File created: 11/21/2005
• In control: Mayor's Office of Neighborhood's
• Final action: 4/23/2007
• Title: Informational Hearing - Is Baltimore the City That Reads? FOR the purpose of determining the status of adult literacy in Baltimore City, of calling upon adult literacy centers to share current factual and anecdotal information about the population they serve, of assessing Baltimore City's progress toward more closely approaching the optimistic moniker of The City That Reads, and of identifying what measures still need to be implemented to combat illiteracy and its attendant problems on a City-wide basis.
• Sponsors: Keiffer Mitchell, Nicholas C. D'Adamo, President Dixon, Helen L. Holton, President Young, Robert Curran, Stephanie Rawlings Blake, Mary Pat Clarke, Kenneth Harris, James B. Kraft, Edward Reisinger, Belinda Conaway, Agnes Welch
• Indexes: Informational Hearing

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
4/23/2007	0	Education, Housing, Health and Human Services	Recommended Favorably
4/23/2007	0	City Council	Adopted
7/10/2006	0	Education, Housing, Health and Human Services	Scheduled for a Public Hearing
4/4/2006	0	Education, Housing, Health and Human Services	Scheduled for a Public Hearing
11/24/2005	0	The City Council	Referred for a Report
11/24/2005	0	The City Council	Referred for a Report
11/24/2005	0	The City Council	Referred for a Report
11/24/2005	0	The City Council	Referred for a Report
11/21/2005	0	City Council	Introduced
11/21/2005	0	City Council	Assigned

* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*

CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)

Introduced by: Councilmember Mitchell
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED

A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Informational Hearing - Is Baltimore the City That Reads?

FOR the purpose of determining the status of adult literacy in Baltimore City, of calling upon adult literacy centers to share current factual and anecdotal information about the population they serve, of assessing Baltimore City's progress toward more closely approaching the optimistic moniker of The City That Reads, and of identifying what measures still need to be implemented to combat illiteracy and its attendant problems on a City-wide basis.
Body
Recitals

According to the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) by the U.S. Department of Education, approximately 40 million adults have limited literacy skills, making tasks such as filling out an application or reading a food label difficult, and 10% of 4-year college graduates with full-time employment have low literacy skills. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that only 25% of the nation's workforce can read a description of 2 kinds of employee benefits and explain the differences, and only 26% can use an eligibility pamphlet to calculate how much supplemental security income they would receive.

Illiteracy cuts across all racial and ethnic groups and severely impacts the quality of life that individuals are able to attain. Illiteracy creates a deficit of self-esteem that alienates the non-reader from the larger society. Disturbingly, 20% of high school graduates cann...