Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) Grant Program

The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) funding opportunity is administered in Colorado by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), Office of Adult Education Initiatives (AEI), under Title II of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). AEFLA establishes a partnership among the federal government, states, and localities to provide adult education and literacy activities. Through this competitive Request for Applications, CDE seeks eligible providers in Colorado to implement and improve adult education, literacy activities, and workforce development. Program objectives include helping adults become literate and acquire skills needed for employment and economic self-sufficiency, supporting parents and family members in improving educational and economic opportunities, helping adults attain secondary credentials and transition to postsecondary education and training, and assisting immigrants and English language learners with English, mathematics, civics, and citizenship-related knowledge and skills. A total of $11,653,664.26 is available for the 18-month period covering January 1, 2027 through June 30, 2028, contingent upon federal appropriations. Of this amount, $9,166,979.84 is identified as general AEFLA funding available through the competitive process, $1,018,553.32 is designated for Corrections Education, and $1,468,131.10 is designated for Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education. Applicants may request any combination of AEFLA, Corrections, and IELCE funding. General AEFLA funding is distributed among Local Workforce Development Areas and specified sub-areas according to funding percentages established by CDE, while Corrections and IELCE funds are not distributed by local area or sub-area. Applicants must provide a 35 percent funding match for requested funds. Federal funds may not be used for the match; allowable matching resources may include eligible state, local government, private, cash, and in-kind support. Program income may not be charged or collected as a direct result of receiving AEFLA, IELCE, or Corrections Education funds. Allowable activities include adult education, literacy, workplace adult education and literacy, family literacy, English language acquisition, workforce preparation, and integrated education and training. Corrections Education may support adult education and literacy, special education, secondary school credit, integrated education and training, career pathways, concurrent enrollment, peer tutoring, transition to re-entry initiatives, and other post-release services. IELCE funding must support English language learners in preparation for and placement into unsubsidized employment in in-demand industries and occupations leading toward economic self-sufficiency and must integrate with the local workforce development system. AEFLA funds must supplement and may not supplant nonfederal resources. Programs generally may not use more than 10 percent of AEFLA funds for administrative expenses, although applicants may have an opportunity to negotiate a higher local administrative cost with CDE. Eligible applicants must demonstrate effectiveness in providing adult education and literacy activities. Eligible provider types include local education agencies, community-based and faith-based organizations, volunteer literacy organizations, institutions of higher education, public or private nonprofit agencies, libraries, public housing authorities, other nonprofit institutions capable of providing adult education and literacy activities, consortia or coalitions of eligible entities, partnerships between employers and eligible entities, and tribal organizations. Applicants funded in previous competitions and applicants not previously funded may apply. Services funded by the grant must be provided to eligible individuals who have attained age 16, are not enrolled or required to be enrolled in secondary school under state law, and are basic-skills deficient, lack a secondary school diploma or recognized equivalent and equivalent educational attainment, or are English language learners, subject to the Colorado requirements described in the RFA. The competition is administered through CDE's Grant Administration Implementation and Navigation System, or GAINS. Completion of the Intent to Apply is required and is used to provide applicants access to GAINS, although submitting the intent does not obligate an organization to submit a full application. The Intent to Apply opened August 17, 2026 and is due October 2, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Applicants must complete both the Demonstrated Effectiveness portion and Narrative Application in GAINS. The narrative includes an executive summary, program performance, quality of services, leveraging data, leveraging technology, workforce development and partnerships, budgeting and financials, applicable optional program sections, assurances, and Local Workforce Development Board review information. Hard-copy and email submissions are not accepted. Questions may be submitted to AEI at AEI@cde.state.co.us. Applicants must first meet the applicable demonstrated-effectiveness threshold, which increases according to the number of service types proposed. Applicants must then score at least 70 percent of the available points in narrative Sections A through G to be recommended for funding. Applicants seeking optional additional services must also earn at least 70 percent of the available points in each applicable additional section. Applications are evaluated using the criteria and rubrics provided in the RFA, with responsiveness to regional workforce needs also considered. Where multiple qualifying applications compete for limited funding within a local workforce area or sub-area, qualifying applications are ranked by total points and funding requests are considered beginning with the highest-scoring applicant. Submission does not guarantee an award or an award at the requested amount. The application opened August 17, 2026. The required Intent to Apply is due October 2, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time, and the Demonstrated Effectiveness and Narrative Application are due October 15, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Local Workforce Development Board review is scheduled for October 19 through October 23, 2026. The RFA states that applicants will receive scores, review comments, and award status on November 30, 2026, while another timeline entry identifies November 20, 2026 as the application decision date; this discrepancy should be verified with CDE. Grants will have an 18-month term beginning January 2027 and ending June 30, 2028, with subsequent funding contingent upon federal appropriations and compliance with grant, fiscal, and reporting requirements. Awardees are expected to begin offering classes by January 31, 2027 or earlier.

Complete the required Intent to Apply by October 2 to obtain GAINS access; substantiate demonstrated effectiveness with replicable performance data and required narratives; ensure the proposed number of service types does not exceed the demonstrated-effectiveness threshold achieved; explicitly align proposed services with regional needs in Local Workforce Development Area plans; use internal program data and relevant external research throughout narrative responses; address every required rubric element; target at least 70% of Sections A-G and at least 70% in every optional service section requested; demonstrate sufficient instructional intensity, including at least eight hours per week per class; ensure the budget demonstrates the required 35% match and supplement-not-supplant compliance; do not include personally identifiable information in application materials