A state policy guide is available for community college leaders and others seeking to improve education and employment outcomes for low-income working adults.

The guide, titled Bridges to Opportunity for Underprepared Adults: A State Policy Guide for Community College Leaders, is based on lessons learned from the Community College Bridges to Opportunity Initiative. Funded by the Ford Foundation, Bridges was a multi-year effort designed to bring about changes in state policy that improve outcomes for educationally and economically disadvantaged adults. The Ford Foundation supported teams in six states. The guide examines efforts made in three of these—Louisiana, Ohio, and Washington—which advanced furthest in implementing the Bridges theory of change. The guide also outlines steps for putting strategies for policy change into practice, and it provides “toolkits,” which provide in-depth how-to manuals on several topics.

See http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=648 for more information.

See also the Bridges to Opportunity website: http://www.communitycollegecentral.org/