In addition, companies paying for remedial classes and costs due to low productivity, accidents and errors due to illiteracy run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Congress officially recognized illiteracy as a challenge when it enacted the National Literacy Act of 1991 and established the National Institute for Literacy. The institute works on establishing policy, doing research and sponsoring promising initiatives. The government is not alone in its fight against illiteracy. There are several organizations in the United States that work with illiterate adults.
Most libraries offer some form of literacy programs and several universities have programs as well.
One of the oldest and largest programs is Literacy Volunteers of America. Founded in 1962, it has been working since then to end illiteracy in America and has helped more than 350,000 people so far. Happily it is not alone in it success. Every organization has its own style and way of doing things. Some focus more on math skills, others on reading or English as a Second Language.