The importance of considering social contexts--workplace, family, and community networks--in devising adult literacy programs has emerged over the past decade as the clear consensus of adult literacy research. Equally important have been the attempts by field researchers and federal policymakers to use these findings in setting up demonstration programs and in providing general guidance on how to establish such programs in different adult contexts. Among the more important implications of a contextual policy approach has been the call for more comprehensive approaches to serving adults. One innovation in adult literacy development has been the family literacy strategy. However, family and workplace literacy programs, as currently structured, need to be more informed by the cultural or social context of program participants. Barriers to implementation of contextual literacy policy include the issues of transfer, definition, measurement, and effective literacy instruction. To meet the challenges of adult literacy development, a better understanding of the cultural contexts in which adults function is required. Significant bodies of research illuminate the importance of cultural knowledge for more successful educational intervention. Policymakers at the state level must tailor literacy strategies that are informed by the particular social contexts of their communities. (18 references) (YLB)