The author argues for the importance of social capital effects being taken into account in assessing the effects of family literacy programs, and literacy programs generally. Focus upon short-term effects such as test scores, which can be considered as assessments of human capital, does not serve literacy education well. It would be helpful to have a supplementary focus upon social capital--the network of enabling social relationships widely accepted as a precursor of learning and poverty reduction. This argument is illustrated using a review of a family literacy funding program in Texas. Due to the relative newness of social capital theory, the author is not arguing for immediate application, but for efforts to be addressed to developing and refining social capital measures for adult literacy education.