Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Wagner-Peyser Program (Employment Services)
All Program-Specific Requirements provided for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
e. 3. An assessment of the unique needs of farmworkers means summarizing Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker (MSFW) characteristics (including if they are predominantly from certain countries, what language(s) they speak, the approximate number of MSFWs in the State during peak season and during low season, and whether they tend to be migrant, seasonal, or year-round farmworkers). This information must take into account data supplied by WIOA Section 167 National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) grantees, other MSFW organizations, employer organizations, and State and/or Federal agency data sources such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration
Current Narrative:
U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration.
As a non-significant MSFW state, ASES cooperates and works closely with Telamon, WIOA 167 Grantee, to outreach, identify, and serve the state’s MSFWs. Through this agreement with Telamon, ASES is able to achieve many of the state’s outreach goals and determine needs to include employment, training and housing.
In PY 2018, Telamon (WIOA 167 grantee), renewed its partnership with One-Stop Career Centers and with co-location in four (4) centers (Montgomery, Mobile, Dothan and Huntsville), will require registration of all farm workers who enter through the WIOA, Title I, Section 167 door into Alabama Job Link, the state’s labor exchange system. The possibility of additional co-locations is also being explored. This collaboration is expected to increase the number of MSFW registered in AJL in PY 2019.
Through this agreement ASES and Telamon Corporation work cooperatively to combine resources for more efficient service delivery to MSFWs. This includes the provision of employment, training and housing assistance. ASES One-Stop staff members make every effort to ensure appropriate resources are made available to MSFWs. Services may include assessment, counseling, job development, job referral, training, support services and job placement assistance.
Telamon and ASES plan to have regularly scheduled meetings with ALFA, The Alabama Coop, Alabama Department of Agriculture, and various other farm related agencies and several farmers have volunteered to participate in an effort to better reach farmworkers.
In consideration of agricultural industry and employment trends, and the small number of MSFWs in the state, the available resources for outreach would appear sufficient. It appears that MSFW’s nationalities are mostly Hispanic, however, Alabama is starting to see more farm workers from a variety of other countries. Most notably South Africa, Haiti, Honduras and Romania.