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. 1. Assessment of Need. Provide an assessment of the unique needs of farmworkers in the area based on past and projected agricultural and farmworker activity in the State. Such needs may include but are not limited to: employment, training, and housing.
Current Narrative:
Agriculture has long been an important part of Vermont’s economy. The industry has a tremendous direct and indirect economic impact on the State. Some of Vermont’s top commodities are: dairy, maple syrup, apples, assorted field crops, and strawberries. The majority of agricultural activity continues to be from small family farm producers.
Most agricultural workers in Vermont come from the local communities and return to their permanent residence in the same day. For the few hundred MSFWs that live and work in Vermont during a season, the primary challenge they face is transportation. Vermont has work to be done to create and strengthen relationships with other state agencies, non-profit and private organizations such as the Northeast Organization Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA), Migrant Justice Organization, the University of Vermont Extension Service, and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund to develop a more complete and comprehensive outreach plan into both the employer and farmworker populations in Vermont. These relationships will provide the basis for reaching out to farmworkers to assess and address their employment, training, and housing needs in the future.