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. 6. D. Assessment of Progress
The plan must include an explanation of what was achieved based on the previous AOP, what was not achieved and an explanation as to why the State believes the goals were not achieved, and how the State intends to remedy the gaps of achievement in the coming year.
Current Narrative:
The Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker (MSFW) outreach goals from the previous Agricultural Outreach Plan were surpassed by increasing the number of MSFW outreach workers. Table 9 identifies a 50 percent increase in the number of MSFW contacts and days of outreach. The state has nine permanent MSFW outreach workers and added an additional seven seasonal by the end of Program Year (PY) 2018. Michigan projects a continued increase in the number of MSFW contacts and days of outreach. The state projects a five percent increase each year, the next four program years.
Table 9 Data for prior program years was obtained from OSMIS. Current and future program years are projections.
Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker Outreach Contacts:
The MSFW outreach contacts are projected at 17,891 in PY 2019. A five percent increase of MSFW contacts is projected for each of the next four years. The State assigns geographical areas with large concentration of MSFWs to MSFW outreach workers.
Number of Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers Outreach Days:
The number of MSFW outreach days projected at 1,116 in PY 2019. The state projects a
five percent increase for each of the next four program years. MSFW outreach staff spend most of their time conducting outreach during the peak agricultural season. MSFW outreach workers also attend farm worker events with partner organizations.
Number of Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker Contacts with Cooperating Agencies:
The number of MSFW contacts with cooperating agencies were 4585. Outreach by cooperating agencies was conducted 254 days. MSFW outreach staff conduct outreach with cooperating agencies to increase the number of contacts and provide additional services. The state maintains a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) provider in the state. Staff conduct outreach as a team and refer MSFWs to each other for services.
Employer Visits:
Employer visits are conducted by all MSFW outreach staff. Permission to enter the workers living and working areas is attempted to be obtained prior to all visits. MSFW outreach staff receive job orders from employers and enter them in the states labor exchange system. In PY 2018, 1,613 employer visits were conducted.
MSFW outreach workers continue to practice successful outreach strategies such as: evening outreach in conjunction with partners, evening outreach, distribution of flyers to announce events, posting notices of service delivery locations and contact information at restaurant and stores, providing public service announcements in Spanish and English media outlets, continued participation in local Migrant Resource Councils (MRC) for the dissemination of information on training, worker rights and labor laws, planning and/or participating in sponsored events, and making group and/or individual presentations on employment opportunities (both seasonal and year-round).
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity projects that an estimated 27,000 migrant and 20,000 seasonal farm workers will actively seek agricultural employment in Michigan during PY 2019. This specialized labor force will support approximately 2,000 fruit farms, 1,100 nurseries/greenhouses and 500 vegetable operations.
In PY 2019, migrant service workers will contact 17,891 migrant and seasonal farm workers with a projected 1,116 outreach days.
Key to the continued success of the Agricultural Outreach Program is MSFW outreach workers’ ingenuity, passion for the work and commitment to both the migrant and seasonal farm worker and the agricultural employer.