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. Agricultural Outreach Plan (AOP). Each State agency must develop an AOP every four years as part of the Unified or Combined State Plan required under sections 102 or 103 of WIOA. The AOP must include an assessment of need. An assessment need describes 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.
- 4. Outreach Activities
The local offices outreach activities must be designed to meet the needs of MSFWs in the State and to locate and contact MSFWs who are not being reached through normal intake activities. Describe the State agency's proposed strategies for:
- 4. Outreach Activities
- e. Agricultural Outreach Plan (AOP). Each State agency must develop an AOP every four years as part of the Unified or Combined State Plan required under sections 102 or 103 of WIOA. The AOP must include an assessment of need. An assessment need describes 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.
e. 4. E. Coordinating outreach efforts with NFJP grantees as well as with public and private community service agencies and MSFW groups
Current Narrative:
Other outreach efforts include partnering with La Cooperativa Campesina de California, a statewide association of service providers operating WIOA Title I Section 167 and Community Services Block Grant MSFW service programs. La Cooperativa Campesina de California’s Board of Directors consists of representatives from member agencies and members of the community. La Cooperativa Campesina de California’s five member agencies are NFJP grantees which include the Center for Employment Training (CET), California Human Development (CHD), Central Valley Opportunity Center (CVOP), County of Kern Employer’s Training Resource (ETR), and Proteus, Inc. These NFJP grantees currently operate 66 service centers including mobile service units and other service access sites throughout 31 counties in California, offering comprehensive services to rural, agricultural regions. The services provided include education and ES, supportive services, emergency and disaster services, and advocacy and awareness.
Since the services offered by NFJP grantees focus on increasing self–sufficiency and protecting farmworkers in local communities in which they live, and with partners whom are trusted in communities, they can achieve much higher rates of participation by this traditionally hard–to–reach population.
The EDD continues to pursue and promote more collaborative co–enrollment policies between the WIOA Title I Section 167 providers and other WIOA funded programs that assist the WIOA Title I Section 167 network. This will provide their mutual farmworker customers with an enhanced and accessible range of services. This effort will be augmented by the mutual use of the state’s CalJOBSSM system.
WIOA 25 Percent Additional Assistance Grants
La Cooperativa Campesina de California is a recipient of WIOA 25 Percent Additional Assistance funding who received $6,643,200 to serve MSFWs in 30 counties in California from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2021. This funding will be used to provide career services, training services, and follow up services to a total of 956 participants affected by dislocation due to seasonal farm work and have significant barriers to employment. Barriers that are addressed include basic skills deficiency, low education, limited English, and limited career exposure and poverty.
La Cooperativa Campesina de California also received $998,550 for an Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy (EERE) Jobs Project to provide services to over 150 dislocated agricultural workers from July 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019. The County of Kern ETR, through a network of partnerships, provides comprehensive services that address the barriers of this population while providing training in high demand EERE jobs. Vocational training that has been developed with employers are provided to all participants to transition into good paying jobs in the EERE industry that offer career potential and self-sufficiency.
Wagner-Peyser 10 Percent Discretionary Grants
La Cooperativa Campesina de California received $150,000 in W-P 10 percent discretionary grant funding to establish an access point between NFJP grantees and the EDD for the referral of complaints, and to increase awareness of the ES Complaint System from November 1, 2019 to November 30, 2020. The funding is divided into five awards up to $30,000 for each NFJP grantee to use their existing outreach system to strengthen and expand the EDD’s ES Complaint System. Additionally, the MAO will develop a training plan to train outreach and front-line NFJP grantee managers and staff on the process, forms and reporting associated with the ES Complaint System.
To expand MSFWs outreach efforts throughout the state of California, Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) received $100,000 in W-P 10 discretionary grant funding to provide information to MSFWs and their families using radio and media strategies from November 1, 2019 to November 30, 2020. MICOP unites indigenous leaders and allies to strengthen the Mixtec and indigenous immigrant community in Ventura County, estimated at 20,000 people. Most are strawberry farmworkers, and speak in their indigenous language. MICOP’s majority-indigenous staff builds community leadership and self-sufficiency through education and training programs, language interpretation, health outreach, humanitarian support, and cultural promotion reaching approximately 6,000 individuals each year.
MICOP Radio Indigena produces and broadcasts 24 thirty minute radio segments broadcasted in Spanish with additional daily public service announcements in Spanish and indigenous languages including Mixteco, Purepecha, Zapoteco with additional proposed expansion to Triqui, Urdu, Hmong and Punjabi for selected regions of California. The segments air as part of the “Empoderando la Comunidad” radio program in live and recorded formats by Radio Indigena, Radio Bilingue, and Radio Campesina. Additionally, live streaming and recorded on demand versions are available on the radio stations’ websites and various dedicated social media channels.
While the partnership with La Cooperativa Campesina de California and its members, and the MICOP helps to enhance our footprint in agricultural communities, the personal touch and one–on–one engagement with MSFWs is limited. Thus, it requires educating partners within the AJCC system on the needs, and best strategies to increase MSFW participation at the Significant MSFW AJCC offices.
In accordance with the DOL Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 8-17, the MAO participated in meetings with La Cooperativa Campesina de California and NFJP grantees to discuss the NFJP Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and marketing and outreach efforts to create awareness among MSFWs. Future meetings will consist of quarterly conference calls with all La Cooperativa Campesina de California, NFJP grantees, and local service providers. An umbrella MOU is currently in process and projected to be completed by December 30, 2019. Subsequently, the discussion to cross-train staff will be coordinated to ensure services to farmworkers are seamless.
The Significant MSFW AJCC office managers and outreach workers are encouraged to have on-going meetings with NFJP staff, participate in local MSFW forums and farmworker appreciation events, and promote EDD services and NFJP grantee resources. The NFJP grantees and Significant MSFW AJCC office staff will support, refer, and co-enroll participants, if necessary.