Wagner-Peyser Act

Outreach Activities

Farmworkers Not Being Reached by Normal Intake Activities

All career centers have an obligation to locate and contact MSFWs who are not being reached by normal intake activities conducted by career centers. Outreach is not limited to those offices designated as significant MSFW career centers or significant multilingual MSFW career centers. Significant MSFW career centers are those centers where MSFWs account for 10 percent or more of annual participants in employment service activities.
 
Significant multilingual MSFW career centers are centers where 10 percent or more of the MSFW participants are estimated to require service provision in a language(s) other than English. Florida has ten career centers designated as significant multilingual MSFW career centers (referred to as “significant offices”) located in Winter Haven, Bradenton, Tampa, Sebring, Wauchula, Port Saint Lucie, Belle Glade, Homestead, Immokalee and Clewiston. Each significant office has at least one full-time, year-round outreach worker assigned to conduct outreach duties. State merit staff performing outreach are bilingual and, whenever possible, have a MSFW background or are members of a minority group representative of the MSFW population.
 
Outreach workers focus on areas with significant MSFW populations and work to locate and contact MSFWs who are not being reached by normal intake activities. Outreach to the MSFW community is accomplished through personal contacts, printed material, the media, community involvement and cooperative ventures with private and public agencies. Outreach workers conduct vigorous outreach activities to places that cater to their needs of MSFWs, including laundry mats, local barber shops, faith-based communities, local clinics, food fairs, thrift stores, community colleges, the Redlands Christian Migrant Association and Hispanic/Latino shops to ensure the needs of MSFWs are met. Outreach staff familiar with the MSFW community conduct vigorous outreach at laundry mats, local barber shops, the faith-based community, local clinics, food fairs, thrift stores and local Hispanic/Latino shops to ensure the needs of MSFWs are being met. Outreach workers make personal contacts with MSFWs daily to explain services available through career centers and other agencies, including the availability of referrals to employment, training and supportive services; information on specific employment opportunities currently available, such as H-2A jobs and other low-skilled jobs; a summary of farmworker rights; and information on the Employment Service and Employment-Related Law Complaint System, including the Florida Farmworker Helpline.

When an MSFW seeks services at a career center, or is contacted through outreach, the services available through the career center must be explained and provided in writing. To accomplish this, all MSFWs must be provided a copy of the Services to MSFWs through Career Centers (Form DEO-511N) in their native language (available in English, Spanish and Creole). The form contains information on DEO’s toll-free Farmworker Helpline for farmworkers who may want to file a complaint, report an apparent violation or obtain employment service information. Additional materials provided during outreach include a brochure outlining basic farmworker rights and other materials from partner agencies describing available services. MSFWs are given the location of and encouraged to visit their local career center to obtain a complete range of employment and training services. The Form DEO-511N includes the locations of offices in Florida.

To contact the maximum number of MSFWs, outreach workers visit sites where farmworkers live, work and gather, including day-haul sites, mass recruitments and orientations at farms, migrant health clinics and sites where social services are provided. Posters and other printed materials are distributed at these locations to maximize outreach efforts into the farmworker community. Outreach workers conduct follow-up to MSFWs as necessary and appropriate to assist MSFWs and ensure their needs are met and to determine if other services are necessary. DEO enhances existing relationships with local, state and federal organizations serving farmworkers, employers and employer organizations to solicit and exchange information on behalf of MSFWs.

Florida operates its ten-designated significant multilingual MSFW career centers during PY 2020 through PY 2024. Following is a list of these career centers, along with corresponding outreach goals per program year.