Wagner-Peyser Act

In an effort to address the unique regional challenges that the system faces in our state, primarily with service accessibility in rural and remote areas and reductions in federal funds, in the summer of 2019 the Idaho Department of Labor implemented new service delivery model. Face-to-face service can now be found in approximately 47 communities around the state, an increase of more than 100 percent from the agency’s previous brick and mortar offerings.  The new model modernizes how the department delivers services, focusing on increasing IDOL’s presence while decreasing its physical footprint.  It is more adaptable to fluctuations in the economy and empowers staff to be more responsive to community needs.

Bureau of Labor Statistics’ farmworker estimates are significant for the three southern regions of the State. However, IDOL will provide appropriate outreach from its AJCs in the following communities located in these agricultural regions throughout the state:

• Caldwell AJC - Located in city of Caldwell, provides services to Canyon County
• Burley AJC - Located in the city of Burley, provides services to Minidoka and Cassia counties
• Pocatello AJC - Provides services to Bingham, Power, Franklin, Caribou, Bear Lake, Oneida and Bannock counties

In addition, during the months of high agricultural activity, the department will provide or coordinate activities to reach MSFWs in the following communities although the department may no longer have an AJC located there:

• Sandpoint AJC/Bonners Ferry Mobile Service Delivery  -Provides services to Boundary County
• Twin Falls AJC - Provides services to Twin Falls, Jerome, Gooding, and Lincoln counties
• Caldwell AJC/Mountain Home Mobile Service Delivery - Provides services to Elmore and Owyhee counties
• Caldwell AJC/Payette Home Mobile Service Delivery- Provides services to Washington and Payette counties
• Idaho Falls AJC/ Rexburg Mobile Service Delivery - Provides services to Jefferson, Butte and Bonneville counties and Clark, Fremont, Madison, and Teton counties, respectively. 

Migrant and/or Seasonal Farmworker (MSFW) outreach staff are located in the American Job Centers listed above to best serve the state’s high agricultural areas. The department will ensure bi-lingual English/Spanish capability of staff assigned to outreach and ensures multi-lingual access through the use of language line tools to the state’s one stop system. All AJC staff participating in the outreach effort will receive training on the use of language line tools, including mobile location staff who may assist in the effort where there may be no AJC located in a specific community and may resort to use language line tools to assist in communication efforts.

During each year of this four-year plan, the department’s Wagner-Peyser (W-P) staff, in collaboration with its partner organizations also serving MSFWs throughout the state, will plan to reach 10% of the estimated migrant/seasonal farmworker population during the peak of the agricultural season in the counties served by outreach offices. As noted by USDOL, these numerical goals are in reference only to the proposed outreach activities and are not negotiated performance targets. The offices noted in italics below serve as the principal locations within their respective regions with the responsibility for not only ensuring appropriate MSFW outreach but service provision as well.

Idaho Department of Labor: Estimated Agricultural Employment^{-December 2021}

^{*Farmworker population based on counties which make up the AJC regions & service locations.     **Twin Falls - 5% outreach; adjusted due to high dairy count}