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News Release
US Labor Department announces nearly $84 million for career training and housing assistance to migrant and seasonal farmworkers
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $83,941,360 in grants through the National Farmworker Jobs Program to combat the chronic unemployment and underemployment experienced by migrant and seasonal farmworkers who depend primarily on agricultural labor jobs. A total of $78,253,180 will go to 52 organizations nationwide to provide training, employment and support services for farmworkers and their families. An additional $5,688,600 will go to 16 organizations to provide temporary or permanent housing assistance.
The National Farmworker Jobs Program helps eligible workers improve their agricultural job skills, and train for careers in emerging industries and occupations that offer higher wages and more stable employment. The program also offers services such as child care, health care and transportation assistance.
"Agricultural workers face significant barriers to stable employment, and all too often it is their families who pay the price," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "These grants address this reality by not only helping workers improve and expand their job skills, but also by providing housing and other crucial support services."
The housing assistance grants will provide permanent housing assistance, temporary and/or emergency housing assistance, or a combination of both. Permanent housing assistance services include pre-development and development services; project management; and resource development to secure acquisition, construction or renovation, and other operating funds for farmworker housing. Temporary housing assistance services include housing units for temporary occupancy, the management of such housing units, emergency housing payments and case management. Services typically are provided in more than one state or areas of a single state.
The National Farmworker Jobs Program is authorized by Congress in Section 167 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, and grants are allocated through a formula that estimates the number of eligible workers in each state or territory. Puerto Rico and 45 states each have one grantee. California has five grantees. There are no grantees in Alaska. Connecticut and Rhode Island are considered a combined service delivery area, as are Maryland and Delaware.
The grants cover a two-year period but are funded on an annual basis. The awards announced today are for July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012. Second year allocations will be dependent on the funds available through the fiscal year 2012 appropriations process and on grantees' compliance with all current and future departmental guidance.
Editor's Note: A chart listing the grantees, their locations and award amounts follows this news release.
National Farmworker Jobs Program Grant Awards
Grantee | State | Amount |
Telamon Corp. | Ala. | $791,926 |
Arkansas Human Development Corp. | Ark. | $1,144,854 |
Portable Practical Educational Preparation Inc. | Ariz. | $2,132,576 |
County of Kern | Calif. | $2,107,959 |
Central Valley Opportunity Center Inc. | Calif. | $1,927,835 |
Center for Employment Training | Calif. | $8,208,464 |
California Human Development Corp. | Calif. | $3,790,340 |
Proteus Inc. | Calif. | $3,950,219 |
Rocky Mountain SER/Jobs for Progress Inc. | Colo. | $999,986 |
New England Farm Workers' Council | Conn./R.I. | $391,109 |
Florida Department of Education | Fla. | $4,146,020 |
Telamon Corp. | Ga. | $1,532,229 |
Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. | Hawaii | $330,485 |
Proteus Inc. | Iowa | $1,176,640 |
Community Council of Idaho Inc. | Idaho | $1,074,827 |
Illinois Migrant Council | Ill. | $1,437,203 |
Telamon Corp. | Ind. | $923,526 |
SER Corp. of Kansas | Kan. | $1,074,936 |
Kentucky Farmworker Programs Inc. | Ky. | $1,210,852 |
Motivation Education & Training Inc. | La. | $910,782 |
New England Farm Workers' Council | Mass. | $322,032 |
Telamon Corp. | Md./Del. | $489,431 |
Eastern Maine Development Corp. | Maine | $293,084 |
Telamon Corp. | Mich. | $1,399,272 |
Motivation Education & Training Inc. | Minn. | $1,234,045 |
United Migrant Opportunity Services/UMOS Inc. | Mo. | $985,854 |
Mississippi Delta Council for Farm Workers Opportunities | Miss. | $1,297,176 |
Rural Employment Opportunities Inc. | Mont. | $597,263 |
Telamon Corp. | N.C. | $2,690,959 |
Motivation Education & Training Inc. | N.D. | $607,492 |
Proteus, Inc. | Neb. | $1,088,204 |
New England Farm Workers' Council | N.H. | $101,931 |
PathStone Corp. | N.J. | $696,249 |
HELP - New Mexico Inc. | N.M. | $946,732 |
Oregon Human Development Corp. | Nev. | $179,751 |
PathStone Corp. | N.Y. | $1,656,708 |
PathStone Corp. | Ohio | $1,259,904 |
ORO Development Corp. | Okla. | $1,272,692 |
Oregon Human Development Corp. | Ore. | $1,971,923 |
PathStone Corp. | Pa. | $1,544,889 |
PathStone Corp. | Puerto Rico | $3,058,359 |
Telamon Corp. | S.C. | $966,905 |
Black hills Special Services Cooperative | S.D. | $620,254 |
Tennessee Opportunity Programs Inc. | Tenn. | $857,418 |
Motivation Education & Training Inc. | Texas | $6,673,042 |
PIC Inc. | Utah | $289,213 |
Telamon Corp. | Va. | $927,817 |
PathStone Corp. | Vt. | $190,798 |
OIC of Washington | Wash. | $3,090,088 |
United Migrant Opportunity Services/UMOS Inc. | Wis. | $1,250,652 |
Telamon Corp. | W.Va. | $196,339 |
Motivation Education & Training Inc. | Wyo. | $233,936 |
Total |
| $78,253,180.00 |
National Farmworker Jobs Program Housing Assistance Grant Awards
Grantee | State | Areas Served | Permanent | Temporary | Total |
PPEP Microbusiness & Housing Development Corp. | Ariz. | Yuma County, Ariz. | $176,232 | $178,669 | $354,901 |
People's Self-Help Housing | Calif. | California's central coast | $75,551 |
| $75,551 |
Rural Community Assistance Corp. | Calif. | Oahu, Hawaii | $112,996 | $2,791 | $115,787 |
SELF Help Enterprises | Calif. | California's San Joaquin Valley, including Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern counties | $188,877 |
| $188,877 |
South County Housing Corp. | Calif. | Unincorporated areas of Monterey County, Calif; city of Soledad, Calif. | 283,316 |
| 283,316 |
Community Resources and Housing Development Corp. | Colo. | Alamosa, Crowley, Delta, Gunnison, Las Animas, Mesa, Montrose, Otero, Rio Grande, and Saguache counties in Colorado; Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Mohave, La Paz, and Yuma counties in Arizona; Canyon, Bannock, Bonner, Bingham, Cassia, Clark, Gooding, Jerome, Minidoka, Power, Twin Falls and Owyhee counties in Idaho; and Dona Ana, Chaves and Luna counties in New Mexico | $76,118 | $311,116 | $387,234 |
Farmworker Coordinating Council of Palm Beach County Inc. | Fla. | Belle Glade, Pahokee, Canal Point and South Bay, Fla. |
| $297,105 | $297,105 |
Florida Non-Profit Housing Inc. | Fla. | Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi and Virginia | $519,247 | $188,514 | $707,761 |
Proteus Inc. | Iowa | Des Moines, Fort Dodge and Iowa City, Iowa |
| $65,295 | $65,295 |
Telamon Corp. | Mich. | Michigan |
| $55,686 | $55,686 |
Telamon Corp. | N.C. | Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Georgia, West Virginia, Virginia | $671,878 | $165,907 | $837,785 |
Pathstone | N.Y. | New York, Vermont, Maine, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Puerto Rico | $748,346 | $146,718 | $895,064 |
ORO Development Corp. | Okla. | Altus, Miami, Muskogee, Clinton and Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| $42,588 | $42,588 |
Tennessee Opportunity Program Inc. | Tenn. | Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb and Warren counties in Tennessee | $41,557 |
| $41,557 |
MET | Texas | Louisiana, Texas | $463,382 | $145,244 | $608,626 |
Office of Rural Farmworker Housing | Wash. | Benton, Grant, Okanogan, Skagit and Yakima counties in Washington; Clatsop, Jefferson, Marion, Morrow, Tillamook and Washington counties in Oregon | $283,316 |
| $283,316 |
United Migrant Opportunity Services/UMOS Inc. | Wis. | Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota | $341,204 | $106,947 | $448,151 |
Total |
|
| $3,982,020 | $1,706,580 | $5,688,600 |