US Labor Department announces nearly $84 million for career training and housing assistance to migrant and seasonal farmworkers

News provided by

Jun 29, 2011, 02:44 ET

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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
Motivation Education & Training 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 City 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

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.

Connect with DOL at
http://social.dol.gov
http://twitter.com/usdol
http://www.facebook.com/departmentoflabor
http://www.youtube.com/usdepartmentoflabor
http://social.dol.gov/blog/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52862363@N07/

SOURCE U.S. Department of Labor