Narrative: e. 2. C.

Requested Revision: The SMA coordinates MSFW outreach plans with local offices nearest the greater area of agricultural activities relative to the crop’s peak season. For example the Machias CareerCenter, based in LWIB Region I covering Washington County, and due to its proximity to the blue berry barrens, sends two staff members to labor camps. The two are merit-staff are full-time members of the One-Stop having full knowledge of local office procedures and of the services, benefits, and protections to be afforded to MSFWs. Staff are trained during the annually scheduled One-Stop office review by the SMA*. Training includes review of the Judge Ritchey Court Order, definition and identification of MSFWs, basic outreach field methodology, including making oral presentations to groups of MSFWs at their working, living, or gathering areas on the services available at the local One-Stop. At their local office, Staff are provide with laminated “At a Glance” fact sheets, one on the ES complaint System, the other on “Identifying MSFWS and Migrant Food Processing Workers”. In the field, staff conducting outreach will have available printed CareerCenter informational material to provide to MSFWs, log sheets to record contacts, as well as ES complaint information to inform MSFWs of their rights to file complaints. Staff are familiar with and work very closely with non-governmental organizations providing services to MSFWs, as well as the NFJP 167 Grantee. Several of those organizations often use extra space at the Machias CareerCenter to conduct meetings with MSFWs. The outreach staff will gain extensive knowledge of farm work in order to insure high levels of awareness and sensitivity to the socio-economic and cultural nuances that exists within the agricultural communities. However, it must be underscored that the two local office staff of the Machias CareerCenter that go out to the blueberry labor camps are first and foremost staff of the CareerCenter and not full-time or part time Outreach Workers, as such regularly attend trainings and are provided resources on the ES system, across core programs including the UI program. In effect, due to Maine’s low MSFW population, even during peak agricultural season, there are no regularly active outreach workers assisting the SMA. * The table below shows the Monitor Advocate’s annual schedule for monitoring local offices. SMA Local Office Monitoring Schedule ES OFFICE Monitoring Timeframe Presque Isle June-July Calais August Machias August Bangor August Skowhegan September Wilton September Rockland May Brunswick May Portland July Augusta June Lewiston September-October Springvale April-May Norway September