Narrative: e. 5. A.

Services provided to MSFWs and agricultural employers through the one-stop delivery system: The full range of employment and training services delineated under WIOA Title I-B will be provided to MSFWs. One of the roles of the SMA and the WIOA 167 grantee is to make job opportunities available to workers. In addition to field visits, the SMA monitors the local offices for compliance with regulations in serving MSFWs. The table below shows the SMA’s annual schedule for monitoring local offices.

State Monitor Advocate Local Office Monitoring Schedule

Services to farmworkers: The SMA coordinates MSFW service plans with local offices nearest the greater area of agricultural activities relative to the crop’s peak season. Staff members of the one-stop have full knowledge of local office procedures and  the services, benefits, and protections to be afforded to MSFWs. Staff are trained during the annual scheduled one-stop office review by the SMA. Training includes: review of the Judge Ritchey Court Order, definition and identification of MSFWs, and 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 provided with laminated “At a Glance” fact sheets detailing the ES complaint system and identifying MSFWs and migrant food processing workers. Staff also have available printed American Job Center informational material to provide to MSFWs, log sheets to record contacts, and ES complaint information to inform MSFWs of their rights to file complaints. Staff work closely with non-governmental organizations providing services to MSFWs, as well as the NFJP 167 grantee. Several of those organizations utilize extra space at area American Job Centers to conduct meetings with MSFWs.

Merit staff and other one-stop partners who work with farmworkers will gain extensive knowledge of farm work in order to ensure high levels of awareness and sensitivity to the socio-economic and cultural nuances that exist within the agricultural communities. Merit staff of American Job Centers regularly attend trainings and are provided resources on the ES system across core programs, including the UI program. Due to Maine’s low MSFW population, even during peak agricultural season, American Job Center staff work closely with the SMA to provide one-stop services to MSFW’s and agricultural employers.

Career Centers, in collaboration with the SMA, coordinate service delivery including, but not limited to:

• Provision of a full range of employment services, benefits, and protections on a basis that is qualitatively equivalent and quantitatively proportionate to services provided to non-MSFWs,
• Access to, and use of, job order information effectively,
• Assistance in accessing self-assisted services via electronic technologies,
• Individual referrals to agricultural and non-agricultural jobs, occupational training,  support services,  assessments and testing, career counseling, and other job development services,
• Provision of information on labor rights, protections, and responsibilities with respect to terms and conditions of employment,
• Assistance in the preparation and filing of employment and non-employment related complaints,
• Accepting and referring labor-related complaints and apparent violations in accordance with established policies and procedures,
• Referrals of individuals and family members to supportive services for which they may be eligible,
• Assisting with posting resumes on-line and conducting on-line job searches, and
• Facilitating communication between limited-english proficient individuals referred to jobs and employers.