Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Wagner-Peyser Program (Employment Services)
All Program-Specific Requirements provided for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
e. 3. An assessment of the unique needs of farmworkers means summarizing Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker (MSFW) characteristics (including if they are predominantly from certain countries, what language(s) they speak, the approximate number of MSFWs in the State during peak season and during low season, and whether they tend to be migrant, seasonal, or year-round farmworkers). This information must take into account data supplied by WIOA Section 167 National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) grantees, other MSFW organizations, employer organizations, and State and/or Federal agency data sources such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration
Current Narrative:
Colorado has migrant coalitions throughout the state where outreach workers can collaborate and learn about the services available to the MSFWs. The monthly meetings make it easier to coordinate services and learn what is available in different regions and times of the growing season. The Colorado Migrant and Rural Coalition (State Coalition) has members that include the NFJP 167 program, Migrant Head Start, Migrant Education, Colorado Legal Services, Catholic Charities, Food Banks, Migrant Health, Colorado Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, Civil Rights, Workforce Centers, Farm Labor Housing and other agencies.
Colorado’s most needed resource continues to be affordable housing for farmworkers. Like most states, farmworkers have a difficult time obtaining affordable housing that doesn’t require a long term lease. Community Resources & Housing Development Corporation is looking to build farmworker housing in the Adams County area. This project is in its initial planning stage.
Colorado farmworkers are predominantly from Mexico with a few coming from Guatemala and
El Salvador. Some of our migrant workers come into Colorado from Texas, Arizona and New Mexico; with nationality varying from the countries previously mentioned. A few of our workers also include U.S. Citizens. The primary language spoken among our farmworkers is Spanish, with some indigenous languages and a small population of Karin speaking refugees working on the Western Slope.
The number of MSFWs in Colorado varies during our peak season depending on crops and weather; we typically average between 4,000 to 5,000 MSFWs in the state. This includes approximately 2,400 seasonal workers. The other workers represent a combination of migrant workers from other states and H2A foreign workers on temporary visas.
Colorado has a close working relationship with our 167 grantee partner Rocky Mountain SER. They are always included in our information gathering process, along with our other partner agencies, such as Migrant Education and Migrant Head Start, to name a few.