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. Agricultural Outreach Plan (AOP). Each State agency must develop an AOP every four years as part of the Unified or Combined State Plan required under sections 102 or 103 of WIOA. The AOP must include an assessment of need. An assessment need describes the unique needs of farmworkers in the area based on past and projected agricultural and farmworker activity in the State. Such needs may include but are not limited to: employment, training, and housing.
- 4. Outreach Activities
The local offices outreach activities must be designed to meet the needs of MSFWs in the State and to locate and contact MSFWs who are not being reached through normal intake activities. Describe the State agency's proposed strategies for:
- 4. Outreach Activities
- e. Agricultural Outreach Plan (AOP). Each State agency must develop an AOP every four years as part of the Unified or Combined State Plan required under sections 102 or 103 of WIOA. The AOP must include an assessment of need. An assessment need describes the unique needs of farmworkers in the area based on past and projected agricultural and farmworker activity in the State. Such needs may include but are not limited to: employment, training, and housing.
e. 4. A. Contacting farmworkers who are not being reached by the normal intake activities conducted by the employment service offices
Current Narrative:
Outreach Activities
The MSFW outreach program takes the full range of employment services directly to MSFWs where they live, work and gather. The MSFW outreach program provides the framework necessary for Workforce Solutions Office staff to locate, contact, and enhance the employability of MSFWs in Texas. Outreach specialists may provide other assistance at the point of contact or at the Workforce Solutions Office. If needed services are not available through the Workforce Solutions Office, outreach specialists then make referrals to other agencies and community- and faith-based organizations that provide appropriate assistance.
TWC and Workforce Solutions Offices’ goals are to ensure that MSFWs are offered employment and training referral services, benefits, and protections, including counseling, testing, and job training referral services that are qualitatively equivalent and proportionate to services provided to non-MSFWs. Outreach specialists help with work registration and job leads, information about the complaint system, and the submission of complaints and referrals for support services. Outreach specialists in certain Workforce Solutions Offices have iPads and laptops and thus are equipped to provide live job searches and job posting referrals on site.
Year-round outreach activities are conducted in MSFW-significant Workforce Solutions Offices. MSFW outreach staff members work to maintain familiarity with the labor market and needs of local MSFWs. To be most effective, outreach specialists must understand the issues unique to MSFWs and be able to speak English and Spanish.
Outreach specialists are responsible for the following preliminary referral to employment and training, state and federal agency information, community resources, and job-placement functions:
- Contact MSFWs to explain the services available at Workforce Solutions Offices
- Solicit jobs, training opportunities, and employment-related services for MSFWs
- Notify MSFWs of job openings and of their rights and benefits under state and federal employment-related laws. Provide information on the Employment Service and Employment-Related Law Complaint System, including sexual harassment and human trafficking
- Assist MSFWs in completing their registration in the Work in Texas (WIT) system, filing work registrations, completing employment applications, facilitating access to skills development and training, preparing worker complaints, scheduling appointments, and arranging for transportation
- Provide information about services available through electronic means and how to access this information
- Identify qualified MSFWs seeking employment, according to guidelines of the federal regulations. The initial and follow-up outreach contacts are made to assist MSFWs in becoming employed or improving their employability
Outreach specialists also perform the following partnership activities:
- Outreach agricultural and nonagricultural employers, program operators, community- and faith-based organizations, and education and training providers on behalf of MSFWs
- Attend staff trainings, either virtually or in person, that are conducted by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the DOLETA Wage and Hour Division that focus on agricultural employment and other similar topics
- Present information to school students about migrant education programs in the state available both virtually or in person
- Outreach, virtually or in person, to local public and private community agencies and MSFW organizations to establish and enhance community referral networks
- Provide advocacy group presentations in person or virtually
- Coordinate with other office partners in serving MSFWs
- Distribute MSFW-assistance brochures, including the farmworker rights brochure
- Perform joint outreach and recruitment in cooperation with Texas’ National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) grantee, Motivation, Education and Training (MET, Inc.)
Outreach specialists refer MSFWs to their nearest Workforce Solutions Office (one-stop centers) and to ES staff who perform the following job placement activities:
- Provide agricultural and nonagricultural employers with information, services, and assistance related to labor issues and needs
- Help employers with entering job postings in the Agricultural Recruitment System (ARS) and in WorkInTexas.com
- Refer qualified MSFWs from the MSFW Outreach Log and from previous contacts through follow-up activities, when there is a job or jobs available for referral or any other follow-up activity needed