Identification and Recruitment Manual
Identification and Recruitment Manual
Prepared by
Idaho State Department of Education
Idaho Migrant Education Program
650 W. State Street
Boise, Idaho 83720
Phone: (208) 332-6958
Fax: (208) 332-6966
This manual was produced with funds from the
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Title 1, Part C
Spring 2007
Identification & Recruitment Manual
Table of Contents
Section
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................1
THE RECRUITER...............................................................................................................2
Recruiter Roles and Responsibilities
Recruiter Qualifications
Recruiter Job Description
Recruiting Tips
Referrals
DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY .............................................................................................3
Importance of Eligibility Determinations
Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance (October 23, 2003)
Investigating Eligibility
Eligibility Definitions
Eligibility Practice
Recruiting Temporary Workers in Processing Plants
What To Do When You Don’t Believe What You Hear, or Why You Don’t
Have To “Just Write What the Family Says”
Eligibility Flow Chart
IDENTIFICATION AND RECRUITMENT TOOLS..............................................................4
MEP Eligibility Checklist – Eligibility Screening Tool
Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
Purpose
Sections of the COE
Items on the COE
Importance of Comments
Common COE mistakes
Important things to remember
Steps to Ensure the COE is Completed Correctly
Certificate of Eligibility
Supplemental Documentation for the Idaho Migrant Education Program
Certificate of Eligibility
Supplemental Documentation
Weekly MEP Recruiter Log
QUALITY CONTROL............................................................................................5
Idaho Title1 Migrant Education Program Identification and Recruitment (I&R)
Quality Control Plan
1) Recruiter Quality Controls
2) Proper Eligibility Determinations and Documentation Submission
Quality Controls
3) Random COE Checks
APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................6
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
Idaho MEP Qualifying Activities
MEP Eligibility Checklist
Weekly MEP Recruiter Log
Acronyms
Abbreviations
GLOSSARY OF MIGRANT-RELATED TERMS
PRODUCE CHART
Sample ID&R Plan
INTRODUCTION
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110, Title 1, Part C) requires that State Education Agencies (SEAs) identify all migrant children within their respective states who are eligible for the Migrant Education Program (MEP). The Idaho State Department of Education administers the MEP and sub-grants funds to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to implement the program. The Identification and Recruitment (ID&R) Manual is intended to be one tool in improving processes within the Idaho MEP.
LEAs are obligated to follow the requirements that it establishes for identifying and recruiting eligible children; completing the appropriate documentation (written and electronic); maintaining high standards of quality control; and building relationships within and among communities, their institutions, and migrant workers and their families.
This manual provides basic information regarding the Idaho MEP and the responsibilities that local recruiters have in its functioning. It is a guide designed to help recruiters make proper eligibility decisions; complete necessary documentation; and support each LEA project’s quality control measures. Supplements to this manual will be periodically developed and distributed to reflect current MEP regulations and information regarding Idaho’s agricultural sector and migrant population.
THE RECRUITER and/or FAMILY LIAISON
Recruiter Roles and Responsibilities
The role of the recruiter in the success of the MEP cannot be overstated. A recruiter’s work allows eligible children to access supplemental educational and supportive services provided by local school districts and the State of Idaho. Recruiters’ proper eligibility determinations ensure that eligible children receive needed services and prevents resources from being depleted among ineligible students. In addition, recruiters act as representatives of the local school district and the MEP in their interactions with families. In many cases, this contact with recruiters sets the tone for the home-school relationship and thereby contributes to children’s educational success. Recruiters provide a link between families and the broader community by referring families to local resources and creating opportunities for interaction between the migrant community and permanent residents.
A recruiter’s primary responsibilities are to:
• locate potentially MEP-eligible children and self-eligible youth;
• gather and analyze information concerning the child(ren)’s eligibility from parents, guardians and self-eligible youth in a personal interview;
• clarify such information with additional sources when necessary;
• accurately and completely document on a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) information that establishes eligibility; and
• collect data that is required to enroll eligible children in the Idaho Migrant Student Information Database - the database that enables students’ health and educational records to be transferred among school districts and participating states; and
• Participate in all necessary Idaho MEP quality control efforts.
• Maintain auditable records; records should be current, complete and correct
In order to achieve these responsibilities, a recruiter must:
• attend annual identification and recruitment certification training as well as other training sessions/opportunities as they occur;
• maintain auditable and current records relating to identification and recruitment; and
• serve as a link between schools, parents/guardians, growers, and community agencies.
• dedicate and document the appropriate amount of time when reporting time and effort records.
Recruiter Qualifications
Each district is responsible for hiring its own recruiter(s) based on its particular needs. Having recruiters who meet such needs will improve Idaho’s ability to more efficiently identify and recruit all MEP-eligible children in the state, increase the level of cooperation among MEP staff, improve the reliability of eligibility decisions, and make documentation more accurate.
Districts should consider the following qualities when making hiring decisions.
Educational
• Must, at a minimum, be a high school graduate or possess a GED.
• Must be able to read, write and speak fluently in English and the language spoken by migrant parents, spouses, and/or students in their homes (typically Spanish).
Personal
• Must be sensitive to the strengths and challenges of the migrant population.
• Must be able to work with people by being patient and willing to answer parents’ and students’ questions and by providing them with information about local resources.
• Must be willing to work evening and weekend hours when necessary to recruit all MEP-eligible children.
• Must be able to travel and work independently.
Professional
• Must attend local, regional and state in-service trainings.
• Must be able to complete accurate and timely reports.
• Must have the ability to develop a role as a liaison between the child’s home, school and community.
• Must be willing and able to work collaboratively with “sister” programs (e.g. Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, Migrant Education Even Start).
• Permitted and able to have a flexible work schedule
Recruiter Job Description
Local districts are responsible for developing a recruiter job description that best suits their needs. The following recruiter duties should be included or considered when writing a recruiter job description.
• Identify the presence and location of migrant children.
• Recruit those identified MEP-eligible migrant children within the area, and encourage children and their parents/guardians to participate in program services.
• Accurately document facts establishing a child’s eligibility on a Certificate of Eligibility (COE).
• Become knowledgeable about all Federal and State regulations pertinent to identification and recruitment by studying the ID & R Manual, attending training sessions and participating in other opportunities for professional development.
• Participate in Quality Control measures as they relate to training, eligibility determinations, and documentation.
• Effectively collaborate with “sister” programs:
o Migrant Education Even Start (MEES) See Appendix for local programs
▪ Inform local MEES staff of eligible children between the ages of 0 - 7.
▪ Provide copies of COEs of potential MEES-eligible families to MEES staff.
▪ Interview families that MEES staff indicates are likely to be eligible.
o Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) See Appendix for local programs
▪ Inform local MSHS staff of eligible children.
▪ Include local MSHS staff within the network of local recruitment partners.
Possible Additional Duties: may include but are not limited to, the following:
• Assist in parents’ involvement in the Migrant Parent Advisory Council (PAC) at local and/or State level or other Parent involvement activities.
• Serve as a home/school Coordinator or community liaison
• Assist in referring parents to community agencies for needed resources.
• Bilingual
Recruiting Tips
Recruiters should consider the following techniques when performing their duties:
. Begin recruiting as soon as potentially MEP-eligible families arrive in the area and before the project term begins.
.
Recruit at School – Work with schools to schedule times to screen children for eligibility when their parents/guardians are present.
.
Name Tag – The recruiter should always wear a name tag when conducting home visits. The name of the recruiter, program, and school district for which the recruiter works should be easily visible.
.
Door Knob Messages – Leave these messages to inform a family with potentially MEP-eligible children that a recruiter made an outreach visit and plans to return. Include a phone number where the recruiter can be reached.
*See the “tools for recruiter section” for samples
.
Conduct Surveys – A survey is a means of collecting information about the presence of migrant students. Conducting a survey can range from the formal (distributing data gathering forms to the appropriate individuals/institutions) to the informal (communicating with local individuals who would be aware of the presence of migrant children). Surveys should be performed in the following areas:
*See the “tools for recruiter section” for samples
• Within Schools – These surveys should be conducted on an ongoing basis throughout the year. Recruiters should be active in building relationships with school personnel who are aware of new enrollees and are able to share such information.
• In the Field – These surveys include contacts with farmers/growers, plant managers, crew leaders and employment agencies to find out where migrant workers are employed. A comprehensive explanation of the MEP, its goals and services, and an explanation of the recruiter’s role should be provided.
• In the Community – These surveys will help recruiters identify eligible out-ofschool (OOS) children/youth. This is especially important because these youths retain eligibility for the MEP, but could be easily overlooked because they do not have a presence in a school system. To locate secondary-aged, out-of-school youth, it is important to consider that they may be living alone or with others of similar age. Driving in the community may yield some leads when observing places where these youths gather.
Conduct Outreach – Build awareness among key school personnel such as migrant teachers, regular program teachers, nurses, counselors, campus registrars, front office secretaries, attendance clerks, bus drivers, and others who can help identify migrant children; send out district-wide information on eligibility and the MEP; display posters about the MEP in appropriate locations throughout the community, such as Laundromats, libraries and other places where people gather.
.
Communicating with Families after Recruitment – All efforts should be made to build relationships with families that will promote their children’s success in academic pursuits, their health and well being, and their engagement with the wider community. In addition to conducting oneself as a good representative of the community, the school district and the Migrant Education Program, the recruiter can also strengthen this relationship by providing referrals for other needed services to the family.
Referrals
What is a Referral?
A referral is the act of directing someone with a need to the appropriate resource for addressing that need. An example would be providing a family who is experiencing hunger with information about local food banks. Referrals are most effective when they include the act of ensuring that the appropriate actions have been taken based on the referral. This could mean calling the family after the referral to inquire if they successfully used the food bank.
Referrals are discussed in this manual because much of the educational success of the children enrolled in the Migrant Education Program are dependent on the families’ ability to provide for the physical, emotional and social needs of their children. In light of the fact that migrant families face numerous barriers to physical and social health and lack many necessary resources, it is important that they be aware of available resources in their host communities.
The Recruiter and the Referral
Recruiters have unique advantages in providing families with referrals to such resources because of the relationships they build with the families regarding their children’s education. Successful recruiter/family relationships can provide the family with a trusted link to the community and its institutions, including schools, health care and recreational facilities, libraries, and social service agencies.
By referring families to community and state resources that can address their physical, emotional, and social needs, a recruiter:
1. attempts to remove barriers to a migrant family’s well-being;
2. builds trust between him/herself and the family;
3. expands the family’s knowledge of the community’s assets;
4. builds alliances among migrant workers and other community members.
Making Referrals
In order to make useful referrals, a recruiter must learn about a family’s strengths and needs – such learning begins at the first meeting – and he/she must possess a detailed understanding of the assets of the community. This can best be accomplished by forming positive working relationships directly with agency representatives and indirectly with others in the community who have had working experiences with agencies.
The recruiter should make comprehensive inquires relative to a family’s needs so that he/she can make valuable referrals. Recruiters should ask questions to determine if there are family concerns relating to the following:
• Health
• Nutrition
• Clothing
• Financial Aid
• Cultural/Religious
• Housing
• Counselor
Although the referrals made by the recruiter can help the family and build trust between the family and the recruiter, the recruiter should make clear that he/she will not always be able to provide assistance for every concern.
Referring a family to the appropriate resource requires planning. Recruiters should maintain essential information for each agency such as:
• Location and operation hours
• Program eligibility criteria
• Contact person and phone
• Services provided number. (One contact is needed for each service area in the case of a multi-service agency.)
Recruiters should use a variety of methods to acquire this information. Such methods range from simple telephone calls and Internet searches to attending networking sessions with service providers in the area or meeting with agency leaders.
Community Resources
In addition to the traditional resources listed below, recruiters should also be prepared to draw upon “informal resources”. Not all aid is housed within a non-profit organization or church facility, and recruiters must therefore be able to connect families with other appropriate resources suited to their particular needs. Good recruiters will be able to refer a family to an informal resource (another family, an employer, etc) when they do not qualify for the services of a formal resource.
When concerns in the following areas arise, consider contacting these institutions for referrals and/or State number 211:
|Medical |Legal |
|o Health Clinics |o Local Legal Aid Services |
|o County Health Departments |o Idaho Migrant Council |
|o Women, Infants, and Children |Clothing |
|Program (WIC) |o Salvation Army |
|o Community Service Groups |o Local Church Groups |
|(Lions, Kiwanis, Elks) |o Community Service Groups |
|o Red Cross |o Non-Profit Charitable |
|o United Way Programs |Organizations |
|o Local Hospitals |Food |
|Financial |o Women, Infants, and Children |
|o Idaho Department of Human |Program (WIC) |
|Services |o Local Church Groups |
|o Local Churches |o Salvation Army |
|o Private Non-Profit Organizations |o Community Service Groups |
|o Growers Associations |o Non-Profit Charitable |
|Housing |o Idaho Migrant Council |
|o Landlord/Tenant Associations |Organizations |
|o Community Service Groups |o Local Food Banks |
|o Local Housing Authority |o Idaho Migrant Council |
|o Idaho Migrant Council | |
“Cementing” the Referral
A recruiter’s referrals may not accomplish their goals if the recruiter fails to follow-up with the family who received the referral or the agency to which that family was referred. In the same way that migrant students face barriers to educational services, recruiters must also acknowledge that families experience barriers in accessing services. Follow-up is necessary to ensure that the identified needs have been addressed.
After making a referral, a recruiter can “cement” the referral by contacting the person to whom he/she has referred the family. During this call, the recruiter should inform the person of the family’s name, why they were referred, when the referral was made, what the person should do if the family does not contact him/her, and any other pertinent information.
The recruiter should also contact the family after sufficient time has passed for them to have acted on the referral. By doing so, recruiters increase the likelihood that the family will access the services they need, and they will also develop a stronger working relationship with families and community resources.
Referred services that have been obtained should be entered as a “Referred Service” under Supplemental Programs in the New Generation System (NGS).
DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY
Importance of Eligibility Determinations
Assigning the appropriate eligibility status to a prospective MEP child is of the highest importance. By enrolling eligible students in the MEP, recruiters help to increase the educational resources available to migrant students. As a result, these students gain new resources to help them adjust to a new school and keep up academically, thus mitigating the negative educational consequences associated with migration. In addition, the number of eligible students identified by the MEP determines the level of funding that states receive to provide educational assistance to this population. Insufficient identification and recruitment efforts will likely result in a reduction of funds for the IL MEP. Finally, when recruiters accurately determine a child to be ineligible for the MEP, they prevent MEP resources from being diverted from children who are legally entitled to them. Recruiters have the opportunity to connect migrant children to the greatest amount of educational services by making proper eligibility determinations.
Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance (October 23, 2003)
There are specific conditions that a child must meet in order to be considered a “migratory child” according to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Simply moving and then working in agricultural or fishing activities, or being in the care of a parent or guardian who does so, does not necessarily mean that a child is eligible for the MEP. In order to determine eligibility, a recruiter must determine if the worker is performing “qualifying work” and if he/she had the correct circumstances surrounding their move to acquire the work. This requires that the recruiters perform sometimes simple, sometimes complex investigations about the family’s intention to perform qualifying work prior to the move. With such challenges, it is essential that all recruiters have a thorough understanding of what terms define child eligibility and that they have the ability to apply those terms to the circumstances of parents’/guardians’ lives.
Investigating
Recruiters are responsible for investigating whether the child qualifies for the MEP. These “investigations” follow the same line of questioning that any other investigator or reporter uses. If a migratory child is described by each of the questions (WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, and WHEN) according to the definitions of MEP eligibility, then the recruiter’s “investigation” will be able to culminate in eligibility documentation. The questions that establish the boundaries of eligibility are as follows:
The Basics:
WHO
• Is the child under the age of 22?
• Is the child lacking a U.S.-issued high school diploma or equivalency certificate (GED)?
• Is the child, or does the child have a spouse, parent or guardian who is, a migratory agricultural worker or migratory fisher?
WHAT
• Has the child temporarily changed residences?
WHERE
• Did the move cross a school district or national boundary?
WHY
• Did the child move with or to join a parent, spouse, or guardian in order for that person to obtain or seek temporary or seasonal employment in a qualifying agricultural or fishing activity, or
• Did the child move in order to obtain or seek temporary or seasonal employment in qualifying agricultural or fishing work, and
• Did that work serve as a Principle Means of Livelihood (PMOL) for the worker and/or his/her family?
WHEN
• Did this move take place within the preceding 36 months?
None of these questions can independently verify that a child is eligible. A recruiter can determine that a qualifying move has been made only if the answers to all questions are “Yes”.
NOTE: It is the children, not their parents, who are enrolled in the MEP. MEP services are designed for children whose schooling has been disrupted due to their migratory lifestyle.
It is the child who will benefit from the MEP, and it is the child who must make a qualifying move. Children qualify because either they are performing qualifying work after moving, or because they have moved and have an appropriate relationship to a parent or guardian who is engaged in qualifying work.
Details
WHO
The first element of eligibility contains the terms migratory child, parent, guardian, emancipated youth, migratory agricultural worker, and migratory fisher.
MIGRATORY CHILD refers to:
A child, ages 3 through 21 (younger than 22), who is or whose parent, spouse, or guardian is, a migratory agricultural worker, including a migratory dairy worker, or a migratory fisher, and who in the preceding 36 months, in order to obtain, or accompany such parent, spouse, or guardian in order to obtain temporary or seasonal employment in agricultural or fishing work has moved from one school district to another. P.L. 107-110, Section 1309(2)
SELF ELIGIBLE YOUTH refers a youth who is:
• A qualifying worker:
• Under the age of 22
• Traveling on his/her own or with groups of workers/crew leader;
• Under the control of a parent or guardian during the regular school year; and
• Not solely responsible for his/her own welfare.
EMANICIPATED YOUTH refers to a person who is:
• a qualifying worker;
• under the age of 22
• traveling on his/her own;
• no longer under the control of a parent or guardian; and
• solely responsible for his/her own welfare.
PARENT refers to:
• a birth parent
• a step-parent; or
• a parent through adoption.
GUARDIAN refers to a person who:
• has been appointed to be the legal guardian of a child through formal proceedings in accordance with law; or
• stands in the place of a parent to a child whether by accepting responsibility for the child’s welfare or by a court order.
MIGRATORY AGRICULTURAL WORKER refers to:
• a person who has made a qualifying move within the previous 36 months in order to seek or obtain temporary or seasonal work in an agricultural activity (including dairy work) as a principal means of livelihood.
MIGRATORY FISHER refers to:
• a person who has made a qualifying move within the previous 36 months in order to seek or obtain temporary or seasonal work in a fishing activity as a principal means of livelihood.
WHAT
Definitions Directly Related to Qualifying Agricultural Activities
QUALFIYING WORK refers to:
• any activity that meets the definitional of an “agricultural or fishing activity” in sections 34 CFR 200.81(a) or (b); and
• it is a principal means of livelihood; and
• it is temporary or seasonal.
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY refers to:
• any activity directly related to the production or processing of crops, dairy products, poultry, or livestock for initial commercial sale or personal subsistence;
• any activity directly related to the cultivation or harvesting of trees; or
• any activity directly related to fish farms
FISHING ACTIVITY refers to:
• any activity directly related to the catching or processing of fish or shellfish for initial commercial sale or personal subsistence
Personal subsistence means that the worker and his or her family consume the crops, dairy products, or livestock they produce or the fish they catch in order to survive. Personal subsistence does not qualify for the Idaho MEP.
DIRECTLY RELATED refers to:
• touching (come in direct contact with) the raw product when performing the qualifying activity.
PRODCUTION refers to:
• working on farms, dairies, orchards, nurseries and greenhouses engaged in the production of crops, plants or vines;
• keeping, grazing, or feeding of livestock, or livestock products for sale;
• engaging in the production of bulbs, flower seeds, and vegetable seeds;
• working in specialty operations such as sod farms, and mushroom cellars [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) definition].
PROCESSING refers to:
• working with a raw agricultural or fishing product, and
• transforming the raw product into a more refined product.
• USDA definition of processing includes the following; cooking, baking, curing, heating, drying, mixing, grinding, churning, separating, extracting, slaughtering, cutting, fermenting, distilling, eviscerating, preserving, dehydrating, freezing, chilling, packaging, canning, jarring, or otherwise enclosing food in a container.
CROP refers to:
• A plant that is harvested for use by people or livestock.
“DAIRYING” or “DAIRY FARMING” refers to:
• An industry in which dairy animals and products are produced and/or processed.
• Milking cows, bringing cows in from pasture, cleaning pens and fence rows.
LIVESTOCK refers to:
• Any domestic animal produced or kept primarily for breeding or slaughter purposes; and
• Beef and dairy cattle, hogs, sheep, rabbits, deer, goats, and horses.
NOTE: For purposes of the MEP, livestock does not include animals that raised for sport, recreation, research, or pets.
LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION refers to:
• Actively taking care of animals.
• Herding, handling, feeding, watering, caring for, branding, tagging, and assisting in the raising of livestock
POULTRY PRODUCTION and PROCESSING refers to:
• The raising of domestic fowl for flesh, eggs, feathers, down, breeding, and by-products; and
• The production and processing of chickens, turkeys, cornish hens, ducks, geese, quail, ostrich, emus, pheasant, and dove.
INITIAL COMMERCIAL SALE refers to:
• A sale that occurs when the crop or processed product is sold:
1. for refining to the next-stage processor
2. to the wholesaler
3. to the retailer, or
4. directly to the consumer
In dairying, initial commercial sale may occur:
1. when the dairy animal is sold to another dairy farmer for increasing his herd; or
2. when the animal is sold to the slaughter house for processing; or
3. when the raw milk is sold from the dairy farmer to the processor
Note: The dairy farmer may be the producer and the processor and therefore will process the milk himself for initial commercial sale.
INTIAL COMMERCIAL SALES
Because an initial commercial sale may occur at the conclusion of the production of a crop and at the conclusion of processing that crop into a more refined product, there may be situations where there are two initial commercial sales. For example, wheat harvested and sold to a factory is the initial commercial sale of a crop to the processor. This sale ends the production phase of the crop. The factory then processes the wheat into flour and sells the flour to a bakery. The sale of the flour to the bakery is an initial commercial sale of a processed product (flour) to a next-stage processor and ends the processing phase as a qualifying agricultural activity. Harvesting the wheat and processing the wheat into flour both meet the definition of “agricultural activity” because they are the production and processing of a crop for initial commercial sale.
SECOND-STAGE PROCESSING
Second-stage processing occurs after a processed product is sold to the next-stage processor for further refinement. In the example above, using the flour to bake cookies would be second-stage processing because the first stage of processing occurred when the wheat was processed into flour. In this case, any work performed at the bakery does not meet the definition of “agricultural activity” because there was an initial commercial sale of a processed product when the flour was sold to the bakery. Activities associated with second-stage processing are not qualifying for the MEP.
FISH FARMS refer to:
• a tract of water reserved for the cultivation of fish or shellfish, such as catfish, eels, oysters, or clams.
• Locations where fish are artificially cultivated, rather than caught in open running water as they would be in a “fishing activity”;
Note: Fish grown in fish farms include: catfish, crawfish, redfish, minnows, Fish farming is an agricultural activity, not a fishing activity.
SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT refers to:
• Employment in agriculture or fishing dependent upon natural/annual cycles, such as the planting, cultivating and harvesting of agricultural crops or the planting and harvesting of clams and oysters, fishing during seasonal runs of fish, and related food processing commercial fishing.
TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT refers to:
• Employment in agriculture or fishing that lasts for a short time frame, usually no longer than 12 months.
TESTS TO DETERMINE TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT
The recruiter may use any of the tests below to help determine if the qualifying work is temporary:
• The work does not last longer than 12 months.
• The employer establishes a time for completion of the worker’s tasks (e.g., the employer hires the worker for a three month period).
• The employer hires the worker to perform a task that has a clearly defined beginning and end (e.g., digging a ditch for spring irrigation or temporarily replacing an injured/ill employee/farmer) and is not one of a series of activities that is typical of permanent employment.
• A recruiter has specific reason to believe the worker does not intend to perform the work indefinitely.
• The activity is not one of a series of activities that is typical of permanent employment.
• The work is not dependent upon natural/annual cycles (e.g. building fences, processing meat).
• The employer’s hires additional workers during periods of peak demand (e.g., a poultry processing plant hires more workers in November to accommodate increased turkey production before Thanksgiving).
• An “industrial survey” establishes that, despite the apparent permanency of the work, the job may be considered temporary due to the high turnover rates.
Note: Permanent work NEVER qualifies for the MEP. Recruiters must be careful when recruiting at a processing plant that they establish the temporary nature of the work. If the worker indicates that he/she was hired for a probationary period then the worker most likely has the intention of remaining on the job permanently.
MIGRANT EDUCATION PROGRAM
INDUSTRIAL SURVEY
Industry being surveyed: ________________________________________________________________
Employer’s Name: _____________________________________________________________________
Business Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________________________
Characteristics that might affect employee turnover:
|Job Category |Total number of employees|Number of days worked |Average worked days per |Turnover rate* |
|(a) |hired in category |( c) |employee |(e) |
| |(b) | |(d) | |
|Example: Deboning |12 |365 |215 |41% |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
Calculation of turnover: _____________________________________________________________
Ex: Used turnover formula for a period of 12 months (365 days)
How turnover information was obtained: _______________________________________________
Ex: The employer provided explanatory comments, the employer provided a computer printout of employment statistics.
Date of Survey: ____________________________________________________________________
Comments: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Prepared by: ____________________________________ Title: ______________________________
Date: ____________________________________
*Turnover rate = [(Total average days employees worked in the same job category) divided by (Total days in period)]
MEP OFFICE USE
Approved by: ___________________________________ Title: __________________________ Date: ____________________
QUALIFYING TEMPORARY ACTIVITIES
Examples of temporary activities include but are not limited to:
• Preparing or cleaning the land,
• Building or repairing a fence,
• Harvesting an area of trees,
• Meeting the temporary employment needs of a beef, chicken or pork processor, i.e., eviscerating cows debeaking chickens, or slaughtering pigs,
• Dairy work, i.e., milking cows
The recruiter must document in the comment section of the COE the length of time the worker plans to do the qualifying work/stay in the area.
Being careful with Temporary versus Permanent
Care must be taken when a recruiter completes a new COE for a family that has been residing in the district for an extended period of time. If the family arrived in the district to do the qualifying work more than 12 months ago, the question arises as to the temporary nature of the work. In this case, the work is more likely to be permanent. The recruiter should then probe further in order to determine the intent of the worker’s move to the district.
EXAMPLES OF DIRECTLY RELATED AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES (SEASONAL)
| PRODUCTION OF CROPS |PROCESSING OF CROPS |
|Planting—oranges, apples, trees, etc. |Chilling—radishes, sugarcane, watermelon, aloe vera, etc. |
|Cultivating—cotton, beans, onions, oysters, etc. |Packaging—asparagus, cantaloupes, mangos, etc. |
|Thinning—sugar beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, cotton, etc. |Jarring – peaches, pears, figs, shrimp, brine, etc. |
|Weeding—lettuce, tomatoes, celery, squash, pickles, etc. |Canning—tomatoes, peas, olives, pickles, etc. |
|Detasseling – corn |Hydrating – potatoes |
|Fertilizing—peanuts, apples, oranges, cotton, lettuce, etc. |Freezing—broccoli, spinach, onions, corn, etc. |
|Irrigating—cotton, carrots, tomatoes, etc. |Drying—herbs, parsley, cilantro, etc. |
|Picking—peaches, carrots, strawberries, cotton, etc. | |
|In addition to foods and fiber, the term includes nursery plants, Christmas | |
|trees, flowers, turf, etc. | |
EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES NOT DIRECTLY RELATED TO PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING
• Transporting or hauling (Neither term can be used.)*
• Selling an agricultural or fishing product
• Landscaping
• Managing a farm or processing plant
• Providing accounting, bookkeeping, or clerical services
• Repairing or maintaining equipment used for production or processing
• Cleaning or sterilizing farm machinery or processing equipment
• Providing babysitting or child care services for farm workers
• Working at a restaurant
• Working at a sawmill
*The only qualifying activity related to transporting would be worded as follows:
“taking the vegetable (provide name of crop) from the field to the packing shed.”
WHERE
The third element of eligibility refers to where that move took place. For Migrant Education Program (MEP) purposes, move means to enter another school district or move from one location to another across school district lines.
Some recruiters may encounter families that move into their school district to obtain qualifying seasonal or temporary agricultural work while other recruiters may encounter families that leave their school districts to obtain qualifying seasonal or temporary agricultural work.
A QUALIFYING MOVE is a change of residence:
• Across school district lines, or
• From one administrative area to another within a district where that district is the sole district in the state or
• Of greater than 20 miles distance within a school district of more than 15,000 square miles for the purpose of engaging in a fishing activity.
• To the U.S.
• From a border country (Mexico and Canada) or
• From non-border countries only if the worker can demonstrate that he/she came to the U.S. for temporary or seasonal qualifying agricultural or fishing employment and did not have the intention of settling in the U.S. permanently. In most cases, these workers come from nations in Central America. A first place of residence must be established for such individuals.
• Without intent to relocate on a permanent basis.
The most critical factor to keep in mind is the move, because in order to qualify as a migrant, the worker and his/her family must MOVE with the intent to OBTAIN SASONAL or TEMPORARY work in agriculture or fishing activities.
MOVES TO MEXICO
A move from Mexico or Canada to a school district in the U.S. is considered the same as a move from one school district to another within the U.S. The reason for this is that there is historical pattern of migration from Mexico and Canada to the U.S. to perform temporary or seasonal work in agriculture.
MOVES FOR RELOCATION
Non-regulatory guidance requires that a qualifying move be across school district boundaries to establish a new residence AND to enable the worker to seek or obtain qualifying work. A move across school district lines ONLY to establish a new residence does NOT qualify the worker for the MEP.
MOVES FOR PERSONAL REASONS
Moves where a worker is returning home from vacation, visiting a sick relative or traveling for personal reasons are not qualifying moves.
MOVES BACK TO HOMEBASE
Moves back home may qualify if made to “obtain or seek” qualifying employment. The recruiter must document (1) if temporary work, that the worker did not return to the same job or to the same employer, or (2) if seasonal work, that the qualifying activity obtained by the worker was available during that timeframe;
SHORT DURATION MOVES
Non-regulatory guidance specifies that the move must be of sufficient duration to establish that the qualifying work is a Principal Means of Livelihood (PMOL) and to establish residency. A single one-day move is not of sufficient duration to establish that the work is a PMOL.
However, short duration moves (moves of 7 days or less) may qualify for the MEP with the appropriate documentation. Comments on the COE are required for moves of 7 days or less because they appear to be of too short a duration to establish PMOL, especially when the move appears to be of too short a duration for qualifying work to take place (i.e., a family leaves on Friday afternoon after school and returns Sunday evening) or the work is completed before the end of a growing season or the reasonable amount of time to complete the specified task (i.e., weeding tomatoes, repairing a fence).
Qualifying moves of a week (7 days) or less—To establish PMOL, the recruiter must document a series of 6 moves within a season or a six month period. The recruiter should qualify the family on the last move using the latest residency date and latest QAD. The recruiter must document on the COE EACH move in the series of moves that establishes the worker’s history of migration AND establishes PMOL.
For moves of short duration of 7days or less, the following information obtained through parent interview MUST be included as comments on the COE:
1. a series of 6 QADs within a season or a 6 month period.
2. duration of stay,
3. where family resided, and
4. type of work done.
Note: The recruiter cannot establish a new QAD in cases where the worker sought but did not obtain qualifying work based on a single move of short duration.
SHORT DISTANCE MOVES
Moves of short distance (100 miles or less) require comments on the COE. The recruiter MUST determine that the move is to a temporary residence to engage in seasonal or temporary agricultural work. The following information obtained through parent interview MUST be included in the comment section on the COE:
1. Where family stayed,
2. How far the family traveled from homebase, and
3. Why family did not commute
Reminder: Commuting never qualifies. Commuting is considered “day-work” and is NOT a migration; therefore daily commuting moves are not qualifying for the MEP.
A new QAD CANNOT be established in cases where the worker sought but did not obtain qualifying work based on a single move of short distance with or without a history of migrancy.
WHY
The next element of the basic eligibility criteria deals with the worker’s intent and if the work constituted the worker’s principal means of livelihood.
TO OBTAIN refers to:
• A move made by a worker who is able to demonstrate the he/she is (or was) performing qualifying work, and
• That he/she moved with the intention to obtain that work
In the course of the interview, if the recruiter discovers that the worker has not actually begun doing the qualifying activity but the worker supplies sufficient facts regarding the employment
(i.e., name of employer), the recruiter should indicate on the COE that work has been obtained, and schedule a return visit with the family within 2 weeks to make sure that the worker is engaged in qualifying work.
TO SEEK refers to:
• A move made by a worker who is able to demonstrate that his/her move was made with the intention of performing qualifying work, but
• Circumstances beyond his/her control (market forces, natural occurrences) prevented him/her from performing the intended work.
If any of the following conditions exist, the family will not qualify:
• A “to seek” move of short distance and/or duration OR
• A “to seek” move where the worker never arrived at the destination (work site).
To support an eligibility determination based on a “to seek” move, the following two factors MUST be documented on the COE in the comments:
1. The worker’s history of migration IF NOT LISTED must contain:
• Qualifying arrival dates (QADs)
• Types of employment previously obtained, and
• To/from information for qualifying moves
2. Information supporting the worker’s search for agriculturally-related employment must contain:
• Type of work sought,
• Where work was sought (supporting reasonableness of geographic location for type of work sought), and
• Why work was not obtained.
PRIMARY PURPOSE
The recruiter must always use sound and reasonable judgment to determine that the primary purpose of the worker’s move was made “in order to obtain (or seek) temporary or seasonal employment in agriculture or fishing work.” The more time that passes between the worker’s move and attempts to secure employment, the more difficult it is to establish that the primary purpose of the move was to seek or obtain qualifying work.
EARLY MOVE
Any move that occurs well before work is reasonably expected to be available is questionable.
The recruiter must use his or her professional judgment to determine, based on credible evidence, if the particular move qualifies. In the case, where the worker moves months in advance before qualifying work is available, the recruiter MUST document in the comment section of the COE the reasons for the eligibility determination.
NOTE: A recruiter cannot qualify the family on the move back to the homebase where the work has not yet been obtained.
MULTIPLE INTENT MOVES
The primary purpose for a move should be determined if a worker asserts more than one reason for moving. The recruiter must clearly document in the comment section the basis for his or her eligibility determination. However, it is not enough for a worker to claim that the pursuit of qualifying work was equal among multiple reasons to move. The motivation to obtain qualifying work must be the primary purpose of the move.
An effective way of discovering if the search for work was a “primary purpose” for the move is to ask the worker, “Would you have still made this move if the work you were seeking was unavailable?” If the answer is no then the worker can be considered to be the primary purpose of the move.
NON-QUALIFYING CONDITIONS RELATED TO TEMPORARY PURPOSE
i. A single one day move.
ii. A move to seek non-agriculturally-related work such as construction work (e.g., a worker accepts seasonal or temporary agricultural work because other work is not available)
iii. A move to seek political asylum. However, subsequent moves may qualify the worker for the MEP.
iv. A move from a country other than Mexico or Canada. However, subsequent moves may qualify the worker for the MEP.
v. A move back to Mexico. The MEP is meant to benefit families who perform qualifying work in the U.S.
vi. A move where a worker is returning to the same job after taking a vacation or taking leave without pay.
vii. A mover where a worker is returning from doing agricultural work in Mexico, visiting a sick relative, or traveling for personal reasons.
viii. A “to seek” move back to the worker’s homebase.
PRINCIPAL MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD (PMOL)
Principal means of livelihood is a determination that:
• A worker or a worker and his/her family rely on the income from migratory agricultural or fishing activities as an important or vital component of their lives.
• Migratory qualifying work need not be the sole form of income for a worker and his/her family, not does it need to account for the largest portion of the family’s income in order to qualify as a PMOL.
• Workers with “to seek” eligibility must been able to demonstrate a work history in a qualifying migrant activity. In order for these workers to be eligible, they must be able to assert that their former jobs in agricultural provided them with a principal means of livelihood.
The intent of the PMOL regulation is to focus MEP services on children who are truly migrant, that is, are members of families who depend on migrant agricultural or fishing work as an important part of their livelihood. The work need not be the ‘most important’ or the ‘only’ type of work performed by family members during the year. Nor does it have to provide the largest portion of the family’s income or employ those working for a majority of their time. If during the parent interview, the interviewer learns that the qualifying worker has another occupation (in addition to agricultural or fishing work), the interviewer should confirm that the agricultural or fishing work is important to the family’s livelihood and MUST document that fact on the comment section.
Children whose parents do not rely on migrant work for their livelihood are not migrant children under the MEP and, therefore, may not be found eligible or receive program services.
DOCUMENTING PMOL
Recruiters should make their determination regarding whether or not the work is a principal means of livelihood based on interviews with the worker or the child (where the child is the worker), and should record that determination on the COE. Because there is no income test for eligibility under the MEP, neither the worker nor the worker’s family is expected to maintain—nor is the SEA or local operating agency expected to review—written documentation on income or work history as a condition of determining the eligibility of children for the MEP.
Documentation on the supplemental documentation form must include answers to the following questions:
i. Was this move necessary for you to help meet the basic needs of the family? Explain.
ii. What other jobs support the whole family? List each worker and the type of work done.
PROFESSIONAL WORK
In cases where non-qualifying work is professional in nature, the family does not qualify for the MEP. Examples of individuals doing professional work would include teachers, managers, business owners, independent contractors, etc. However, the recruiter may determine through interviewing the parent/worker that due extenuating circumstances the family could possibly qualify for the program, this situation will then warrant a higher review.
NOTE: A professional working for the Idaho MEP at a district or regional level will never qualify as migrant for the MEP.
PMOL CONCERNS
i. The following conditions related to establishing PMOL for a family should alert the recruiter to probe further by asking the family for additional clarification. Clarification received by the recruiter must be recorded on the supplemental documentation form.
ii. Family indicates that migrancy is the only source of income for the family, yet multiple moves are NOT made during the year.
iii. Family indicates that migrancy is the only source of income for the family, yet multiple moves are NOT made during the year.
iv. Non-entry level occupation, especially for the non-qualifying work- The worker or other family members have positions that are professional in nature, requiring training or higher education.
v. First agricultural or fishing move—the family has not performed agricultural or fishing work before.
vi. Households where some members have non-agricultural/fishing occupations—some members in the households are employed in occupations unrelated to agriculture or fishing.
vii. Moves from urban or non-traditional migrant areas—The family moves from an urban or other area where migrant activities do not generally occur.
viii. Worker has an occupation that is not related to agriculture or fishing for part of the year (especially if he or she goes back to this job regularly).
ix. Lifestyle where migration does not seem to be an important factor in the family’s life (non-traditional migrant housing, no school interruptions).
WHEN
The last element of eligibility is when the move took place. The importance of two dates and the means to establish correct and reasonably accurate data cannot be overstated. Dates entered on a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) must be as correct as possible because each date becomes data that affects a child’s eligibility in an important way.
RESIDENCY DATE refers to:
• The first date of the student’s arrival in the school district.
• Residency is not an element of migratory eligibility.
• Date of arrival in the district is the same as the residency date for eligibility purposes and is entered on the COE.
QUALIFYING ARRIVAL DATE (QAD) refers to:
• The date the worker last migrated to obtain qualifying employment.
• This date entered on the COE.
• The QAD establishes the day from which the period of eligibility is to be counted.
• When the worker’s last qualifying arrival date occurred within the 36 months preceding the interview date, the child is considered migratory.
RECRUITING FAMILIES WITH QADs MORE THAN A YEAR OLD
Care must be taken when a recruiter completes a new COE for a family that has been residing in the district for an extended period of time. If the family arrived in the district to do the work more than 12 months ago, the question arises as to the temporary nature of the work. In this case, the work is more likely to be permanent. QADs that occurred more than a year ago should cue the recruiter to probe further in order to ascertain the intent of the worker’s move to the district.
A child retains MEP eligibility as a migrant for three years (36 months) from the last qualifying move or until the youth (1) makes another qualifying move; or (2) terminates eligibility by graduating from high school or receiving a General Equivalency Diploma (GED), or turns 22.
TO JOIN refers to:
• A move by the child(ren) prior to or after the qualifying worker’s move date.
• The “to join” date is when the child(ren) and qualifying worker begin residing in the same location after a qualifying move is made
• For a “to join” move to occur, a child and qualifying worker must joing one another within twelve (12) months.
• For a “to join” move the recruiter must supply in the comment section of the COE the different arrival dates and an explanation of what circumstances prohibited the child from moving with the worker.
Eligibility Practice
Although the definitions provided regarding MEP eligibility offer clear guidance, eligibility determinations will always require careful thought and attention. The following exercises are intended to challenge recruiters to consider why and how they would argue for or against eligibility. Brief discussions will highlight important rules to remember as a recruiter determines eligibility.
Case #1 (Early Moves)
Mr. and Mrs. Hernández move from Texas to Mendota with their two children to process vegetables. Their work begins in September and ends in April, but they arrive in August and do not leave until May so that their children will not miss portions of the school year. In May they return to their home in Texas. The parents must re-apply for their jobs every year in Mendota.
Does the move from Texas to Mendota make the children MEP-eligible? If so, what comments should be made?
Moves made prior to the beginning of employment always put eligibility in question, and demonstrating eligibility becomes more difficult as more time accumulates between the move and the beginning of employment. This is because a greater amount of time between the move and employment could suggest that the worker moved for reasons other than seeking or obtaining qualifying work According to the Non-Regulatory Guidance (10/23/2003) (Chapter 2, D8), recruiters must use their professional judgment to determine if the children in the Hernández family are eligible.
A comment in favor of eligibility would include the following facts:
• This move is part of the Hernández family’s routine migration.
• The time that they spend in Mendota without work in relatively brief.
• Their primary reason for moving to Mendota is to work as that move generally aligns with their work schedule. The recruiter could argue that the parents were simply trying to schedule their move to accommodate their children’s education.
The basis for opposing eligibility would include the following fact:
• The family’s early move casts too much doubt on whether their primary intention was to move to find work.
Case #2 (Detecting a “vacation” or “Christmas” move)
Consider the differences between the following migration accounts. Why are those differences important for a recruiter?
The Martínez family returned to Kankakee from Guanajuato on January 4. The parents tell the recruiter that they left Kankakee on December 22. The nursery where Mr. Martínez works is closed annually from late December to mid-February. Mr. Martínez will begin work again when the nursery opens in a little more than a month.
The Carmona family returns to Kankakee from Guanajuato on February 12. The parents tell the recruiter that they left Kankakee on December 22. The nursery where Mr. Carmona works is closed annually from late December to mid-February. Mr. Carmona will begin work again when the nursery opens on the coming Monday.
The recruiter will need to ask clarifying questions of each family to gain more information, but we can already isolate important circumstances that may help determine eligibility. We know that both families work in seasonal jobs because their work is only available for certain times of the year. We also know that their moves away from their home base coincide with the Christmas holiday; this is a red flag that should alert a recruiter to the possibility that a family left Kankakee because they took a vacation during the Christmas school break. According to the Non-Regulatory Guidance (10/23/2003) (Chapter 2, D12), vacation moves, moves to visit sick relatives or similar moves are not considered qualifying moves.
However, we also know that a qualifying move may bring a family back to a home base if their departure was due to economic need (e.g. they were unemployed and could not maintain their livelihood at their home base without agricultural work) and they are returning for qualifying work.
The Martínez family will likely not be able to demonstrate that they needed to leave their home base for economic reasons because they returned to Kankakee over a month prior to their agricultural work being available. In all likelihood, the family did not save money from their brief time away because of the added expense of their travel.
The Carmona family is better able to demonstrate that they left their home base for economic reasons because they did not return until the agricultural work was available again. In all likelihood, this fact offsets the “red flag” that they left Kankakee at a time coincident with the Christmas school holiday. In the event that the recruiter determines the children to be eligible, this information must be included in a comment on the COE.
Case #3 (Principal Means of Livelihood)
Two teenage brothers move from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas to Champaign to detassel corn. During an interview, the recruiter asks them why they decided to make the move. They say that they are both determined to attend college after graduating from high school and the money they earn from detasseling will increase their chances of being able afford the costs.
Does the move to Champaign qualify as an eligible move? If so, what comments are necessary?
Most migrant farmworkers, when asked why they perform their work, would say that they must work in the fields to support themselves and their families. These brothers indicated that they were working so that they could have money for college, and that should alert a recruiter that he/she needs to investigate issues surrounding these brothers’ Principal Means of Livelihood (PMOL). Questions that would help the recruiter better understand if their work is in fact a PMOL include:
• Is this your only source of income for your family during the year?
• What other source of income does the family have?
• Would you be able to support your family’s basic needs without this income?
Other “red flags” that should alert recruiters that work being done is not a PMOL include:
• The family has not performed agricultural or fishing work before.
• The family moves from an urban or other area where migrant activities do not generally occur.
• Some members of the household are employed in occupations unrelated to agriculture or fishing.
• The worker has an occupation that is not related to agriculture or fishing during part of the year (especially if he/she goes back to this job regularly).
• The family has a lifestyle that does not seem to correspond with migration (i.e. the family lives in non-traditional migrant housing; there are no school interruptions).
• The worker or other family members have positions that are not entry-level or have positions that require higher-level training or education.
These “red flags” do not automatically prevent a family’s children from being MEP-eligible, but their presence should cause the recruiter to further investigate PMOL.
Case #4 (To seek)
A worker and his family move from the Winter Garden area in Texas to Princeville to work in the pumpkin processing plant, but upon arrival discover that there has been a drastic cutback in the number of positions available. For this reason, they did not acquire qualifying work. The husband took a job in construction and the wife took jobs in various services.
Are the children in this family eligible for the MEP? If so, what comments are necessary?
Qualifying children on the basis of their parents/guardians seeking, but not obtaining, qualifying employment requires careful investigation and thorough comments. The first step is to determine if the family moved with the intention to seek or obtain qualifying work. According to the Non-Regulatory Guidance (10/23/2003) (Chapter 2, D2), a recruiter should always determine the intent.
In this case, intent to seek or obtain qualifying work can be supported if:
• The worker has a history of migrant employment.
• There is corroborating evidence of the circumstances that prevent the worker from obtaining qualifying work (a flood, crop failure, or worker cutbacks, for example). Without these pieces of evidence, a recruiter can still argue for eligibility if the family presents other types of evidence to suggest that they possessed intent prior to their move.
Case #5 (Multiple Intents)
A worker moves to Cobden from Florida with his wife and children to pick vegetables. He is especially excited to come to Cobden because his older brother and his family live there as well. He knows that his children are looking forward to spending time with their cousins. The worker begins work the day after the family arrives. Are his children eligible for the MEP?
Migrant workers, like everyone else, make decisions about their lives based on numerous needs, desires and circumstances. As a result, a worker’s decision to make a particular move will often be due to multiple reasons. As we have stated, the worker’s intent to gain qualifying work is just as important as the work he/she performs, and therefore, the recruiter must always determine the intent of the worker’s move.
A worker who asserts more than one reason for moving made a qualifying move if the recruiter determines that the primary purpose for the move was to seek or obtain qualifying work.
Competing reasons for moving that can prevent eligibility include:
• Obtaining a permanent job,
• Moving to permanently relocate.
• An effective way of discovering if the search for work was a “primary purpose” for the move is to ask the worker, “Would you still have made this move if the work you were seeking was unavailable?” If the answer is yes, then the worker had reasons for coming that were independent of, and more important than, obtaining qualifying work. If the answer is no, then the work can be considered to be the primary purpose of the move (See Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance Chapter II, Items D5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13).
**A recruiter must use sound and reasonable judgment to determine whether the
particular facts and circumstances support a determination that the worker moved in
order to seek or obtain a qualifying position.
Note: A recruiter should remember that even though a child may not qualify for the MEP based on a family’s most recent move, previous moves, including those where the family did not move from or to the recruiter’s area, may qualify a child if those moves meet the definitions of eligibility. It is therefore always important to understand a family’s migration history.
Add the other cases, Temporary work, short distance, series of qualifying activities that may lead to permanent work samples. That would help the Liaisons understand the difference between all the samples.
Recruiting Temporary Workers in Processing Plants: Plant Characteristics and Strategies for Recruiters
Note: Recruiters should always remember that workers/children must meet all conditions of eligibility in order to be recruited. The discussion below only addresses the need to establish if qualifying work is being conducted at a processing plant. If such work is determined to meet the requirements as described in the Office of Migrant Education (OME) Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance and the training support of the IL Migrant Education Program, the recruiter must still determine if the other eligibility requirements have been satisfied.
Plant Characteristics
• Processing plants, which refine and package meats, fruits, vegetables, and seeds, fall into two categories:
– Those that operate year-round
– Those that operate only seasonally
Plants that operate year-round occasionally have peak periods of production, but those peaks are generally related to satisfying market demands often associated with holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Year’s, Memorial Day, July 4TH, Labor Day), not weather-related growing seasons.
These plants can operate throughout the year because their supply of raw commodities arrives throughout the year (e.g. fruits and vegetables come from Central and South America during the winter and livestock is continuously brought to market).
Plants that operate year-round can also have particular positions that are designated as temporary/seasonal and are not related to peak production.
Recruiters must remember that they are responsible for recruiting particular workers, not all workers in a plant or even all workers doing the same job. Therefore, efforts to recruit workers/their children in plants that operate year-round should focus on temporary/seasonal positions.
Plants that operate seasonally do so because their supply of raw commodities is only available at certain times of the year. Their schedule of operations is based on the availability of raw commodities that typically come from “local” producers (i.e. locally and regionally grown pumpkins or seed corn).
The workers at processing plants that operate year-round fall into four categories:
• Temporary
• Seasonal
• Permanent
• Probationary
Plant Characteristics, cont.
Temporary workers at processing plants that operate year-round have this status in the MEP for three reasons:
• They are hired with a scheduled termination date, usually following a peak period of production.
• They perform a task that has a clearly defined beginning and end and is not one of a series of activities that together constitutes permanent employment.
• They take a job with the intention of working temporarily (usually fewer than 12 months).
• They are unlikely to remain employed in an apparently permanent job for more than a few months (no longer than 12 months) because of the nature of the work (techniques for demonstrating the temporary nature of these jobs is discussed below).
Seasonal workers at processing plants that operate year-round have this status in the MEP because:
• Their position is available only seasonally.
Permanent workers at processing plants that operate year-round are not eligible for the MEP and include those workers who:
• take positions that are defined by the employer as being permanent, and
• do not intend to leave their jobs before 12 months has elapsed.
Probationary workers must finish a probationary work period, after which time the worker will usually be hired as a permanent worker.
• Probationary employees cannot likely be considered temporary because the company does not inform workers until the probationary period is complete if they will obtain a job.
• Unless the worker indicates otherwise, s/he will have been working toward the goal of obtaining a permanent job.
The workers at processing plants that operate seasonally are considered:
• Seasonal workers because the availability of their employment is determined by seasonal growing patterns.
Additional Information
• Processing plants that operate year-round outnumber processing plants that operate seasonally because there are more commodities that can be processed throughout the year than those that can be processed only at certain times.
• It is usually the case that processing plants offer permanent positions because of the incentive to have a stable workforce. For example, Del Monte (Kankakee) only hires approximately 50 temporary workers per year out of approximately 500 line employees. All others are considered permanent workers and are expected to stay indefinitely.
• Most plants claim to have low attrition rates, generally well below 50%. The attrition they do have usually prevents the need for annual lay-offs. (Jobs that do experience annual lay-offs would be considered temporary jobs.)
Possible processing plant recruiting sites in Idaho include:
• Vegetable Processing
• Meat Processing
MIGRANT EDUCATION PROGRAM
INDUSTRIAL SURVEY
Industry being surveyed: ________________________________________________________________
Employer’s Name: _____________________________________________________________________
Business Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________________________
Characteristics that might affect employee turnover:
|Job Category |Total number of employees|Number of days worked |Average worked days per |Turnover rate* |
|(a) |hired in category |( c) |employee |(e) |
| |(b) | |(d) | |
|Example: Deboning |12 |365 |215 |41% |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
Calculation of turnover: _____________________________________________________________
Ex: Used turnover formula for a period of 12 months (365 days)
How turnover information was obtained: _______________________________________________
Ex: The employer provided explanatory comments, the employer provided a computer printout of employment statistics.
Date of Survey: ____________________________________________________________________
Comments: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Prepared by: ____________________________________ Title: ______________________________
Date: ____________________________________
*Turnover rate = [(Total average days employees worked in the same job category) divided by (Total days in period)]
MEP OFFICE USE
Approved by: ___________________________________ Title: __________________________ Date: ____________________
PRACTICAL INDUSTRIAL SURVEYS
WHY WE NEED INDUSTRIAL SURVEYS
Agriculture is changing rapidly, seasonal work is being replaced by temporary or permanent employment, agriculture industrial segment utilizes large numbers of migrant workers, and most government agencies do not understand agriculture.
NON-REGULATORY GUIDANCE
It is stated that the survey is used to establish an alternative way to determine that year-round work is temporary for MEP because a high turnover rate exists, or frequent layoffs without pay and few or no opportunities for permanent employment.
“The purpose of the industrial survey is to classify year-round work as temporary. Therefore the industrial survey should only include those workers who work in a specific job category on a year-round basis.”
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
An industrial survey provides supporting evidence to jobs included in the survey that have sufficiently high turnover rates. In many ag, fishing or dairy companies only a few jobs qualify.
INDUSTRIES TO SURVEY
Meat and poultry packing and processing plants, nurseries, greenhouses, tobacco processing, wineries, breweries, food processing, commodity handling. Orchards, livestock production, dairies, poultry production or special services, vegetable production, vineyards, and commercial fishing
WHAT CAUSES TURNOVER RATES?
Hard, repetitive or dangerous work, poor supervisory skills of employer, cultural misunderstandings, and poor pay compared to similar work at another farm or Ag industry, and worker dislikes the job.
PARTNER OR NETWORK WITH YOUR STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
They maintain employment data, monitor employers, and know employer practices. Collecting this information is important to identify agriculture and fishing employers, identify the location of business and employer, and obtain turnover rate information for each job being evaluated.
QUALITY CONTROL FOR INDUSTRIAL SURVEYS
A validation, review sampling procedures, training, review to certify accuracy, completeness, and consistency and a formal process to resolve questions.
Recruitment Strategies
• Recruiters should first determine if the job in question is temporary, seasonal or permanent by considering the type of processing plant, the nature of the position, the intentions/desires of the employer, and the intentions/desires of the worker.
• If the recruiter concludes that the position is permanent after taking such things into consideration, the eligibility decision must be that the worker and/or his/her children have not sought/obtained qualifying work.
• If the recruiter concludes that the position is either temporary or seasonal after taking such things into consideration, the recruiter must then decide if the other conditions of eligibility have been met in order to qualify the worker and/or his/her children.
• If the worker sought but did not obtain a job from a processing plant that operates throughout the year, it will be difficult for the recruiter to certify him/her because the worker will likely not have known if s/he would have been offered a temporary position.
• Likewise, if the worker has applied to a plant that operates throughout the year and is waiting to know if s/he will be hired, it will be difficult for the recruiter to qualify the worker and/or his/her children because the recruiter will not know if the worker will be offered a temporary position. The recruiter should return to the worker after a short period of time to inquire about the worker’s employment status. (The recruiter should decide how long to wait before following up with the worker considering 1) the amount of time likely needed for a hiring decision to be made and 2) the need to prevent eligible children from missing instructional time.)
The following question is important to ask of processing plant workers when making an eligibility decision:
• “When you think about your job at the processing plant, including what your boss has told you about the job and what your co-workers have told you about the job, do you have any expectations about the length of time you will work there?”
Temporary workers will likely respond:
• “My boss told me that I could only work there until September.”
• “I’m leaving the job in June. I would just like to make enough money to fix my truck so I can get to my next job.”
• “Everyone has told me that they can hardly work there anymore because the job is so hard. Workers get hurt on the job quite often. Most of these people have only been there a few months. I guess I won’t be much different and will have to find another job soon.”
Seasonal workers will likely respond:
• “Everybody gets laid off in October, so I’ll move on after that.”
• “There’s no work at the plant after we sort and bag all the corn. I know of another job I can get back in Texas then.”
Permanent workers will likely respond:
• “This is the most money I’ve made in years, so my family and I are staying here.”
• “I have no plans to leave the job or the town. I make enough money, my family is here and my kids are getting a good education at the school.”
Recruitment Strategies, cont.
Probationary workers will likely respond:
• “If I can show the plant that I can do a good job for the first six months, then I think they will probably hire me permanently. I hope they see that I am a hard worker.”
**Recruiters should attempt to maintain contact with those workers who indicate that they will be permanently employed. Available documentation should be collected if there are indications that workers who are hired for permanent positions do not in fact remain in those positions permanently. The accumulation of such information may ultimately provide evidence toward the eligibility of previously non-qualifying workers/children.
What To Do When You Don’t Believe What You Hear, or Why You Don’t Have To “Just Write What the Family Says”
An Idaho Migrant Education Program (MEP) recruiter’s first obligation is to identify and recruit only eligible children, as defined by the No Child Left Behind legislation. A secondary, but very important recruiter responsibility is to establish rapport and build a high degree of trust so that families are more inclined to feel comfortable with the recruiter and confident that the MEP will provide a safe environment for their children.
What is a recruiter to do when these responsibilities appear to come into conflict? How can a recruiter make an appropriate eligibility determination without damaging a relationship between the MEP and a family that provides eligibility information that appears to be false? The following are suggested methods of addressing this situation.
Make the Appropriate Eligibility Decision
“I don’t think the family made a qualifying move.”
• Check attendance records: Do the dates of children’s school attendance indicate a move at the time stated by the family?
• Question the parent’s testimony: Do the family’s answers to thorough questions reveal non-qualifying reasons for a move (being associated with Christmas/vacation, not returning for qualifying work, not leaving the area because of economic need, conflicting information in the worker’s testimony, etc.)?
Look for a combination of circumstances: Is there a combination of “red-flags” that raise the level of concern regarding eligibility? (These “red-flags” do not necessarily mean the family is ineligible.)
• Family members having non-agricultural jobs
• Home ownership
• Strong community integration with organizations, institutions, or businesses
• Lengthy residence
• Consistent participation in extra-curricular activities that would complicate migration
• Increasing number of families settling out in the community
Recruitment Strategies, cont.
“I don’t think the family was performing (pursuing) qualifying work.”
• Be familiar with the crops and employers in the area: What months of the year are workers needed for seasonal crops? How many workers are usually needed? Where do they typically work?
• Be familiar with the local processing plants: Do they employ temporary workers? Can the workers in plants that operate permanently be considered temporary according to the Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance (hired for “peak season”, had intention to leave prior to one year of employment, hired with a termination date)?
• Other circumstances: Are there “better” jobs available to workers in the area? Does the family seem to be adequately knowledgeable about the work he/she claims to be doing? Does the family’s lifestyle (e.g. material possessions) appear to be similar to that of a qualifying worker?
Maintaining a Positive Relationship with the Family
• Suspend Judgment: A recruiter should never make an eligibility decision unless he/she is confident in doing so. When the above circumstances alert a recruiter that a family may not be eligible, the recruiter can tell the family that he/she needs to check additional information at the school/migrant program prior to making a decision.
• Never question a family’s honesty: Always emphasize wanting to clarify important details of a family’s testimony rather than implying dishonesty.
• Offer an explanation: Families that are clearly not eligible for the MEP can immediately be made aware of the reasons.
• Discuss other educational services: Maintaining familiarity with local educational services available to non-migrant families so as to be able to facilitate referrals and the sharing of information regarding available services.
Eligibility Flow Chart
IDENTIFICATION AND RECRUITMENT TOOLS
MEP Eligibility Checklist – Eligibility Screening Tool
A recruiter who begins a conversation with a family with a thorough understanding of what he/she wants to discover will be in a much better position to correctly determine eligibility. The MEP Eligibility Checklist will increase the likelihood that eligible students will be qualified, ineligible students will not, and that the COE will be completed properly. Recruiters are encouraged to keep the MEP Eligibility Checklist with them during all recruitment activities. The questions on the Checklist are provided below.
❑ Has your family (or part of your family) ever moved across a school district boundary to seek work?
❑ When was the most recent time the children in your family moved (month, year)?
❑ Why did you make that move?
❑ What kind of work were you seeking?
❑ What kind of work did you obtain?
❑ If the work obtained was not in agriculture, why not?
Who moved?
❑ Did a child younger than 22 move with you?
❑ Did a child younger than 22 move to join you?
❑ Was the worker younger than 22 (a self-eligible youth)?
❑ Where did you move from (city, state, country)?
❑ Where did you move to (city, state, country)?
Is the qualifying activity an important part of providing a living for you, or for you and your family?
These questions are intended for use in screening. Recruiters may often need to deviate from these questions in order to clarify confusing eligibility-related issues or to probe for other relevant information.
Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
Purpose
The COE, a recruiter’s most important tool, serves a variety of purposes. It is a legal document that contains the information necessary to demonstrate a child’s eligibility for the MEP. A parent’s or guardian’s consent for a child to participate in the MEP is recorded on the COE. The COE is also used to enroll eligible migrant children into the Idaho Migrant Student Information Database, a web-based system that allows a migrant child’s academic and health information to be accessed by authorized educators as the child makes new moves. Finally, the SEA uses the COE data to document the number of migrant students in the state who have been identified and recruited. A recruiter should always thoroughly document the facts of a child’s “case” in each of the items contained in the following sections of the COE.
CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
The COE is designed to record on a single form all eligible children in a family who arrive on the same date in the School District. A separate COE must be completed for each child of a family who has the following:
1. Different Residency Date or
2. Different Qualifying Arrival Date (QAD)
Only eligible children are to be listed on the COE. Be certain to list children aged birth through 21 who have not graduated from high school or obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, whether or not the district’s MEP plans to serve them.
TOP OF FORM
School District: Enter the name of the school district or district number where the child is now residing.
CHILD DATA
1. LAST NAME: Enter the last name, first name and middle name/initial of each eligible child in the family who has the same residency date of #20 and QAD date of # 19.
2. GENDER: Enter the letter M for male or the letter F for female.
3. BIRTHDATE: Enter the child’s date of birth.
4. BIRTH PLACE: Enter the name of the city, state and country.
5. ETHICITY: Ask the parent/guardian to specify the student’s ethnicity and record one of the following:
1. American Indian or Alaskan Native
2. Asian or Pacific Islander
3. Black, not Hispanic
4. Hispanic
5. White, not Hispanic
6. AGE: Enter the current age of the child.
7. GRADE: Enter the grade in which the child is currently enrolled. If the child is not attending school use the letters UG meaning un-graded or RES for resident only.
8. SCHOOL BUILDING: Enter the name of the school that the child is currently enrolled. If the child is not attending school draw a line through this section
FAMILY DATA
9. NAME: Enter the name of the father or guardian responsible for the child(ren) listed in #1 or B) self-eligible youth.
10. NAME: Enter the name of the mother or guardian responsible for the child listed in #1.
11. MAILING ADDRESS: Enter the mailing address where the child(ren) is currently residing.
12. PHYSICAL ADDRESS: Enter the physical address where the child(ren) is currently residing.
13. CITY: Enter the city where the child(ren) is currently residing.
14. STATE: Enter the state where the child(ren) is currently residing.
15. ZIP CODE: Enter the zip code the child(ren) is currently residing.
16. TELEPHONE: Enter the telephone or cell phone number that will be used to contact either the Parent/Guardian or child.
ELIGIBILITY DATA
17. MOVED FROM: Enter the school district, city or town, State and Country from which the child(ren) moved. This is the last place of residency before child(ren), parent or guardian moved and then obtained qualifying agricultural work.
18. MOVED TO: Enter the school district, city or town and State that the child(ren) will be enrolled in not just where they reside. This is the place that the parent or guardian has obtained qualifying agricultural work.
19. QAD: Enter Qualifying Arrival Date the month, day and year the children listed on the COE arrived at the physical address for the qualifying agricultural activity. QAD for a “to join” move is the day that the child and the qualifying worker are physically joined. The QAD is not necessarily the same as the Residency Date. For example, a child could have moved to the area on June 1, 2006 (Residency Date) but may have lacked the qualifying conditions needed for MEP. His move to another town on April 1, 2006 may have qualified him for the MEP, but he was not identified and recruited at the time. Because that move was made within the past three years, one would complete a COE for this child with June 1 as the Residency Date and April 1 as the Qualifying Arrival Date. In the case that a child is recruited because of a “to join” move, the Residency Date and Qualifying Arrival Date (QAD) are the same date.
20. RESIDENCY DATE: Enter the month, day and year the child(ren) entered the present school district. The residency date and qualifying arrival date (QAD) would be the same only if the most current move enabled the worker in the family to obtain qualifying agricultural or fishing employment. A subsequent move for a reason other than obtaining qualifying work would create a new residency date, but would not change the QAD. The residency date is always the same as or after the date of the qualifying arrival date move. There is also a possibility that the family could qualify from a previous COE in another district. Please copy everything the same from the old COE except the following would change according to the new area: #7 grade, #8 school building, #11-15 mailing address, #16 telephone #20 Residency date. Again #17-19 would stay the same from the old COE.
21. MOVED: Check one of the following: with, to join or on his/her own for the child(ren) listed in section #1.
22. NAME: Check one of the following: parent, guardian, spouse, or self and enter the name of the person that has obtained the qualifying employment.
TO ENABLE THAT PERSON TO OBTAIN OR SEEK: Check one of the following: temporary when the employment is determined to be of temporary it has been defined to have a beginning and end and has a short time frame, usually no longer than 12 months. or seasonal if the employment is dependent on natural cycles of the season. In that same
23. section check one of the following: agricultural if it is an agricultural or an agricultural related to the qualifying activity. or fishing if it is a fishing or a fishing related qualifying activity.
24. DESCRIPTION OF QUALIFYING ACTIVITY: Enter the qualifying activity in this section which should be the name of the crop/product and what are they doing with the crop/product. Some examples include, but not limited to: Planting- oranges, apples, trees, Cultivating- cotton, beans, onions, or Harvesting- picking or gathering agricultural or fishing products. A simple rule is a noun and a verb has to be listed in this section.
COMMENTS: Importance of Comments
The Comments section is used to clarify all entries on the COE that are either unclear or need additional explanation. This section is where the recruiter documents that he/she made the correct eligibility decision, especially in difficult or complicated cases. Circumstances that must be documented in this section include those listed below:
• Temporary Employment
– A comment MUST be included when the worker’s activity could be viewed by an independent reviewer as permanent employment (e.g., working at a meat processing plant or milking cows). Appropriate comments may indicate:
– The activity itself has a clearly defined beginning and end (e.g., digging ditches for spring irrigation, processing Thanksgiving turkeys, temporarily replacing an injured/ill employee/farmer) and is not one of a series of activities for the same employer that is typical of permanent employment;
– The employer establishes a time frame for completion of the worker’s tasks;
– The agricultural or fishing work might be permanent but the recruiter can detail specific reason for believing that the worker does not intend to perform the task for longer than 12 months.
• To Seek
– A comment MUST be included when the worker did not obtain qualifying employment as a result of the move. Necessary information includes:
– the worker’s previous migrant agricultural or fishing work,
– what the worker’s plan was for obtaining qualifying work including when and where he/she applied for qualifying work; and the reasons why the work was not obtained once the move was made.
• Principal Means of Livelihood (PMOL) see page 22 for definition
– Where the qualifying activity or move is of a nature that a reviewer not familiar with the situation would not understand it to be of PMOL for the family, the interviewer need only document the circumstances that led him/her to determine that the qualifying activity or move played an important part in providing a living for the family. Comments in this section should be thorough, yet concise, so that only the relevant facts of the case are presented. The interviewer is not required to ask the family for proof of income. Recruiters should rely on the information obtained in the Supplemental Documentation for this comment.
• Brief Duration and/or Distance
– A comment is needed when a “move” is of such brief duration and/or over such a short distance that one could question whether any migration had occurred (e.g., intra-city or intra-town move that is across school district boundaries). To recruit a family and document its “migratory nature”, the family must remain in their new location for a minimum of 48 hours. There is no minimum distance requirement for a qualifying move. The only requirement is that the move be across school district boundaries to establish a new residence and to enable the worker to seek or obtain qualifying work. If the move is over a very short distance, the recruiter should explain in the comment section the basis for determining that the move qualifies.
• Unusual Activity
– A comment is needed when the recorded agricultural or fishing activity may be unusual enough that a reviewer is unlikely to understand that it is a qualifying activity.
• Moves From Other Countries
– A comment is needed when the worker’s qualifying move is from a country other than Mexico or Canada.
• Questionable Employment
– A comment is needed when the worker’s “activity” recorded on the COE could logically be part of a “series of activities” that, viewed together, would constitute permanent employment (e.g., mending fences and haying could be two parts of permanent ranching with one employer).
There should be sufficient space in this section for most comments that are written concisely and to the point. If additional space is required, however, comments should be continued on a separate sheet of paper with identifying COE information at the top and maintained as part of the COE document.
SIGNATURES
25. PARENT/GUARDIAN/SELF/OTHER CERTIFICATION: In this section the interviewee’s signature verifies that:
1) The information is correct to the best of their knowledge,
2) the parent or guardian has been informed about the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA),
3) the parent or guardian has given permission for the family/myself to be considered in the Migrant Program and can withdraw at any time. This should be signed and dated at the time of the interview (face to face) by the interviewer.
26. RECRUITER’S STATEMENT: Check one of the following: Parent, Guardian, Self or Other and enter relation if other has been checked. In this section the Recruiter’s signature verifies that:
1) Students are eligible for the Migrant Education Program services.
2) Family is in accordance with the Principal Means of Livelihood (PMOL) requirements to the best of the Recruiter’s knowledge. It must be signed and dated by the Family Liaison or Recruiter that has been trained and has the knowledge of completely and clearly filling out all sections of the COE.
QUALITY CONTROL
1.) DISTRICT QUALITY CONTROL: The COE should be reviewed on a yearly basis and any new information should be noted.
2.) STATE QUALITY CONTROL: The Office of Migrant Education will determine who will conduct re-interviews in the State of Idaho to verify the information that is listed on the COE is accurate, complete and consistent. This procedure helps validate the child(ren)’s MEP eligibility is correct and the child(ren) have not been misidentified.
3. MIGRANT STUDENT RECORDS SYSTEM: Some or all of the COE information will be entered into the State’s migrant student records system. This information will be posted on our Migrant Website to be viewed by the Districts. The Regional Coordinator will be allowed to make corrections on this website so that the Migrant student records will be current.
Common COE mistakes
• Poor Penmanship; always print; do not use cursive handwriting.
• Misspellings
– Take special care in the spelling of Mexican place-names. When in doubt, consult the Appendix section of this manual for the names and abbreviations of the states in Mexico and provinces in Canada.
– Always verify the spellings of family members’ names.
• Dates
– All dates must be complete and written in month/date/year format.
– A child born or adopted after the QAD does not qualify.
– The QAD cannot be later than the residency date.
• Descriptions
– Descriptions of the qualifying activity should be as specific as possible.
– COEs with a “to join” date should describe the circumstances of the “to join” move in the Comments section.
– When the PMOL is unclear, always give a description in the Comments section that clarifies the circumstances.
• Enrollment
– Enrollments must include the student’s current grade level, date and enrollment type (Summer, Regular, Participant Only).
Important things to remember
1. Only a recruiter who has participated in current I&R training is authorized to complete COEs (training provided by local Regional Migrant Education Coordinator). COEs completed by non-authorized personnel will be considered invalid.
2. A personal interview between the recruiter and a child’s parent or guardian is required in order to make a determination of eligibility. (A face-to-face interview )
3. By completing the Migrant Eligibility Checklist, a recruiter will more likely determine eligibility prior to completing the entire COE.
4. The COE must be completed in black ink and should be neat and readable.
5. The recruiter should review the completed COE with the interviewee before leaving the home to ensure that all sections have been completed properly and parents understand their rights.
6. A new COE must be completed whenever there is a new qualifying move.
7. A COE must be completed in English only; do not complete COEs in Spanish.
8. Children lose their eligibility for the following reasons only:
a) They turn 22,
b) They graduate from high school or earn a GED,
c) They do not make a new qualifying move within three (3) years of their existing QAD.
1.
Interruption of Schooling
The recruiter should ask the parent, guardian or youth each of the questions regarding Interruption of Schooling, and record the responses to each question on the form. It is important to remember that many migrant children leave their home base school in the spring prior to the end of the regular school year or return late in the fall after the school year has begun in order to migrate with their parent(s)/guardian(s) in pursuit of agricultural work. They also may attend several schools in the course of the school year. In these situations, school interruption has occurred.
Section 1
The recruiter documents if the interviewee or his/her children attended two or more schools during the regular school year. If so, the recruiter indicates if those schools were in different districts and the names of the children affected. Finally, the recruiter documents when the changes occurred by making a check mark next to the appropriate time as listed on the Supplemental Documentation.
Section 2
The recruiter documents if the interviewee or her/his children missed 10 or more days of school at any one time in the past school year due to agricultural migration. If this does occur, then the recruiter indicates the names of the children affected.
Section 3
The recruiter documents if the interviewee or his/her children withdrew from school during the regular school year and did not re-enroll. If this does occur, then the recruiter indicates the names of the children affected. Other probing questions may be necessary depending on the information presented. After asking these questions, the Recruiter must use his/her best judgment to decide if the qualifying children experienced an interruption of schooling. Finally, the recruiter must print and sign his/her name and date the Supplemental Documentation. Idaho MEP Supplemental Documentation follows:
Supplemental Documentation for the Idaho Migrant Education Program
Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
Family Name ___________________ COE#_____________ Project _______________
This form must be completed and attached to all COEs to support eligibility determinations.
1. Intent to Seek Moves Complete this section if the COE indicates “to seek” or if a temporary worker has prior migrant work experience. Information may be obtained via the interview process or from data recorded on the Idaho Migrant Student Database. Documentation must include:
Arrival Date (to place of work) Arrival Date (to place of work):
___________________________________ ________________________________
Moved from: ________________________ Moved from: _____________________
To: ________________________________ To: _____________________________
Who looked for work? Who looked for work?
___________________________________ ________________________________
Type of work looked for: Type of work looked for:
___________________________________ ________________________________
Type of work obtained: Type of work obtained:
___________________________________ ________________________________
Reason for move: Reason for move:
___________________________________ ________________________________
___________________________________ ________________________________
2. Temporary Status is due to the following (check one and answer the appropriate questions):
______The worker was hired with a termination date to occur within one year.
Indicate the termination date: _________________________
______The worker was hired to meet a temporary increased need for workers.
Indicate the approximate termination date: _________________________
______The worker took the job with the intention of leaving within one year.
Indicate the approximate termination date: _________________________
The reason(s) for intending to work temporarily must be related to the conditions below. Check all that apply and use to write a comment on the COE:
|Work Conditions: |Periods of Slack Demand |
|Physical Injury |Decrease in the number of work hours |
|Physically Demanding Work | available to worker |
|Extreme Temperatures at Work |Work facility (processing plan, nursery) |
|Extreme Work Hours | closes periodically |
|Other: ___________________________ |Other: __________________________ |
3. Principal Means of Livelihood (please circle)
• To what extent does your family rely on this job for basic necessities (circle one)?
Completely To a great extent Somewhat Not at all
• Is the income from your other jobs enough to support your family? Yes No
• At the time of the move, were you employed? Yes No
▪ If so, what did you do? _______________________________________________
• Was anyone else in your household employed? Yes No
▪ What did they do? __________________________________________________
• How many dependents are in the household? _______________
To Recruiter: Do the answers to the above questions indicate that the work is an important part of providing a living for the worker and his/her family? Yes No
4. Interruption of Schooling: Answering Yes to any of the questions below means there was an Interruption of Schooling.
• Did you or any of your child(ren) attend two or more schools during the regular school year? Yes No
o If so, where these schools in different school districts? Yes No Child(ren)’s Name(s) ___________________________________________
_____________________________________
o When did the change(s) of school occur? (Check all those that apply if multiple moves)
__________________ Fall (School had begun at the time of arrival)
__________________ Spring (Left before school year ended)
__________________ During the course of the school year
• Did you or any of your children miss 10 or more days at any one time in the past school year due to agricultural migration? Yes No
• Did you or any of your children miss 10 or more days at any one time in the past school year due to other migrant lifestyle related issues (illness, childcare for siblings, etc). Yes No
• Did you or any of your children withdraw from school during the regular school year and not re-enroll? Yes No
Child(ren)’s Name(s) _______________________________________________
________________________________________
Completed by ___________________________________________Date__________________
FAMILY CONTACT LOG
MIGRANT EDUCATION PROGRAM
DISTRICT NAME: _________________________________MEP STAFF: _____________________________________
|DATE/TIME |FORM OF CONTACT |PERSON CONTACTED |PURPOSE |COMMENTS |
| |___ HOME VISIT |NAME: _________________________ |___CONDUCT ID & R | |
| |___ FACE-TO-FACE MEETING AT: |_________________________ |___COMPLETE COE | |
| |___SCHOOL | |___ANNUAL REVIEW OF COE | |
| |___OTHER LOCATIONS |___PARENT |___CONDUCT RESIDECY VERIFICATION | |
| |___TELEPHONE ___CELL|___GUARDIAN |EVALUATE NEEDS FOR SUPPORT SERVICES | |
| |___ATTEMPTED ONLY-NO CONTACT |___CHILD |UPDATE PARENTS ON: | |
| |___LEFT MESSAGE |___OTHER |___ ACADEMIC PROGRESS | |
| |___FAMILY MEMBER | |___ATTENDANCE/TARDIES | |
| |___VOICE MESSAGE | |___SCHOOL EVENTS | |
| | | |___OTHER | |
| |___ HOME VISIT |NAME: _________________________ |___CONDUCT ID & R | |
| |___ FACE-TO-FACE MEETING AT: |_________________________ |___COMPLETE COE | |
| |___SCHOOL | |___ANNUAL REVIEW OF COE | |
| |___OTHER LOCATIONS |___PARENT |___CONDUCT RESIDECY | |
| |___TELEPHONE ___CELL|___GUARDIAN |VERIFICATION | |
| |___ATTEMPTED ONLY-NO CONTACT |___CHILD |EVALUATE NEEDS FOR SUPPORT SERVICES | |
| |___LEFT MESSAGE |___OTHER |UPDATE PARENTS ON: | |
| |___FAMILY MEMBER | |___ ACADEMIC PROGRESS | |
| |___VOICE MESSAGE | |___ATTENDANCE/TARDIES | |
| | | |___SCHOOL EVENTS | |
| | | |___OTHER | |
| |___ HOME VISIT |NAME: _________________________ |___CONDUCT ID & R | |
| |___ FACE-TO-FACE MEETING AT: |_________________________ |___COMPLETE COE | |
| |___SCHOOL | |___ANNUAL REVIEW OF COE | |
| |___OTHER LOCATIONS |___PARENT |___CONDUCT RESIDECY VERIFICATION | |
| |___TELEPHONE ___CELL|___GUARDIAN |EVALUATE NEEDS FOR SUPPORT SERVICES | |
| |___ATTEMPTED ONLY-NO CONTACT |___CHILD |UPDATE PARENTS ON: | |
| |___LEFT MESSAGE |___OTHER |___ ACADEMIC PROGRESS | |
| |___FAMILY MEMBER | |___ATTENDANCE/TARDIES | |
| |___VOICE MESSAGE | |___SCHOOL EVENTS | |
| | | |___OTHER | |
| |___ HOME VISIT |NAME: _________________________ |___CONDUCT ID & R | |
| |___ FACE-TO-FACE MEETING AT: |_________________________ |___COMPLETE COE | |
| |___SCHOOL | |___ANNUAL REVIEW OF COE | |
| |___OTHER LOCATIONS |___PARENT |___CONDUCT RESIDECY VERIFICATION | |
| |___TELEPHONE ___CELL|___GUARDIAN |EVALUATE NEEDS FOR SUPPORT SERVICES | |
| |___ATTEMPTED ONLY-NO CONTACT |___CHILD |UPDATE PARENTS ON: | |
| |___LEFT MESSAGE |___OTHER |___ ACADEMIC PROGRESS | |
| |___FAMILY MEMBER | |___ATTENDANCE/TARDIES | |
| |___VOICE MESSAGE | |___SCHOOL EVENTS | |
| | | |___OTHER | |
SAMPLE FAMILY SURVEY
(PRINT ON SCHOOL LETTERHEAD)
Dear Parents,
In order to better serve your children, the __________________________________ school district is helping the state of Idaho identify students who may qualify to receive additional educational services.
The information provided below will be kept confidential. Please answer the following questions and return this form to your child’s school. (If you receive more than one of these surveys, only complete one and list below the names of all your children.)
Name of your child: ___________________________________________________ Age _______ Grade ______
1. Have you or your family moved from one town or school district to another within the state or out-of-state within the past 3 years? Yes______ No ______
If “NO”, then you do not need to complete the remainder of this survey. If “YES”, please continue.
2. Did the children in your family go with you or join you at a later date? Yes______ No ______
If “NO”, then you do not need to complete the remainder of this survey. If “YES”, please continue.
During the last three years:
3. Were any of these moves made with the intent to find temporary or seasonal work in agricultural or fishing-related activities? Yes______ No ______
If “NO”, then you do not need to complete the remainder of this survey. If “YES”, please continue and circle all that apply.
|a. |working on a farm |g. |working on a poultry farm | | |
|b. |working on a ranch |h. |working in a plant nursery | | |
|c. |working in a cannery |i. |tree growing or harvesting | | |
|d. |working in a dairy |j. |Working in a nursery or a greenhouse | | |
|e. |working in a fishery |k. |picking fruit, nuts or vegetables | | |
|f. |working in a slaughter house | | |
| | |l. |other similar work: _______________________________________ |
Please complete the information below. (Please Print)
Name of Parent/Guardian: _______________________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________________________
Telephone: _________________________________________ Best Time to Contact You: _____________
Number of Children in your Family: _____________________
SAMPLE FAMILY SURVEY IN SPANISH
Estimados padres,
Para mejorar los servicios educacionales de sus hijos, el distrito de la escuela de ____________________________ está colaborando con el estado de Idaho para identificar a aquellos estudiantes que pueden calificar para recibir servicios educativos adicionales.
Toda información proporcionada será mantenida confidencial. Favor de responder a las siguientes preguntas y devolver esta forma a la escuela de su niño. (Si usted recibe más de una encuesta, complete sólo una forma y enliste abajo los nombres de todos sus hijos.)
Nombre de su Niño: _____________________________________________________ Edad _______ Grado ______
1. ¿Usted o alguien en su familia han viajado de una ciudad o distrito escolar a otro dentro del estado o fuera del estado en los últimos 3 años? Sí______ No _______
Si usted contestó "NO," no es necesario terminar el resto de esta encuesta. Si usted contestó "SÍ," favor de continuar.
2. ¿Viajaron sus hijos con usted o lo acompañaron a usted después? Sí______ No _______
Si usted contestó "NO," no es necesario terminar el resto de esta encuesta. Si usted contestó "SÍ," favor de continuar.
Durante los últimos tres años:
3. ¿Fueron estos viajes hechos con la intención de encontrar trabajo a corto plazo o temporal en actividades relacionadas a la agricultura o la pesca? Sí______ No _______
Si usted contestó "NO," no es necesario terminar el resto de esta encuesta. Si usted contestó "SÍ," favor de continuar. (Seleccione todo aquello que aplica.)
|a. |trabajando en un ranchos ganaderos |g. |trabajando en granjas avícolas |
|b. |trabajado en una hacienda agrícola |h. |trabajando en un vivero de plantas |
|c. |trabajando enlatando frutas o vegetales |i. |plantando o cosechando árboles |
|d. |trabajando en una lechería |j. |Trabajando en un invernadero |
|e. |trabajando en la pesca |k. |recogiendo fruta, nuez o vegetales |
|f. |trabajando en una casa de matanza | | |
| | |l. |otro trabajo similar: ___________________________________________________ |
Favor de completar la siguiente información (use letra de bloque).
Nombre del Padre/Guardián: ______________________________________________________________________
Dirección: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Teléfono: ______________________________________________ La Mejor Hora para Localizarlo: _____________
Número de Niños en su Familia: _________
RECRUITER RESPONSIBILITIES REGARDING RESIDENCY VERIFICATION
The following chart outlines the recruiter’s responsibilities in conducting annual residency verification for all migrant children.
|Situation |Recruiter Responsibility |
|1. COEs completed prior to 8/31/07 for |Verify each child’s residency on or after 9/01/07 if the |
|the 07-08 school year |family is still residing in your district. |
|2. COEs completed from 9/01/07 through |Use the parent signature date as residency verification for|
|8/31/08 |the 07-08 reporting period. |
|3. COEs with a 2 year old who turns 3 |Verify the child’s residency on or after his/her 3rd |
|during the 07-08 reporting period |birthday. |
Weekly MEP Recruiter Log
All Idaho MEP recruiters must maintain the Recruiter Log on a weekly basis. The log will benefit the State’s ID&R efforts in several ways:
1. Recruiters have an organized method of recording the locations of migrant populations, the times during which they are present in Idaho, and the qualifying activities they are performing.
2. Recruiters have a means of recording important contact information about the people with whom they network to identify potentially MEP-eligible students. These contacts could include educators, service agency personnel, growers, and church personnel.
3. Recruiters working in the same geographic area will be better able to coordinate efforts, thereby minimizing duplication and increasing outreach to more people.
4. Recruiters have a means for documenting the extent of their efforts in identifying
and recruiting MEP-eligible children in their local areas. Finally, recruiter logs, when diligently used, will benefit the MEP both at the local and state levels, helping to fulfill the requirement of identifying and recruiting all MEP-eligible children in the State.
QUALITY CONTROL
The Idaho MEP’s quality control plan is designed to improve the accuracy of ID&R activities. Several components comprise the Plan including 1) increased emphasis on training for all MEP recruiters, 2) standardized review of all Certificates of Eligibility (COEs), the legal document that demonstrates MEP eligibility, and 3) administration of re-interviews of a small, but representative, sample of the state’s recruited children. These components will work together to improve the MEP and ensure that the Idaho MEP is serving only eligible students. The Idaho MEP Identification and Recruitment Quality Control Plan follows.
Idaho Title1 Migrant Education Program Identification and Recruitment (ID&R) Quality Control Plan 2006
The Idaho Migrant Education Program (MEP) Identification and Recruitment (ID&R) Quality Control Plan provides a process to ensure that only eligible migrant children are recruited for the MEP and that all eligibility decisions are supported by appropriate documentation. The Plan reflects the statutory requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 as well as the Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance issued by the Office of Migrant Education (OME) on October 23, 2003. This Guidance is the most currently available. All local projects that receive MEP funding from the Idaho State Department of Education must develop and follow an approved Local Quality Control Plan that describes how the project intends to follow the guidelines and procedures delineated in the Idaho State Plan. (The development of a Local Quality Control Plan is a joint activity between the Idaho Office of Migrant Education and local projects.)
The Idaho MEP Quality Control goals are:
1. To identify and recruit all eligible migrant children residing in Idaho.
2. To ensure that proper MEP eligibility determinations are made in a collaborative manner by MEP personnel.
3. To ensure that proper MEP eligibility determinations are supported by accurate documentation.
These goals will be accomplished by the following three components:
1. Recruiter Quality Controls
2. Proper Eligibility Determinations and Documentation Submission Quality Controls
3. Random COE Checks
Each component is of equal importance; all three must be implemented to achieve high quality ID&R in the Idaho MEP.
1) Recruiter Quality Controls
A recruiter is considered to be any person who discusses with a family their migration history as it relates to participating in the IL MEP and who recruits a family’s child(ren) or self-eligible youth for the Idaho MEP by completing a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Anyone who will be completing a COE is required to participate in recruiter training in order to receive annual certification to ensure that proper eligibility determinations are made and that those determinations are supported by proper documentation. Recruiter trainings emphasize eligibility determinations, documentation, quality control techniques, recruiting strategies, and programmatic and policy updates and changes. Trainings are offered in the following ways.
• Recruiters are required to receive the Idaho MEP ID&R Training in order to receive certification that authorizes them to complete COEs.
• Recruiters should make a commitment to attend all ID&R trainings/workshops.
• Recruiters should make a commitment to participate in ID&R electronic forums and conference calls in order to pose and answer ID&R questions of MEP staff, including other recruiters, and to receive notices of developing ID&R issues.
2) Proper Eligibility Determinations and Documentation Submission Quality Controls
This quality control component is comprised of two distinct, yet interrelated areas of focus. The first is to review ID&R documentation (COE) for completeness and accuracy. Completeness and accuracy means that every item of the documentation contains information and that none of the pieces of information is contradictory. The second is to review the documentation to ensure that it adequately describes an eligible child. This means that information does not contravene eligibility guidelines (for example, the child must not be older than 21 at the time of recruitment; the child’s most recent move must not be more than three years ago, etc.).
The interrelationship between these two areas is clear. Eligibility determination is dependent upon proper documentation; and proper documentation must include all the elements necessary for sound eligibility determination. Responsibilities of MEP staff involved in this component of the Quality Control Plan are delineated below. All participants in this component perform duties related to both areas of focus.
Recruiter’s Role
• Recruiters are responsible for locating potentially eligible migrant children and gathering information from their families that will determine whether the children are MEP-eligible. If a recruiter believes, after conducting a thorough interview, that a child is eligible, the reasons for eligibility are documented on a properly completed COE.
• Using the COE Review Checklist, the recruiter assesses the COE for completeness, accuracy and MEP eligibility. If upon review, the recruiter determines that a COE is not complete and/or accurate, he/she must correct the mistake(s).
• Some mistakes will require that the recruiter return to the family to gather new information that will either establish or preclude eligibility.
• Other mistakes can be corrected without further consultation with the family. Examples include misspellings, omission of a necessary comment, or lack of sufficient detail.
• The recruiter must sign the COE to indicate belief that the information received in the interview is accurate and that the recruiter is qualified to determine eligibility.
• The recruiter submits all COEs immediately upon completion to the project’s designated COE reviewer (Regional Migrant Education Coordinator).
Local Project COE Reviewer’s Role
• The COE reviewer uses the COE Review Checklist to verify completeness, accuracy and MEP eligibility for all COEs (100%).
o The reviewer accepts the eligibility determination made by the recruiter;
▪ signs the COE;
▪ makes a photocopy of it;
▪ files the original COE (which is maintained for 11 years from the last QAD);
▪ submits the complete copy to the Idaho Office of Migrant Education within 10 business days of receiving it from recruiter;
NOTE: COEs listing a newly recruited child are sent to Idaho Office of Migrant Education as soon as all other information is completed. Data elements from the COE are entered into the Idaho Migrant Student Database within 5 working days.
OR
• The reviewer rejects the eligibility determination made by the recruiter; OR
• The reviewer decides that additional steps must be taken to determine and/o r document eligibility, and
o indicates a lack of completeness and/or accuracy on the document, and immediately returns it to the recruiter for correction;
o requests that the recruiter return to the family to gather additional information ; or
o decides that even though the recruiter has gathered sufficient information from the family, the determination remains in dispute and refers the case to Idaho Migrant Education Office for further consultation.
Regional ID&R Role
• Regional Coordinators reviews all COE copies (100%) using the COE Review Checklist to verify completeness, accuracy and MEP eligibility.
o Idaho Office of Migrant Education accepts the eligibility determination made by the recruiter;
▪ signs the COE copy; and
▪ files the COE copy;
OR
• Regional Coordinator rejects the eligibility determination made by the recruiter, and informs the local project AND
o Idaho Migrant Education Office decides that additional steps must be taken to determine and/or document eligibility, and
▪ indicates a lack of completeness and/or accuracy on the document and returns it to the project director within 3 business days of submission for correction;
▪ requests that the recruiter return to the family to gather additional information; or
▪ decides that even though the recruiter has gathered sufficient information from the family, the determination remains in dispute and will make an eligibility determination within 10 working days.
Idaho Migrant Education Office
• Only COEs with an unresolved eligibility status are sent back to the LEA. COEs maintain an unresolved eligibility status because a local project director and/or Idaho Migrant Education Office has not been able to finalize an eligibility decision or because a local project director wishes to appeal an eligibility rejection made by Idaho Migrant Education Office.
• Idaho Migrant Education Office makes an eligibility decision and returns the documentation to the local project director and takes the next appropriate steps to enter the COE into the Migrant Student Information Database;
OR
• Idaho Migrant Education Office rejects the eligibility determination made by the recruiter; OR
o Idaho Migrant Education Office decides that additional steps must be taken to determine eligibility, and
▪ indicates a lack of completeness and/or accuracy on the document and returns it to the project director within 3 business days of submission for correction;
▪ requests that the recruiter return to the family to gather additional information ; or
▪ decides that even though the recruiter has gathered sufficient information from the family, the determination remains in dispute and refers the case to the Office of Migrant Education and/or other MEP ID&R experts.
General Rules
• COEs are examined using the COE Review Checklist.
• Disputed eligibility decisions are resolved at a step higher than where they are in doubt. Those steps are, from lowest to highest: recruiter, COE reviewer, Idaho Migrant Education Office.
• When recruiters believe that they have corrected all COE mistakes that were identified by the local COE reviewer or Idaho Migrant Education Office, they re-submit that COE to the local COE reviewer. COE submissions always follow the same path of evaluation and correction. Recruiters should immediately re-submit corrected COEs to their local COE reviewer.
• All those in a position to review COEs should indicate mistakes with a highlighter and a post-it note, if necessary.
IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY CONTROL
After reviewing all of the components discussed in this section, it is evident that the roles of recruiter, reviewer, Data clerk, ESC migrant staff and State MEP staff all share in the effort to improve and maintain a strong system of quality control. By adhering to the quality control process outlined in the manual, the school district, regional ESCs, and State MEP can be assured that eligibility determinations are correct and will withstand the scrutiny of federal and state auditors.
MAINTAINING AUDITABLE FILES
Fiscal Agent
The original auditable COE must be maintained by the fiscal agent. This includes all changes/corrections and residency verification documentation. Please note that ongoing student enrollments are not considered changes or corrections to the COE. Ongoing enrollments should be documented by individual districts and/or Regional Coordinator. The fiscal agent must also maintain documentation regarding annual training of all individuals signing the COEs.
Note: Retention of COE (orginals) is 10 years from the QAD (e.g., QAD of 08/01/01 + 3 years = end of eligibility on 08/01/04. 08/01/04 + 7 years = end of the file retention on 08/01/11).
SHARED SERVICES ARRANGEMENTS (SSAs)
A copy of the COE must be obtained by SSA member districts (i.e., non-fiscal agents) in shared services arrangements.
ACTIVE FILES (FISCAL AGENT AND SSA MEMBER DISTRICTS)
This is an active COE file for migrant children identified for the current school year, and maintained in alphabetical order.
INACTIVE FILES (FISCAL AGENT AND SHARED SERVICES ARRANGEMENT MEMBER DISTRICTS)
An inactive COE file must be kept for children identified in previous years, and retained for seven (7) years from the date on which the child’s eligibility expires. For termination due to graduation (or obtaining a GED), the records will be treated as inactive, and also kept for seven (7) years from last QAD.
Note: Exercise great care so that COEs are not destroyed prematurely or lost. Section 80.42d of EDGAR allows the State MEP and its sub grantees to substitute original records with copies made by photocopying or similar method. The table below provides guidance in determining when COEs may be destroyed.
EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2000
|Qualifying Arrival Date (QAD) |COE may be destroyed: (10 years from QAD) |
|October 1, 2000 |October 1, 2010 |
|October 1, 2001 |October 1, 2011 |
|October 1, 2002 |October 1, 2012 |
|October 1, 2003 |October 1, 2013 |
|October 1, 2004 |October 1, 2014 |
|October 1, 2005 |October 1, 2015 |
Note: The only exception to the above timelines involves old COEs that are being reviewed because of an on-going investigation or audit. COEs that are material to an investigation or audit should not be destroyed until the investigation or audit has been closed.
3) Random COE Checks
A random sample of COEs will be selected from the local project’s files, and trained re-
interviewers will conduct home visits with the families selected to ensure that accurate
eligibility determinations were originally made.
1. The Idaho Migrant Education Office will determine through the Request for Proposal (RFP) process who will conduct inspections of randomly selected COEs.
a. Randomly selected COEs are subjected to two types of inspection.
b. The first determines if the document has face validity. The COE is examined to ensure that it is complete, accurate and suggesting MEP eligibility.
c. The re-interviewer responsible for this inspection must undergo training in re-interviewing. Such trainings will include interpretation of COEs, posing appropriate questions relevant for eligibility determinations, and maintaining appropriate documentation.
d. The second is to ensure that the COE reflects true information about a family.
e. In order to accomplish this goal, a re-interviewer visits the selected families and asks them questions related to their MEP eligibility.
f. The results of these visits are submitted to the Idaho Migrant Education Office.
g. Idaho Migrant Education Office notifies in writing local projects of area children found to be ineligible. The notification states the grounds for ineligibility and conveys that the child will no longer be served with MEP funds. .
i. Local directors are also informed in writing by Idaho Migrant Education Office of eligibility determinations that have proven to be faulty.
ii. Local directors maintain an Inactive File of children who were recruited in the MEP and subsequently removed due to faulty eligibility determinations. These records must be maintained on file for 11 years.
iii. Local directors should attempt to ensure, to the extent possible, that the needs of misidentified children who are removed from the MEP are addressed with other (local, state and non-MEP federal) resources.
2. In addition to the Statewide re-interview effort, each site must conduct one random check of its COEs during a summer session. The random sample should be large enough so as to be representative of the number of eligible COEs for that summer session.
3. Local Quality Control Plans describe how projects intend to execute such efforts within the guidelines of the State Quality Control Plan.
APPENDIX
A. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
B. Idaho MEP Qualifying Activities
C. MEP Eligibility Checklist
D. Weekly MEP Recruiter Log
E. COMMON MIGRANT-RELATED Acronyms
F. Abbreviations
• Canadian Provinces and Territories
• Mexican States
• US States and Territories
• Migrant websites /links for Idaho
G. GLOSSARY OF MIGRANT-RELATED TERMS
H. PRODUCE CHART
I. Sample ID&R Plan
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
The Idaho Migrant Education Program’s (MEP) Certificate of Eligibility (COE) places emphasis on ensuring that parents/guardians or self-eligible youth understand the significance of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). One significant change is the requirement that the parent/guardian or eligible youth sign the COE. This signature indicates that the recruiter has explained the rules of FERPA during the recruitment interview.
Below are the principal components of FERPA that need to be explicitly stated during the recruitment interview:
• FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.
• It applies to all educational agencies (schools, institutions, etc.) that receive funding under programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education.
• FERPA allows parents/guardians or eligible youth to review the student’s educational records that are maintained by the school.
• It allows parents/guardians or eligible youth to request that an education agency correct students’ records which they believe to be mistaken or inaccurate.
• FERPA also imposes certain restrictions and certain freedoms on the educational agency’s ability to transfer student records.
• Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student’s education record.
• However, FERPA allows schools to release records without a parent’s or eligible
student’s consent under the following circumstances:
– A local educational agency is able to transfer records among its own officials.
– A local educational agency is able to transfer records to other agencies where the student seeks or intends to enroll.
– A local educational agency is able to transfer records in an electronic format to another State or local operating agency.
– For those students recruited into the MEP, FERPA allows records to be transferred from local education agencies to other agencies that work in collaboration with the MEP to expand services for MEP students.
Communicating these FERPA rules to parents and self-eligible youth will allow them to be better informed about their rights concerning school and about the range of activities available to the school regarding student records.
**FERPA is discussed in the MEP Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance (10/23/03) Chapter 6, Paragraph D7, D8 and D9, and fully explained in Section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act.
Idaho MEP Qualifying Activities
A child or spouse of a migrant worker, or a worker him/herself, must, among other requirements, be engaged in a qualifying work activity in order to be considered MEP-eligible.
A qualifying agricultural activity is:
1) “any activity directly related to the production or processing of crops, dairy products, poultry, or livestock for initial commercial sale or as a principle means of personal subsistence;
2) “any activity directly related to the cultivation or harvesting of trees; or any activity directly related to fish farms.” Examples of non-qualifying production and processing activities include the following:
|• Transporting a product beyond the processing plant/shed/warehouse/ silo |• Clerical Services |
|• Selling an agricultural or fishing product |• Repairing or maintaining equipment used for production or processing |
|• Landscaping |• Cleaning or sterilizing farm machinery or processing equipment |
|• Managing a farm or processing plant |• Providing babysitting or child care services for farmworkers |
|• Accounting Services |• Working at a restaurant |
|• Bookkeeping Services | |
Common qualifying agricultural activities that take place in Idaho are listed below. This is not a complete list; rather, it provides examples of work activities that recruiters are likely to encounter.
|Crop / Commodity |Activity |
|Corn |Detasseling; Preparing corn fields; Planting; Cultivating; Sorting seed corn |
|Apples / Peaches / Fruits |Picking; Packing |
|Pumpkins |Picking; Sorting; Packing; Cleaning |
|Vegetables |Picking; Packing; Planting; Cultivating |
|Trees, flowers and sod |Nursery work; Planting; Harvesting; Rolling sod |
|Meat (pork, beef, chicken, turkey) |Meat Processing – Killing, Cutting, Packing |
|Dairy |Milking cows |
MEP Eligibility Checklist:
Determining Migrant Education Program Eligibility
Instructions
The MEP Eligibility Checklist allows you to gather the information needed to determine MEP eligibility in a systematic and organized manner. It is the screening mechanism that helps you determine that children are indeed MEP-eligible before you begin to complete a COE. This tool will be most effective if you ask all questions on the Checklist in the order that they appear. If you have sufficient evidence that a family’s children (or a self-eligible youth) are MEP-eligible after completing the Checklist, use the answers to complete the COE.
MEP Eligibility Checklist:
Determining Migrant Education Program Eligibility
Step 1: What (A Move)?
Has the family (or part of the family) ever moved across a school district boundary to seek work?
If the answer is NO, it may be that the interviewee does not understand the meaning of some part of the question. At this point, it may be necessary to probe a little further with clarifying questions before terminating the interview. These probing questions should emphasize that:
1. the moves should not have been made to permanently relocate the family;
2. even those moves over short distances or for short periods of time are important;
3. the moves should have involved a change of residence (i.e. day commutes typically do not qualify).
If the family still responds to probing questions indicating that they have not moved, then the children in that family are not eligible for the Migrant Education Program.
If the answer is YES, then CONTINUE. . .
MEP Eligibility Checklist:
Determining Migrant Education Program Eligibility
Step 2: When?
When was the most recent time the children moved?
If the family states that the children most recently moved more than three years ago prior to the date of the interview, you may follow up with clarifying questions such as, “Have you lived here continuously during the past three years without going anywhere else?” The answer to this question may generate responses useful for determining eligibility. If the family still maintains after your probing questions that the children have not moved in the past three years, then the children are not eligible.
If the family responds that the children have moved within three years of the date of your interview, then CONTINUE. . .
MEP Eligibility Checklist:
Determining Migrant Education Program Eligibility
Step 3: Why?
Why did you move?
If the family says that they were looking for work
• that was not related to agriculture or fishing,
that was permanent (as defined by the MEP), or
• that they moved without the intention to work in agriculture or fishing
then this may not be a qualifying move. Further questioning is necessary to discover the intent of the move. If further questioning reveals that a family’s move was under any of these three circumstances, then this move is not MEP-eligible.
If the answer is to seek temporary work (i.e. hired with a termination date within 12 months; hired only to meet a temporary increased need for workers and with a termination date within 12 months; took the job with the intention of leaving within 12 months) or seasonal work (i.e. work dependent upon the seasons) related to agriculture or fishing then CONTINUE. . .
MEP Eligibility Checklist:
Determining Migrant Education Program Eligibility
Step 4: Who? Who moved?
The MEP is designed to benefit children whose education is affected by their own migration, not simply the migration of their parents. Therefore, children must make a move.
Children’s moves must be linked to a qualifying worker. This situation occurs under three circumstances:
1. If the child moves with a parent or guardian who is a qualifying worker.
2. If the child moves to join a parent or guardian who is a qualifying worker. (In this case, children must move within 12 months before or after a qualifying worker moves.)
3. If the qualifying worker is a self-eligible youth (under age 22) and he/she moves.
If the a child has not made a move under one of these three circumstances, then He/she is not eligible. (Remember to evaluate the eligibility of all siblings separately because it is possible that some may have moved and other may not have.)
If a child has made a move under one of these three circumstances, then CONTINUE…
MEP Eligibility Checklist:
Determining Migrant Education Program Eligibility
Step 5: Where?
Where did you move from? Where did you move to?
If the answers indicate that the move was within the same school district, then the worker is not describing a qualifying move. The recruiter should go back to Step 2 and determine if the family has made another move, and if so, if that move was within the last three years.
If the answers indicate that the move crossed school district boundaries, then CONTINUE.
MEP Eligibility Checklist:
Determining Migrant Education Program Eligibility
Step 6: Principal Means of Livelihood?
Is the qualifying work an important part of providing a living for the worker and his/her family?
If the worker indicates that this work does not play an important part in providing for the family’s livelihood, then the recruiter should ask clarifying questions regarding why the worker performs the work. If the worker still maintains that he/she performs this work for reasons other than providing a living for the family, then the children are not MEP-eligible.
If the worker indicates that this work does play an important part in providing for the family’s livelihood, then the recruiter will be able to make a well founded argument in favor of the child being MEP-eligible.
MEP Eligibility Checklist:
Determining Migrant Education Program Eligibility
1. Has your family (or part of the family) ever moved across a school district boundary to seek work?
2. When was the most recent time the children in your family moved (month, year)?
3. Why did you make that move?
a) What kind of work were you seeking?
b) What kind of work did you obtain?
If the work obtained was not in agriculture, why not?
4. Who moved? Did a child younger than 22 move you? Did a child younger than 22 move to join you? Was the worker younger than 22 (a self-eligible youth)?
5. Where did you move from (city, state, country)?
6. Where did you move to (city, state, country)?
7. Is the qualify work an important part of providing a living for you, or for you and your family?
[pic]
|Weekly Idaho Migrant Education Program Recruiter Log |
|Project | |Week of | | Page |of |
|Recruiter Name | | Recruiter | | | |
| | |Signature | | | |
|Date |Person/Agency Contacted |Location |Contact Type* |Purpose** |Narrative/Comment |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|*CONTACT TYPE KEY: |**PURPOSE KEY: |
|Home – Home Visit |COE – Active I&R/COE Completion |
|School – School Visit |H/S – Home – School Liaison |
|Agency – Agency Visit |SS – Social Service Referral/Assistance |
|Other – Specify |I – Information Dissemination |
| |O – Other (Specify) |
Acronyms
ADA = Average Daily Attendance
CAMP = College Assistance Migrant Program
CFR = Code of Federal Regulations
CNA = Comprehensive Needs Assessment
COE = Certificate of Eligibility
EDGAR = Education Department General Administrative Regulations
ESEA = Elementary and Secondary Education Act
FERPA = Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
FTE = Full-time Equivalent
GED = General Educational Development
HEP = High School Equivalency Program
ID&R = Identification and Recruitment
IASA = Improving America’s School Act
ID = Identification
ID & R = Identification and Recruitment
IMC = Idaho Migrant Council
LEA = Local Education Agency
LEP = Limited English Proficient
LOA = Local Operating Agency
MEES = Migrant Education Even Start
MEP = Migrant Education Program (Title 1, Part C)
MSHS = Migrant and Seasonal Head Start
NASDME = National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education
NCLB = No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
NRG = Non-Regulatory Guidance
OIG = Office of Inspector General
OMB = Office of Management and Budget
OME = Office of Migrant Education (Federal)
OOS = Out-of-School Youth
PAC = Parent Advisory Council
PASS = Portable Assisted Study Sequence
PFS = Priority For Service
PMOL = Principal Means of Livelihood
PPE = Per Pupil Expenditure
QAD = Qualifying Arrival Date
RIF = Reading Is Fundamental
SBOE = State Board of Education
SEA = State Education Agency
SSA = Shared Services Arrangement
USDE = United States Department of Education
GLOSSARY OF MIGRANT-RELATED TERMS
Agricultural Activity
• Any activity directly related to the production or processing of crops, dairy products, poultry, or livestock for initial commercial sale or personal subsistence; any activity directly related to the cultivation or harvesting of trees; or any activity directly related to fish farms
Audit Exception
• Violation of a statute or regulation
Bi-national Migrant Education Program (BMEP)
• A program to ensure the grade-level placement of Migrant students from Mexico attending an U.S. school for the first time.
Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
• The legal document used by the state to enroll eligible migrant children for the MEP.
COE Supplemental Documentation Form
• This form is used to document additional information that supports eligibility determinations.
College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP)
• Programs to assist migrant students attend college.
Comments
• A recruiter should provide additional comments on a COE when circumstances require the recruiter to explain why he or she found a particular child to be eligible for the MEP.
Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA)
• A systematic way of determining needs, examining their nature and causes, and setting priorities for future action.
Crop
• Refers to a plant that is harvested for use by people or livestock
Cultivating or the Harvesting of Trees
• This activity refers to the soil preparation, planting, tending, pruning, felling, and cutting of trees;
Dairying
• Or dairy farming refers to an industry in which dairy animals and products are produced and/or processed; as well as to milking cows, bringing cows in from pasture, cleaning pens and fence rows.
Early Move
• Any move that occurs well before work is reasonably expected to be available.
Eligibility Reviewer
• Is a person who is thoroughly trained by ESC and whose primary role is to re-examine and verify the eligibility of the children listed on the COE.
Eligibility Validation
• A quality control process through which a representative sample of children is selected by the State for the re-interview process in order to determine the accuracy and completeness of recorded information on the COE and to ensure the specificity and legitimacy of the last qualifying move date and qualifying agricultural or fishing activities. The eligibility validation process occurs at the regional level after the COE has been entered in the State’s record system.
English Language Learner (ELL)
• A national-origin-minority individual who is limited-English -proficient.
English as a Second Language (ESL)
• A program of techniques, methodology and special curriculum designed teach ELL individuals English language skills, with little use of their native language.
Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974
• A law that prohibits states from denying equal educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin. The statute specifically prohibits states from denying equal educational opportunity by the failure of an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs.
Family Survey
• A tool used to identify and recruit families in the MEP.
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
• (FERPA) is a law which protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records.
Fish Farms
• A tract of water reserved for the artificial cultivation of fish or shellfish, such as catfish, eels, oysters, or clams.
Fishing Activity
• Any activity directly related to the catching or processing of fish or shellfish for initial commercial sale.
Follow-up
• To make contact to ensure that referral information was obtained and acted upon.
High School Equivalency Program
• HEP
Home base
• The city/town which the worker considers the permanent address where he resides when not migrating.
Homeless
• An individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
Home Language Survey
• A survey required by the 1983 Idaho Consent Decree which should be filled out by the parent and/or guardian as part of enrollment. This survey should determine the primary language spoken first by the student and any other languages spoken by other members of the home.
Identification and Recruitment Plan (ID & R)
• A plan which details ID & R timelines, recruitment methods, strategies, etc., to be used to identify and recruit all migrant students on a year-round basis.
Idaho Migrant Council (IMC)
• An organization that assist migrant families and students in community, education, health and other resources available in their area.
Industrial Survey
• An alternate way to establish that work available year-round is “temporary” for purposes of the MEP due to a high degree of turnover, frequent layoffs without pay, or few-to-no opportunities for permanent full-time employment
Informal Resources
• Information that is shared through firsthand knowledge (e.g., job leads or names of other migrant families in the area.)
Initial Commercial Sale
• Is a sale that occurs when the crop or processed product is sold for refining to the next-stage processor; the wholesaler; the retailer; or directly to the consumer.
LEA (Local Education Agency)
• The LEA receives funds from the Idaho Education Agency to operate independent projects or to participate in Shared Services Arrangements with its regional Education Service Center.
Livestock
• Refers to any domestic animal produced or kept primarily for breeding or slaughter purposes; and beef and dairy cattle, hogs, sheep, rabbits, deer, goats and horses.
Livestock Production
• Refers to actively taking care of animals by herding, handling, feeding, watering, caring for, branding, tagging, and assisting in the raising of livestock.
Local Operating Agency (LOA)
• An agency that
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
• A collaboration agreement between the MEP and the named entity where both parties agree to exchange student information and cooperate in the collection, reporting and encoding of educational data of Idaho migrant students into the migrant state system.
McKINNEY-VENTO HOMLESS EDUCATION ASSISTANCE ACT
• Is a law that would allow and protect a child or youth including preschool age children who, are placed in a transitional or emergency shelter because there is nowhere else for them; are entitled to a free, appropriate public education. (see homeless)
Migrant Education Even Start
• MEES
Migrant Education Program
• Title 1, Part C
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start
• MSHS
Multiple Intent Moves
• Are moves in which a worker asserts more than one reason for moving.
National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education (NASDME)
• An association directing the cou
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
• A law the President George W. Bush signed to ensure that all children could achieve academic success by receiving the same high-quality education. To close the large achievement gap that exists between minority children and their peers.
Office of Migrant Education (OME)
• The main migrant office at the Federal level.
Out-of-School Youth (OOS)
• Those youth that are no longer attending school.
Portable Assisted Study Sequence (PASS)
• A program designed to assist those students who are short or lack credit(s) or complete their credit in order to graduate or receive credit.
Poultry Production
• And Processing refer to the raising of domestic fowl for flesh, eggs, feathers, down, breeding, and by-products; and the production and processing of chickens, turkeys, cornish hens, ducks, geese, quail, ostrich, emus, pheasant, and dove.
Primary Purpose
• The main or outstanding reason why the worker and his family moved across school district boundaries to do qualifying work.
Priority for Service (PFS)
• Refers to those who are in most need.
Processing
• Refers to working with a raw agricultural or fishing product, and transforming the raw product into a more refined product. USDA definition of processing includes cooking, baking, curing, heating, drying, mixing, grinding, churning, separating, extracting, slaughtering, cutting, fermenting, distilling, eviscerating, preserving dehydrating, freezing, chilling, packaging, canning, jarring, or otherwise enclosing food in a container.
Production
• Refers to working on farms, dairies, orchards, nurseries and greenhouses engaged in the production of crops, plants, or vines; keeping, grazing, or feeding of livestock or livestock products for sale; engaging in the production of bulbs, flower seeds, and vegetable seeds; working in specialty operations such as sod farms, mushroom cellars, and cranberry bogs [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) definition].
Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
• Contains student demographic and academic performance, personnel, financial, and organizational information.
Qualifying Arrival Date (QAD)
• The QAD is the qualifying arrival date at the place where the worker obtained or sought qualifying employment.
Qualifying Work
• Any work that meets the definition of an “agricultural or fishing activity” in sections 34 CFR 200.81 (a) or (b); and is a principal means of livelihood; and is temporary or seasonal.
Quality Control
• The process in which the states ensures that migrant children are correctly identified and recruited into the Migrant Education Program.
Recruiter
• An annually trained staff person responsible for identifying eligible migrant children into the MEP.
Referral
• The act of directing someone with a need to the appropriate resource for addressing that need.
Residency Date
• Is the first date of the student’s arrival in the school district
Residency Verification
• The process taken by and ESC or MEP funded school district to verify that each child listed on the COE resides in the district. Residency verification must be conducted between September 1 and October 1.
Reviewer
• An annually trained staff person responsible for approving and verifying that the information on the COE supports a proper determination of eligibility.
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF)
• An organization that donates books to motivate students and families to read more and read with their families.
SEA (State Education Agency)
• All SEAs receive federal funds to operate programs under Title 1, Part C- Education of Migratory Children.
Seasonal Employment
• Employment that is dependent on natural cycles.
Shared Services Arrangements (SSA)
• This is an agreement between two or more local education agencies (LEAs) and/or education service centers (ESCs) that provides services for the entities involved.
Temporary Employment
• Employment in agricultural or fishing that lasts for a short time frame, usually no longer than 12 months.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
• This Act provides each family the right to access their child’s records, and provides that the privacy of such records is protected.
Third-party Source
• A person or document used to provide credible information.
“To Join” Move
• This is a qualifying move in which the worker and the children do not move together. The recruiter must document under what circumstances the move occurred.
“To Seek” Move
• A “to seek” move is a move made by a worker who is able to demonstrate that his/her move was made with the intention of performing qualifying work, but circumstances beyond his/her control (market forces, natural occurrences) prevented him/her from performing the intended work.
Abbreviations
Canadian Provinces/Territories, Mexican and US
States/Territories
Canadian Provinces and Territories
|Alberta |AB |Nunavut |NU |
|British Columbia |BC |Ontario |ON |
|New Brunswick |NB |Prince Edward Island |PE |
|Newfoundland and Labrador |NL |Quebec |QC |
|Northwest Territories |NT |Saskatchewan |SK |
|Nova Scotia |NS |Yukon |YT |
|Mexican States |
|Aguascalientes |AG |Morelos |MR |
|Baja California |BN |Nayarit |NA |
|Baja California Sur |BS |Nuevo Leon |NL |
|Campeche |CM |Oaxaca |OA |
|Chiapas |CS |Puebla |PU |
|Chihuahua |CH |Queretaro |QE |
|Coahuila |CU |Quintana Roo |QI |
|Colima |CL |San Luis Potosi |SL |
|Durango |DG |Sinaloa |SI |
|Distrito Federal |DF |Sonora |SO |
|Guanajuato |GT |Tabasco |TB |
|Guerrero |GR |Tamaulipas |TM |
|Hidalgo |HG |Tlaxcala |TL |
|Jalisco |JA |Vera Cruz |VE |
|Mexico |MX |Yucatan |YU |
|Michoacán |MC |Zacatecas |ZA |
|US States and Territories |
|Alabama |AL |Montana |MT |
|Alaska |AK |Nebraska |NE |
|American Samoa |AS |Nevada |NV |
|Arizona |AZ |New Hampshire |NH |
|Arkansas |AR |New Jersey |NJ |
|California |CA |New Mexico |NM |
|Colorado |CO |New York |NY |
|Connecticut |CT |North Carolina |NC |
|Delaware |DE |North Dakota |ND |
|District of Columbia |DC |Northern Mariana Islands |MP |
|Federated States of Micronesia |FM |Ohio |OH |
|Florida |FL |Oklahoma |OK |
|Georgia |GA |Oregon |OR |
|Guam |GU |Palau |PW |
|Hawaii |HI |Pennsylvania |PA |
|Idaho |ID |Puerto Rico |PR |
|Illinois |IL |Rhode Island |RI |
|Indiana |IN |South Carolina |SC |
|Iowa |IA |South Dakota |SD |
|Kansas |KS |Tennessee |TN |
|Kentucky |KY |Texas |TX |
|Louisiana |LA |Utah |UT |
|Maine |ME |Vermont |VT |
|Marshall Islands |MH |Virgin Islands |VI |
|Maryland |MD |Virginia |VA |
|Massachusetts |MA |Washington |WA |
|Michigan |MI |West Virginia |WV |
|Minnesota |MN |Wisconsin |WI |
|Mississippi |MS |Wyoming |WY |
|Missouri |MO | | |
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start
|Community Council of Idaho-Central Office |La Adelita |El Arcoiris |
|317 Happy Day Blvd. |22730 Farmway Road #112 |3505 Airbase Road |
|Caldwell, ID 83607 |Caldwell, ID 83605 |Mountain Home, ID 83647 |
| |Phone: 208-459-6536 |Phone: 208-587-9171 |
|La Chiquita |Felipe Cabral |Emiliano Zapata |
|PO Box 1603 |1122 Washington Street South |1319 Normal Ave. |
|Nampa, ID 83653 |Twin Falls, ID 83301 |Burley, ID 83318 |
|Phone: 208-465-0677 |Phone: 208-734-8419 |Phone: 208-678-3288 |
|Manuel Cavazos |El Castillito |El Venadito |
|PO Box 731 |350 G Street |815 E. 9th |
|555 South 4th East |Idaho Falls, ID 83402 |Weiser, ID 83672 |
|Aberdeen, ID 83210 |Phone: 208-522-6236 |Phone: 208-549-1187 |
|Phone: 208-397-4190 | | |
|De Colores |Caritas De Angel |Carrusel De Ninos |
|18611 Upper Pleasant Ridge Rd |653 North 2858 East |HC 60 Box 264 |
|Caldwell, ID 83605 |Roberts, ID 83444 |Bonners Ferry, ID 83805 |
|Phone: 208-454-2655 |Phone: 208-228-6048 |Phone: 208-267-2198 |
|El Jardin de los Niños |La Estrellita | |
|Old HWY 30 Juan Mayoral Labor Camp |3491 West 81st North | |
|Hammett, ID 83627 |Idaho Falls, ID 83402 | |
|Phone: 208-366-2714 |Phone: 208-524-1339 | |
Migrant Even Start Programs
There are currently no programs in Idaho
SAMPLE ID & R PLAN
The following is one sample of an ID & R plan which meets the criteria discussed in the recruiter section.
|ACTIVITIES |TIMELINE |
|Training and Certification |
|All recruiters in the district must attend annual extensive ID & R Training and receive certification. |July and August |
| | |
|VARIETY OF STRATEGIES FOR ACTIVE ID& R |
|Meet with recruiters and clerks to: |July and August |
|Brainstorm and plan recruitment strategies; | |
|Develop recruitment schedules; Determine areas of visitation; and | |
|Provide recruitment material needed | |
|During End-of-Summer, School Registration Periods, or Events |August |
|Make recruiter assignments; | |
|Use printouts of students to track leads; | |
|Provide a Migrant Program display and flyers with the | |
|Recruiter’s contact information listed | |
|As part of each student’s school registration process: |August and Ongoing |
|Provide a migrant-specific family survey or other tool for each | |
|Student’s family to complete and return to school office. Follow Up on returned surveys which indicate | |
|potential leads. | |
|Check new registrations’ enrollment cards for any students who | |
|Are new to the district. | |
|Conduct residency verification. |September and October |
|Avariety of methods may be used (school records, home or School visits, etc.) | |
|Be sure to include two-year-olds turning three. | |
|Coordinate with scheduled campus and district staff development to |Fall |
|Provide MEP awareness training for: | |
|School secretaries and attendance clerks; School registrars, counselors, nurses; and | |
|Parent liaisons/support specialists. | |
|Utilize ESC ID & R staff to assist with training | |
|Provide information flyer in English and Spanish about the Migrant Education Program and arrange to have |Fall |
|schools insert it in district’s Report card | |
|Coordinate with district staff to ensure that the Migrant Program is featured in schools newsletters, school|Ongoing |
|newspapers or parent Meetings, etc. | |
|Review current and outdated MEP files and conduct telephone |Ongoing |
|Canvassing of: | |
|Students whose eligibility has terminated | |
|Students that did not return previous years; | |
|Students whose files are inactive. | |
|Schedule at least one MEP recruiter to be present at the district’s |Ongoing |
|Student Intake Center on a daily basis to: | |
|Interview parents; | |
|Ask if neighbors may be migrant; | |
|Discuss the Migrant Program | |
|Conduct ID&R advertisement campaigns utilizing: |Ongoing |
|Radio stations | |
|TV Press Release | |
|WIC & Health Clinics | |
|Parent centers Head start | |
|Department of Human Services | |
|Church announcement bulletins | |
|Flyers in grocery and retail stores, city hall, library, | |
|And laundry facilities, etc. | |
|Network with all Parent Involvement staff and with all evening Community education directors for potential |Ongoing |
|leads. | |
|Utilize the districts student database system, if possible, to check on student enrollment and withdrawal |Ongoing |
|patterns and dates. | |
|Ensure that recruiters are assigned additional | |
|Workdays to cover summer months. | |
|Coordinate with teachers to recruit new families. | |
|Continue active recruitment efforts during the summer. |Summer |
PHONE SCRIPT
Hello, my name is: ______________________.
I work for the (your district name) as (your title or position).
May I speak with (Parent’s/Guardian’s Name)? Or Mr. or Mrs. (last name).
Your child, (child’s name), is enrolled in (name of school child is attending) and I have been asked to conduct an eligibility screening for one of our programs. Example of programs: Title 1, Special Ed, Title 1-Migrant, or ELL.
Mr. / Mrs. (last name), is this a convenient time to ask you a few questions?
If not, I do apologize, (Mr./Mrs. Last name), and is there a better time that we may continue our
conversation or would you prefer a home visit?
When: _________________________, and
What time: ______________________, could I call to continue the conversion or a home visit.
If yes, please continue with the following questions.
1. During the past three years, has your family made a move that took them across district boundaries to seek work?
• If yes, then continue
• If no, stop, not eligible, currently at this time your child is not eligible for services from the Migrant Program. If you have any questions about the program or would like a home visit screening please contact the (Family Liaison/School District) at (phone number).
• Or maybe at this time a little more probing to clarify questions is needed before terminating the interview.
2. Did the all of your children move with you?
• If yes, then continue
• If no, stop, not eligible, currently at this time your child is not eligible for services from the Migrant Program. If you have any questions about the program or would like a home visit screening please contact the (Family Liaison/School District) at (phone number).
• Or maybe at this time a little more probing to clarify questions is needed before terminating the interview.
3. Why did you move?
• Related to agricultural and fishing employment, if Yes, then continue
• If no, stop, not eligible, currently at this time your child is not eligible for services from the Migrant Program. If you have any questions about the program or would like a home visit
screening please contact the (Family Liaison/School District) at (phone number)..
• Or maybe at this time a little more probing to clarify questions is needed before terminating the interview.
PHONE SCRIPT, cont.
4. Was the move made for agricultural or fishing employment?
• If yes, then continue
• If the family says that they were looking for work:
1. not related,
2. that is permanent, or
3. without the intention to work in agricultural or fishing,
• stop, not eligible, currently at this time your child is not eligible for services from the Migrant Program. If you have any questions about the program or would like a home visit
screening please contact the (Family Liaison/School District) at (phone number)..
• Or maybe at this time a little more probing to clarify questions is needed before terminating the interview.
5. Where did you move from? Where did you move to?
• If yes, when did this move take place? _______, then continue with questions.
• If no, stop, not eligible, currently at this time your child is not eligible for services from the Migrant Program. If you have any questions about the program or would like a home visit
screening please contact the (Family Liaison/School District) at (phone number)..
• Or maybe at this time a little more probing to clarify questions is needed before terminating the interview.
6. Is the qualifying work an important part of providing a living for the worker and his/her family?
• If yes, continue
• If the worker indicates that this work does not play an important part in providing for the family livelihood, then stop, at this time the family is not eligible for the MEP services.
• Or maybe at this time a little more probing to clarify questions is needed before terminating the interview.
COMMENTS: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[pic]
-----------------------
NO
Did the child move (alone, with, or
to join a parent, spouse or guardian)
within the last 36 months?
The child QUALIFIES for the
Migrant Education Program.
Was the work an important part of
providing a living for the worker and
his or her family?
Was a reason for the move to obtain
or seek work that is:
(1) temporary or seasonal AND in
(2) agriculture or fishing?*
Was the move across a school
district or national boundary?
YES
NO
The Child does NOT QUALIFY for the Migrant Education Program
Was the move across a school
district or national boundary?
YES
Was a reason for the move to obtain
or seek work that is:
(1) temporary or seasonal AND in
(2) agriculture or fishing?*
NO
YES
Was the work an important part of
providing a living for the worker and
his or her family?
NO
YES
The Child is eligible for the Migrant Education Program.
................
................
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