Child Eligibility and Identification & Recruitment

1. Child Eligibility and Identification & Recruitment Sarah Martinez,Celeste Rodriguez and Patricia Meyertholen New Directors Meeting February 28, 2012

2. Objectives • Develop a clear understanding of the requirements for MEP eligibility • Apply the eligibility requirements using common scenarios encountered during Identification and Recruitment (ID&R) • Strengthen awareness of ID&R practices, methods for strong quality control, and special considerations for the Out-of-School Youth (OSY) population

3. Legal References Children are eligible to receive MEP services if they meet the definition of “migratory child” and if the basis for their eligibility is properly recorded on a certificate of eligibility (COE).

4. Statute Regulations MEP Eligibility • Section 1115(b)(1)(A) Defines “eligible children” • Section 1309(2) Defines “migratory child” • Section 200.81(a) – (k) Defines several key eligibility terms: • agricultural work • fishing work • in order to obtain • migratory agricultural worker • migratory child • migratory fisher • move or moved • personal subsistence • qualifying work • seasonal employment • temporary employment

5. The “5 Factors” for Eligibility

6. Move The child moved:

7. In Order to Obtain One purpose of the move was to seek or obtain qualifying work. Worker moved:

8. Qualifying Work is…

9. Qualifying Work (cont.) May not be continuous or carried on throughout the year Occurs only during a certain part of the year because of the cycles of nature Seasonal employment…

10. Qualifying Work (cont.) SEA DOCUMENTATION– The SEA has determined that, despite the apparent permanency of work at a particular worksite, virtually none of the workers remain employed for more than 12 months. EMPLOYER’S STATEMENT– e.g., the employer hires the worker for October, November, and December to prepare for the holiday season. WORKER’S STATEMENT – e.g., the worker states that he plans to leave the job after a period of four months. Temporary employment lasts for a limited period of time, usually a few months, but no longer than 12 months. It is determined based on one of the following…

11. Qualifying Work (cont.)

12. The “5 Factors” for Eligibility

13. Common Scenarios Encountered in ID&R Eligibility Scenarios

14. Eligibility Scenarios On March 15 two years ago, Ruben Gomez and his two sons, Andy, 17, and Rudy, 15, an unemployed farmworker family with a long history of moves for seasonal agricultural work, arrived in your community from Tucson, Arizona. They moved in order to obtain seasonal employment picking tomatoes, but Ruben instead found work at a local florist. Not being successful in locating work for Andy and Rudy, the father enrolled them in school on March 20. On June 15 the following year, Ruben and his two sons were hired by a farmer to fertilize cotton. Are the Gomez children eligible for Migrant Education Program (MEP) services? A. Yes B. No C. Need more information

15. Eligibility Scenarios On March 20th of last year, Don Butler, his wife and two children, ages 9 and 13, moved from Muldrow, Oklahoma, to Dodge City, Kansas, because they heard that Kansas had more employment opportunities and because Mrs. Butler’s sister lives in Kansas. Mr. Butler found work as a skinner approximately ten days after moving. The employer said that he only needed Mr. Butler for five months – at the end of the five months he would have filled a large order and was not expecting any new orders to arrive. A year later, the recruiter returned to speak with the family and learned that Mr. Butler continued to work at the plant, but his responsibilities changed to a cattle sorter. Are the Butler children eligible for MEP services? A. Yes B. No C. Need more information

16. Eligibility Scenarios On April 1st of this year, Jeff and Marie Bates, both 20 years old, and their daughter, Donna, 3 years old, moved to Beardstown, Illinois, from Hope, Arkansas, looking for any work. Both Jeff and Marie dropped out of high school in the 11th grade and need to work to support their family. When they arrived in Beardstown, Jeff found part-time, night work as a janitor at a melon packing shed. Marie found work cleaning houses. Does anyone in the family qualify for MEP services? A. Yes B. No C. Need more information

17. Eligibility Scenarios In March of last year, the Babenko family moved from Carnation, Washington, to work at a dairy farm near Silverton, Oregon. The dairy farm owner said that he anticipated the work to last five months. Both the mother and father have experience working on a dairy farm - feeding and milking cows, cleaning stalls and various other duties. These are the same tasks the dairy farm owner hired them to do on his farm. The family typically moves throughout the Northwest to do this type of work. The Babenkos take their three children, Dmitry, 18, Denis,14, and Alexandra,10, with them when they move. The parents enrolled Denis and Alexandra in school. Dmitry worked with his parents on the farm. Do the children qualify for the MEP? A. Yes B. No C. Need more information

18. SEA Responsibilities, Quality Control and Other Concerns Identification and Recruitment (ID&R)

19. ID&R Action Plan • Map • Train • Deploy • Control • Evaluate

20. Map migrant Families and migrant areas, identifying and recruiting all eligible children. Step One

21. Step Two Train and guide recruiters on identifying, recruiting and appropriate eligibility determinations.

22. Step Four Design Control quality for accuracy of: Recruiters’ eligibility determinations; and Written eligibility documentation.

23. Step Five 10 10 10 10 10 Evaluate effectiveness of Identification and recruitment and revise procedures as needed.

24. Quality Control • Training • Supervision & Annual Review of Recruiters • Formal Process to Resolve Eligibility Questions • Review of each COE • Validation Process—re-interviewing. • Documentation of Implementation and Improvement • Plan for Corrective Action

25. ID&R Quality Control200.89(d) as published in the Federal Register on July 29, 2008 SEAs must establish and implement a system of quality controls for proper ID&R of eligible children. Must include (at a minimum): Training on eligibility & documentation requirements Supervision & annual review and evaluation of ID&R practices of individual recruiters.

26. 3. Formal process for resolving eligibility questions and communicating this information to all LOAs 4. Examination of each COE (can be done at LOA or SEA level) 5. Process for validating proper eligibility determinations – to include prospective re-interviewing ID&R Quality Control200.89(d) as published in the Federal Register on July 29, 2008

27. Quality Control (cont.)200.89(d) as published in the Federal Register on July 29, 2008 6. Documentation to support implementation & improvement of this quality control system. 7. Process for implementing corrective action if COEsdo not sufficientlydocument eligibility.

28. National COE • 200.89(c) of the new regulations published in the Federal Register on July 29, 2008 establishes a National COE • All states are required to use the same form when documenting eligibility. • Absolute form & content is not final, additions can be made, but not omissions. However . . .The state’s current documentation must demonstrate eligibility based on the regulations.

29. Recruiting OSY Implementing only a school-based ID&R model is not very effective for OSY because school administrators generally are not interested in youth who are not in school. • Based on geographic, crop and growing season factors, the best OSY ID&R model for your state may be a statewide, regional, local or combination model. • If possible, employ a statewide (regionwide/districtwide) OSY Coordinator. • Recruiting OSY requires year-round effort and flexibility because OSY are highly mobile. Recruiters who work with OSY need flexible working hours. Nights, weekends and rainy days may be the only times to recruit OSY where they live.

30. Bilingual and Cultural Awareness • Hire bilingual recruiters; and for small pockets of language groups, hire young adults from that group in part time recruiter positions or as translators. • Improve the language skills of recruiters or change recruiters in areas where, over the years, the migrant population has shifted. • Employ OSY in recruiter positions as they often know where to find other OSY. • Give recruiters strategies for recruiting OSY. Many good recruiters may not have experience with OSY. Knowing strategies that work can help them focus on this population.

31. Networking • Establish relationships with farmers, labor contractors, food processors and crew chiefs. They may share information regarding this population, such as anticipated arrival dates, length of stay, and may set up interviews with their employees at the job site. • Develop a strong network of agencies, such as churches, medical clinics, and social groups that can provide for OSY’s basic needs. • Work with HEPs, CAMPs, ABE, GED programs and community colleges in the area to identify and recruit potential students for programs.

32. Networking (cont.) • Meet with growers’ associations and farm bureaus on a regular basis. Ask for their support and let them know what services the program will provide for their workforce. • Develop a bilingual community service directory aimed at OSY. Make the directory easy to read with explicit information as to where to go and how to get needed services, such as food pantries, health clinics and clothing banks. Distribute directory to OSY at time of recruitment.

33. For More Information • Celeste Rodriguez Celeste.rodriguez@ed.gov Sarah Martinez • Sarah.martinez@ed.gov Patricia Meyertholen • Patricia.meyertholen@ed.gov