On July 26, 2016 the Board of Supervisors directed that an Agricultural Labor Ad Hoc Board Subcommittee be formed to gain a better understanding of the needs of farmworkers in Yolo County. Supervisors Saylor and Villegas were subsequently appointed to the subcommittee.
Through this subcommittee an outreach of stakeholders was conducted during the Spring/Summer of 2017 to determine the needs of farmworkers and potential strategies to address those needs at the local level. Information was gathered through interviews with representatives from seventeen organizations as well as farmworkers in various locations of Yolo County. The organizations consulted specialized in the fields of medical care, education, housing, legal services, and other assistance services.
Those interviewed were asked questions pertaining to seven major categories: Medical Access, Housing, Food Security, Transportation, Education, Labor Force, and Additional Concerns. Farmworkers were also interviewed directly, either individually or in groups in various locations in Yolo County. The information gathered was formed into an Agricultural Labor Report (Attachment A) that details the issues facing farmworkers and the strategies to assist, as identified by those interviewed.
The Agricultural Labor Report was received by the Board of Supervisors on September 26, 2017. While some of the issues identified in the report reached beyond the grasp of the County or local stakeholders to solve, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to implement a number of strategies deemed County actionable.
Strategy Status
Below are each of the County actionable strategies along with an update on the status of implementation.
Strategy: Implement a farmworker outreach coordinator program at a non-profit organization. (Lead: County Administrator's Office)
The County provided $150,000 in the FY17-18 adopted budget to fund a full time farmworker outreach coordinator position at a non-profit for up to two years ($75,000 annually) as a pilot program. The County contracted with RISE, Inc. (Rural Innovations in Social Economics, Incorporated) to hire the outreach coordinator. This coordinator is to reach out to farmers to assist them in accessing services, establish a collaborative of stakeholders to assist in implementation of the Agricultural Labor Report strategies, and to host two Viva La Vida farmworker conferences per year. A list of accomplishments related to the farmworker outreach and the stakeholders that participate in the collaborative are provided in Attachment B.
Strategy: Work with stakeholders to provide greater outreach regarding the County Medical Services Plan (CMSP). (Lead: Health and Human Services Agency)
Due to recent changes in the way the State of California views requirements for residency and Medi-Cal, which in many cases allows undocumented individuals greater access to care, the necessity of outreach for increased use of CMSP has reduced. We are however seeing dramatic increases in Medi-Cal aid codes related to the above changes which show agricultural laborers are getting access to care.
Strategy: Explore alterations to the County's Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and return to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation. (Lead: Community Services)
Community Services has been exploring potential alterations to the ordinance and plan to provide an update for the Board in the Fall.
Strategy: Explore the provision of subsidies for County building permits and other fees for farmworker housing projects and return to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation. (Lead: Community Services)
Community Services is researching the potential for these subsidies and has reached out to Yolo County Housing to assist in this exploration. An update on this item will be provided to the Board along with the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance in the Fall.
Strategy: Consider including these specific topics in the Board of Supervisors Legislative Platform: (1) Advocacy for federal (USDA and HUD) and state funding for farmworker housing; particularly for single adults; (2)Advocacy for immigration reform. (Lead: County Administrator's Office)
One of the objectives in the County’s 2018 Intergovernmental Advocacy Policy, (adopted December 12, 2017) directly addresses farmworker housing. Specifically, the objective supports the federal Rural and Community Investment Program (RCIP) initiatives supporting farmworker housing through the Housing Bond.
Strategy: Explore the establishment of a low cost career training program and return to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation. (Lead: Health and Human Services Agency)
The Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) is in the process of exploring the creation of a low cost Agricultural Career Certification training program that will work with local major farmers to identify skills gaps (ie. GIS for Farm Equipment, Safe Pesticide Handling, Forklift Certification, and etc.), create a curriculum based on these gaps, and provide this training to local job seekers. The job seekers would include those looking to enter the agricultural job sector and those looking for the opportunity for career advancement within the agricultural industry or into another career. While the ongoing tuition for this training could be paid for through ETPL-WIOA and use CalWorks for placement, HHSA has been unable to identify an interested funder and training partner to create the curriculum. As a potential alternative, HHSA proposed the idea of releasing an RFP to either identify or encourage the creation of a training partner by offering initial startup funds. Staff have and continue to explore grant opportunities for funding and may include a proposal for strategic plan funding under the Safe Communities goal area at the FY18-19 Adopted Budget.
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