FA R M   L A B O R   I N F O R M AT I O N   B U L L E T I N
Voice of the Fields California
February 2013
FREE
Volume 23, Number 2
Office of Migrant Services and Temporary Migrant Family Housing Centers
E
ach year during the planting and harvest season, agricultural workers and their families migrate from their homes to agricultural areas for employment. Because of the large number of families coming to these areas for such a short period of time, and the lack of quality housing available, the State of California and the Department of Labor developed the Office of Migrant Services (OMS). The OMS was established in 1965, to provide Migrant farmworker families with safe, decent and affordable seasonal rental housing and support services during the peak growing and harvest season, usually beginning in April and ending in November.
Before 1965, it was common for families to live in small cramped motel rooms often with other families, and those who were less fortunate, lived in their cars, or along orchards or streams in makeshift shacks - with no electricity, plumbing or safety. To serve the housing needs of seasonal farm working families living in California, the OMS works with local housing authorities and counties to provide migrant centers located throughout California (see box next page). The OMS has two brand new centers in California and both of these centers have plenty of room for new families needing housing. These centers are located in Modoc County and Merced County. Below is a series of questions and answers regarding information about the OMS and Migrant Family Housing Centers.
What does my family need to qualify for housing? To qualify for seasonal housing, an applicant must collect at least 50% of their earned income from agricultural Continued on next page