Federal programs, designed to improve the living conditions of migrant and other seasonal farmworkers in 6 agricultural areas in California, Florida, Michigan, New York, Texas, and Washington, were assessed by the General Accounting Office. In fiscal years 1966-70, the government provided about $400 million in grants and loans to assist these…

The National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Collaboration Office conducted this small scale study to begin to expand, document and disseminate migrant-specific early learning information and to develop a long-range strategy for addressing/increasing collaboration between MSHS and state Pre-Kindergarten programs serving or having the potential to…

Information is given on the size and composition of the 1971 hired farm working force (HFWF) and on the employment and cash earnings from farm and nonfarm wagework obtained during the year. Data were obtained from a survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census as a supplementary part of the regular Current Population Survey made in December 1971.…

Seasonal migration for work by poor rural families is a phenomenon that is escalating as the agrarian crisis mounts. Millions of families that migrate are compelled to take their children along, leaving school and a normal childhood behind. They spend several months every year at work sites such as brick kilns, salt pans, plantations and stone…

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the reasons for which migrant agricultural workers in Pennsylvania seek health care. Methods: Participants were individuals 14 years of age and over, actively involved in agricultural labor and presenting for medical care at 6 migrant health care centers. Bilingual health care providers…

In 1970, the Farm Workers Health Service, which was begun in 1961, included 33 decentralized medical clinics which served 24,000 seasonal farm workers and their families in 17 counties during the peak harvest months. Seventeen clinics offered year-round general medical services, and in 12 counties free medical and dental care was available to farm…

Involving students in community-based participatory research is a useful mechanism for engaging the community and helping it build future capacity. This article describes student involvement in a series of community-based environmental health research projects with migrant and seasonal farmworkers in North Carolina. High school, undergraduate,…

Principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) were applied among migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs) in a seven-county region of east Texas. The study purpose was to establish community-based partnerships for CBPR and conduct a preliminary qualitative assessment of perceived health needs and capacities. Key informant interviews…

The health needs of the approximately three million migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families are clearly among the greatest needs of any population group in the country. In 1962 the Migrant Health Act became the first legislation intended to address some of the health needs of migrants. By 1976 Migrant Health Centers had served 415,000…

Information on the size, composition, and family income of farm wageworker households (any household with at least 1 person 14 years of age or over who performed farm wagework at any time during the year, even if for only 1 day) in 1971 is presented. Households were classified as: (1) regular--households with at least 1 member who performed 150…

The study's purpose was to compile descriptive information about a small band of Algonquin Indian seasonal agricultural workers from Quebec, Canada who migrate annually into Ontario County, New York to work on the fur and poultry farms. Although these Indians have worked in the State since 1945, no "serious" study had been made which…

In an effort to understand the nationwide problem of recruitment, training, and retention of farm workers, 28 representative New York farm operators with a reputation for success in dealing with hired workers were interviewed in the summer of 1966. Information obtained included personal and educational characteristics, attitudes and aspirations,…

This monograph is the result of an ethnographic study, conducted between 1981 and 1982, to explore the social conditions under which migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families lived and their children were socialized. The study was conducted in a large agricultural county in New Jersey. At the time of the study, the county had slightly…

This report describes efforts to develop sampling methods to be used in national or regional studies of migrant and seasonal farm workers (MSFWs). Several facets of the MSFWs' lifestyle create sampling difficulties. One is mobility. Although the dynamic nature of MSFWs' movement is partly understood, it is sufficiently unpredictable to create…