Future of Pennsylvania’s

Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker Youth

Jill L. Findeis

Anastasia Snyder

Leif Jensen

Janelle Larson

Luis Sevilla

Bitia Salas

May 9, 2008

Presentation at The Conference on Immigration Reform: Implications

for Farmers, Farm Workers, and Communities

Description of work:

1. Part of NIH project initiated in 2005

R03 pilot project

2. Understand aspirations, constraints to upward

mobility, access to health care, community ties

3. How to reach hard-to-reach populations

4. Migrant and seasonal farm worker family youth –

Migrant Education Program

5. Family context, with one or both parents employed in

agriculture

Approach:

• Qualitative surveys focus groups among farm

worker parents, youth; key informants)

• Quantitative written survey among youth in farm

worker families (preliminary results)

• Analysis of Migrant Education Program

administrative data

• Rural Opportunities Inc (ROI) survey data

Insights into four questions:

1. To what extent do the youth in migrant and seasonal

farm worker families in PA aspire to hold jobs in

agriculture as adults?

2. To what extent are the youth in these families now

engaged in agriculture?

3. What expectations do youth – and their parents --

have for their educations?

4. What are the characteristics of their ties within their

local communities?

Grade

8th and 9th grades: 33%

10th – 12th grades: 48%

Drop-outs: 6%

Graduates: 13%

Country of birth:

Born in US: 35%

Of remaining 65%:

78% born in Mexico

Profile:

Age of arrival in US:

0 – 5 years: 16%

6 – 12 years: 37%

13+ years: 42%

Missing: 5%

Born in:

Urban: 50%

Rural nonfarm: 17%

Rural farm: 19%

Suburban: 14%

Language (speak primarily Spanish):

At home? 56%

Neighbors? 33%

Friends? 25%

With teachers? 8%

At work? 18%

2325Other industry

(nonag)

6.95.3Other restaurant

103.3Fast food

6.315Landscaping,

gardening

3517Food processing

9.4%29%Farming

Mother/mother

figure (80% worked

in past year)

Father/father figure

(87% worked in past

year)

Industry of

employment

Parent Paid Work Profile

HOW WELL DOES YOUR FATHER/FATHER FIGURE …

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

speak

Spanish?

read Spanish? write Spanish? speak

English?

read English? write English?

%

Very well Well Not well Not at all

HOW WELL DOES YOUR MOTHER/MOTHER FIGURE

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

speak

Spanish?

read Spanish? write

Spanish?

speak

English?

read English? write English?

%

Very well Well Not well Not at all

Question 1. To what extent do the youth

in migrant and seasonal farm worker

families in PA aspire to hold jobs in

agriculture as adults?

Question 1. To what extent do the youth

in migrant and seasonal farm worker

families in PA aspire to hold jobs in

agriculture as adults? Not much.

Question 1. To what extent do the youth

in migrant and seasonal farm worker

families in PA aspire to hold jobs in

agriculture as adults?

• Future job preferences:

1 landscaping / landscape design

4 veterinarians / 1 work with animals

• Future job expectations:

1 landscaping / landscape design

2 veterinarians

• Decline in the numbers of youth answering high-wage

professional jobs – compare preferences to expectations

Question 2: To what extent are the

youth in these families already

engaged in agriculture?

Question 2: To what extent are the

youth in these families already

engaged in agriculture?

Paid summer job: 28% with job

School year job: 23% with job

Friends:

39242611Stopped going

to school to take

job?

43222114Work nights –

and school next

day?

15%25%33%28%Work after

school?

NoneOnly 1 - 2SomeMany

Question: What is their work experience?

2019Other

4.32.3Construction

1722Babysitting

1011Housecleaning

2616Restaurant

1916Fast food

5.77.0Landscaping

8.611Food processing

8.6%9.3%Farm

After schoolSummer

Type of paid job held by youth (check all

that apply):

6.33954Learn skills to help in the future?

8.94151Enjoy your job?

76195.1Hurt yourself?

58339.0Received less pay than expected?

681715Do work that seemed unsafe?

344918Work longer than expected?

12%44%43%Take regular breaks?

NeverSometimesOften

In last summer job (ag or nonag), how

often did you:

• Result in not enough time for homework? 44% yes

• Tired in school due to having a job? 50% yes

• Dropped out of school or dropped back

a year in school due to work? 3.3% yes

Questions asked of those working after

school:

Question 3. What expectations do

youth – and their parents -- have for

their educations?

Question 3. Expectations do youth –

and their parents -- have for their

educations?

How far do you want to go in school?

I plan to drop out 6.2%

Graduate from high school 25

Graduate from a two-year college 13

Graduate from a 4-year college 41

Graduate from professional program 14

How far do your parents want you to go?

Not complete high school 9.3%

Finish high school 28

Attend trade or technical school 11

Finish 4-year college or more 52

Question 3. What expectations do

youth – and their parents -- have for

their educations?

What are most of your friends planning on doing after finishing

high school?

Work directly 37%

Technical or vocational school 13

Two-year college 18

4-year college 26

Start a family 6

Question 4. What are the characteristics

of their ties within their local

communities?

• Moved to community with a community tie: 73%

• Awareness of their family providing assistance to a recent

immigrant: 59%

How many of friends are Hispanic:

• All or most 43%

• Some are and some aren’t 49%

62.1%

7.9%

30.0%

All or most are Hispanic

Some are Hispanic, some are not Hispanic

All or most are not Hispanic

Pa

Parents’ Friends

What are the characteristics of their ties

within their local communities?

2617261814 At work

1222272117 At school

Hispanics more

generally

1326262114 In community

3332198.28.2 In community

5119167.26.8 At work

30%32%16%12%9.9% At school

You

NeverRarelyOccasionallyOftenVery

often

Discrimination

against

Participants in school and local activities?

Participate in extracurricular school activity:

43% (28% sports, 7.2% music/arts)

Participate in local activity: 27% (sports 21%)

Ethnic composition of participants in local activities are:

Mostly Hispanics 56%

Some are and some aren’t 32%

What are the characteristics of their ties

within their school communities?

Discussion

• Youth not preferring nor expecting to stay in agriculture

• Parents settled and in ‘broader’ agriculture

• Barriers to upward mobility/assimilation

• Youth that we found through organizations engaging youth

were not able to target drop-outs

• In future use household not youth