Seasonal Migrant Housing

Our Facilities

Atwater Migrant Center

Los Banos Migrant Center

Merced Migrant Center

Felix Torres Farm Worker Housing Center

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Migrant Center Locations

Program Basics

Historically, occupancy of migrant housing centers has been normally between May/April to October/November to accommodate migrant workers who have travelled to California for the growing or harvesting season and then returned to their country/state of origin.

Occupancy in the twenty-four (24) Office of Migrant Services (OMS) migrant farmworker centers is generally limited to one hundred and eighty (180) days, however, existing regulations authorize the Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) to approve extended occupancy periods of up to two hundred and seventy-five (275) days in a calendar year under specified conditions.

HCD provides grants for OMS center operation, paid from the General Fund and OMS rental income.

Eligibility Criteria

“Migratory Agricultural Worker” is defined as an individual who:

1. During the current or preceding calendar year, derived at least 50% of their total annual household earned income from agricultural employment or can produce current evidence of a current job offer in agricultural employment; and
2. Performs, has performed, or will perform such agricultural labor during the current or preceding calendar year under conditions which require round trip travel exceeding 100 miles per day such that they were unable to return to their chosen place of residence within the same day of labor; and
3. Has resided together with their immediate family outside a 50-mile radius of the migrant center for at least 3 months out of the preceding 6-month period. (OMS Regulations)

Admissions

Admission Priorities

1. Applicants shall apply for admission on a first-come, first-serve basis.
2. Admission priority can be given to returning residents who are in good standing and in compliance with all program requirements.
3. If more eligible applicants apply than there are available units, all families are added to a waiting list which will be used to fill units as units become available.

The abovementioned priority shall be followed without regard to race, creed, religion, sex, color, or national origin or any other factor precluded by law.

Admission Requirements

A complete application and lease packet must be completed in order to receive housing.

1. Each application for admission shall reflect the date and time of application by the applicant; and
2. Each applicant shall provide all information requested in the Application for Admission, Reportable Income Statement, and Net Family Assets; and
3. Copies of all required verifications must be provided to the Authority. These include proof of agricultural income, verification that the family resided 50+ miles away from the center, family composition, etc.
4. Resident must sign all required lease forms and addendums.

Extension Requests

Occupancy at the migrant centers is generally limited to one hundred and eighty (180) days. Should the following criteria be met, occupancy can be extended up to two hundred and seventy-five (275) days in a calendar year.

Extension Criteria

1. At least 25% of the units in the center shall have indicated their need and intention to remain in residency.
2. Whether there is adequate documentation that there is a need for residents of the migrant center to continue work in the area, as confirmed by the local entity.
3. No additional subsidies provided by the department are used for the operation or administration of the migrant farm center during the extended occupancy period except to the extent that state funds are appropriated or authorized for the purpose of funding all or part of the cost of subsidizing extended occupancy periods.
4. An extended occupancy period is requested by an entity operating the migrant farm labor center and received by the department no earlier than 30 days and no later than 15 days prior to the center’s scheduled opening or closing date.