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?
Age of arrival in US: Profile: Grade 8 th and 9 th grades: 33% 10 th 12 th grades: 48% Drop-outs: 6% Graduates: 13% Country of birth: Born in US: 35% Of remaining 65%: 78% born in Mexico Born in: 0 5 years: 16% 6 12 years: 37% 13+ years: 42% Missing: 5% 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%
Parent Paid Work Profile Industry of employment Farming Food processing Landscaping, gardening Fast food Other restaurant Other industry (nonag) Father/father figure (87% worked in past year) 29% 17 15 3.3 5.3 25 Mother/mother figure (80% worked in past year) 9.4% 35 6.3 10 6.9 23
HOW WELL DOES YOUR FATHER/FATHER FIGURE 80 70 60 50 % 40 30 20 10 0 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 80 70 60 50 % 40 30 20 10 0 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? Question: What is their work experience? Paid summer job: 28% with job School year job: 23% with job Friends: Many Some Only 1-2 None Work after school? 28% 33% 25% 15% Work nights and school next day? 14 21 22 43 Stopped going to school to take job? 11 26 24 39
Type of paid job held by youth (check all that apply): Farm Food processing Landscaping Fast food Restaurant Housecleaning Babysitting Construction Other Summer 9.3% 11 7.0 16 16 11 22 2.3 19 After school 8.6% 8.6 5.7 19 26 10 17 4.3 20
In last summer job (ag or nonag), how often did you: Often Sometimes Never Take regular breaks? 43% 44% 12% Work longer than expected? 18 49 34 Do work that seemed unsafe? 15 17 68 Received less pay than expected? 9.0 33 58 Hurt yourself? 5.1 19 76 Enjoy your job? 51 41 8.9 Learn skills to help in the future? 54 39 6.3
Questions asked of those working after school: Result in not enough time for homework? Tired in school due to having a job? Dropped out of school or dropped back a year in school due to work? 44% yes 50% yes 3.3% yes
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%
Parents Friends 7.9% 30.0% Pa 62.1% All or most are Hispanic Some are Hispanic, some are not Hispanic All or most are not Hispanic
What are the characteristics of their ties within their local communities? Discrimination against Very often Often Occasionally Rarely Never You At school 9.9% 12% 16% 32% 30% At work 6.8 7.2 16 19 51 In community 8.2 8.2 19 32 33 Hispanics more generally At school 17 21 27 22 12 At work 14 18 26 17 26 In community 14 21 26 26 13
What are the characteristics of their ties within their school communities? 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%
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