nathan weiss us department of education office of migrant education hep and camp directors meeting

17 September 2009 1

Basic Eligibility for the

High School Equivalency Program (HEP) and

College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP)

Nathan WeissUS Department of EducationOffice of Migrant Education

HEP and CAMP Directors MeetingWashington, D.C.

14 July 2009

Basic Eligibility

To Do, To Know and To Be

To know the basis of eligibility qualifications

To know the organization of qualifications from the laws and regulations

To be able to make accurate basic eligibility determinations for HEP and CAMP

To be able to screen for eligibility through MEP and WIA

To be an advocate for migrant students by properly identifying them

17 September 2009 Basic Eligibility 2

Organizational Overview of Eligibility


HEP418A(b)(1):Age, School Attendance, Work, MEP, WIA, Education Status

CAMP418A (c)(1)(A):Work, MEP, WIA, College or University Attendance

LAWTitle IV, Section 418A of the Higher

Education Act of 1965 as amended by section 408 of the Higher Education Opportunity Act P.L. 110-315 (H.R.

4137)

General HEP and CAMP participation eligibility: Work, MEP, WIA

Special HEP Qualifications:Education Status, School Attendance, Age, Need

Special CAMP Qualifications:IHE Admission, Not Beyond 1st Year in IHE, Need

Current REG

Program Definitions: Agricultural Activity, Farmwork, Full-time, IHE, Migrant Farmworker, Seasonal Farmworker

Proposed Regulations

Updated Regulations needed due to reauthorization of HEP/CAMP by Higher Education Opportunity Act.

Negotiated Rulemaking process to draft proposed regulatory language concluded in April of this year.

Key updates involve the definition of "immediate family member" and the introduction of language regarding prior experience points into the regulation.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking should be out by the end of November, 2009.


Guidance in Development

Ongoing process of working towards issuing HEP/CAMP program guidance

Updated to reflect new statutory language, proposed regulations, and feedback from the sessions on guidance at the last two Directors Meetings


It’s about the WORK!


Migrant or Seasonal Farmworker—who primary employment was in farmwork on a temporary or seasonal basis and

In last 24 months has 75 days of

Farmwork—agricultural activity for wages or personal subsistence on a farm, ranch or similar establishment

Agricultural Activity—related to

production of

livestock

dairy products

crops

poultryharvesting of trees

cultivation of trees

fish farms







production of

livestock

Dairy products

crops



fish farms

Words to Live By!


34 CFR §206.3 Who is eligible to participate in a project?

(a)General. To be eligible to participate in a HEP or CAMP project—

(1) A person, or his or her immediate family member, must have spent a minimum of 75 days during the past 24 months as a migrant or seasonal farmworker; or

(2) The person must have participated (with respect to HEP within the last 24 months), or be eligible to participate, in programs under 34 CFR part 200, Subpart C (Title I --Migrant Education Program) or 20 CFR part 633 (Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor--Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Programs).


• Immediate family member means one or more of the following:(i) A spouse.(ii) A parent, step-parent, adoptive parent, foster parent,

or anyone with guardianship.(iii) Any person who-- (A) Claims the individual as a dependent on a Federal

income tax return for either of the previous two years, or(B) Resides in the same household as the individual,

supports that individual financially, and is a relative of that individual.

Proposed Definition of “immediate family

member”

Definitions


• Seasonal farmworker means a person who, within the past 24 months, was employed for at least 75 days in farmworkwas employed for at least 75 days in farmwork, and whose primary employment was in farmwork on a temporary or seasonal basis (that is, not a constant year-round activity).

• Migrant farmworker means a seasonal farmworker—as defined in paragraph (c)(7) of this section—whose employment required travel that precluded the farmworker from returning to his or her domicile (permanent place of residence) within the same day.

Definitions


• Farmwork means any agricultural activityagricultural activity, performed for either wages or personal subsistence, on a farm, ranch, or similar establishment.

• Agricultural activity means:(i) Any activity directly related to the production of crops, dairy products, poultry, or livestock;(ii) Any activity directly related to the cultivation or harvesting of trees; or(iii) Any activity directly related to fish farms.

Other Definitions


• MEP Non-Regulatory Guidance can be found at:

http://www.ed.gov/programs/mep/legislation.html

Includes definitions of relevant terms such as personal subsistence and fish farm.

Production …


Agricultural production includes work on farms, ranches, dairies, orchards, nurseries, and

greenhouses engaged in the production of crops, plants, or vines and the keeping, grazing, or feeding of livestock or livestock products for sale. The term also includes the production of bulbs, flower seeds, vegetable seeds, and specialty operations such as sod farms, mushroom cellars, and cranberry bogs

(MEP Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance 2003, p. 20).

Versus…

Processing


The term “processing” means working with a raw agricultural or fishing product and transforming it into a more refined product.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, processing includes: cooking, baking, curing, heating, drying, mixing, grinding, churning, separating, extracting, slaughtering, cutting, fermenting, distilling, eviscerating, preserving, dehydrating, freezing, chilling, packaging, canning, jarring, or otherwise enclosing food in a container. OME adopts this definition as those activities that are directly related to processing.

(MEP Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance 2003, p. 21).

Components of Qualifying WORK

Agricultural Activity

Wages/Personal Subsistence

Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment

Primary

Temporary/Seasonal


HEP Eligibility Factors


The Law: Higher Education Act of 1965 – Section 418AAs amended by section 408 of P.L. 110-____ (H.R. 4137)

The Regulations: General HEP participation eligibility; Special HEP Qualifications; Program Definitions

Is/Does the possible participant:

A. 16 years old or beyond the state’s compulsory age?

B. not enrolled in school?

C. not have a high school diploma or equivalent?

D. have qualifying WORK? Or have an immediate family member with qualifying WORK?

E. need, as determined by the grantee, the academic and supporting services and financial assistance provided by the project to gain employment or be placed in an IHE or other postsecondary education or training?

Age

School Enrollment

School Completion

Qualifying Work

Need

CAMP Eligibility Factors


The Law: Higher Education Act of 1965 – Section 418AAs amended by section 408 of P.L. 110-____ (H.R. 4137)

Section 401(a) and (b); and 431 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (also knows as the Welfare Reform Act)

The Regulations: General HEP participation eligibility; Special HEP Qualifications; Program Definitions

Is/Does the possible participant:

A. able to be enrolled or admitted for enrollment as a full-time student at the participating IHE?

B. Have at least a “qualified alien” status?

C. not beyond the first academic year of a program of study at the IHE, as determined by the standards of the IHE?

D. have qualifying WORK? Or have an immediate family member with qualifying WORK?

E. need, as determined by the grantee, the academic and supporting services and financial assistance provided by the project in order to complete an academic program of study at the IHE?

IHE Admission

First-year

Qualifying Work

Need

Status

But what about MEP and WIA?

Referrals MEP or WIA programs

may refer possible participants to your HEP or CAMP.

It is still the project’s responsibility to have accurate documentation of all pertinent eligibility requirements.

Identification If, after rudimentary screening,

the person might qualify for the project through MEP or WIA, then you should contact your local area representative for that program.

That program makes a determination or otherwise documents eligibility.


HEP and CAMPs must have documentation to ensure eligibility for the services of the

project.

Screening for MEP

Is the possible participant 22 years old or younger?

Does the possible participant do agricultural or fishing work that may be temporary or seasonal? Do they have a family member who does?

Has the possible participant moved in the last three years because of the work mentioned above?


Screening for WIA

Does the possible participant have qualifying work as a migrant or seasonal farmworker under the WIA definitions?

Is the possible participant a citizen, national, permanent resident alien, a refugee, an asylee, etc. of the U.S.?

Is the possible participant disadvantaged according to WIA definitions?


Document, Document, Document

An accurate eligibility determination does not mean anything unless you can demonstrate

how the determination was made!

For 75 days in 24 months eligibility, projects should

develop a form to record this information. For MEP and WIA, projects are encouraged to maintain

documentation from those programs with the pertinent eligibility information (e.g. COE for MEP eligiblity).

Projects should have internal quality control procedures for eligibility verification as well.


What do I need to know about a possible participant for eligibility?


Has a son that is picking green beans.

Acabar de cambiarse de

Harlingen.

Drives an old car.

Drives a tomato truck.

Wants to be the first in the family to go to

college.

Wants to get GED.

Mom picked sugar beets in Montana.

Graduarse de preparatoria en

Mexico.

On disability.

Has a son who’s 9

years old.

Worked on a

chicken ranch.

Has a spouse that is picking

green beans.


Harlingen.


Wants to get GED.



college.


Mexico.Worked

on a chicken ranch.

What do I need to know about a possible participant for eligibility?



green beans.


Harlingen.


Wants to get GED.



college.


Mexico.Worked

on a chicken ranch.

Migrant Farmworker

Production of crops

Immediate Family

School Completion

Immediate Family

Production of poultry

School Completion

School Completion

Putting it all together



green beans.

Is this work

seasonal or

temporary?

Has the spouse done it for at least 75 days in the last 24 months?

Is th

e pa

rticip

ant

beyo

nd th

e ag

e of

16

or

your

stat

e’s co

mpu

lsory

age

of a

ttend

ance

Does the spouse need

the services of the project?

Eligibility Concerns

HEP CAMP


Age

School Enrollment

School Completion

Qualifying Work

Need

IHE Admission

First-year

Qualifying Work

Need

Status

CAMP Scenario #1Ruben, 18, just graduated from Hillcrest High

School and plans to attend the local state university. His father is a long-haul trucker for Tyson foods and his mom works full-time in the office of a local landscaper. Now that Ruben is out of school, he sometimes joins his dad on cross-country hauls. He is interested in getting his degree in Marine Biology.

Assuming all other eligibility factors are met, is he eligible for CAMP?



CAMP Scenario #1 Discussion



Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment Primary

Temporary/Seasonal

WORK

No

------

Wages

No

IHE Admission

Status

First-year

Need

----

----

HSD, Age,

Has not attended college

Determined in Need by Grantee

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

NOT ELIGIBLE

Assume Status

HEP Scenario #2

Omar came from Coahuila, Mexico to Green Forrest, Arkansas to plant new tree seedlings for the season on a farm; he is 14 and his brother, who accompanied him, is 17. They have been working there about four months. Neither one has finished secundaria in Mexico. Most of the money they earn, they send money home to their family.

Assuming all other eligibility factors are met, is Omar eligible for HEP?



HEP Scenario #2 Discussion



Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment Primary

Temporary/Seasonal

WORK

No other work

Planting seedlings

Wages

Seasonal

Age School

Enrollment School

Completion Need

Farm

Four months in last year

14

Compulsory AgeNo HSD/GED


X

X

NOT ELIGIBLE

HEP Scenario #3

Omar came from Coahuila, Mexico to Green Forrest, Arkansas to plant new tree seedlings for the season on a farm; he is 14 and his brother, who accompanied him, is 17. They have been working there about four months. Neither one has finished secundaria in Mexico. Most of the money they earn, they send home to their family.

Assuming all other all other eligibility factors are met, is Omar eligible for HEP?


Assuming all other eligibility factors are met, is Omar’s brother eligible for HEP?





Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment Primary

Temporary/Seasonal

WORK

No other work

Planting seedlings

Wages

Seasonal

Age School

Enrollment School

Completion Need

Farm


17Beyond Compulsory Age

No HSD/GED


HEPEligible

CAMP Scenario #4

Adelia, 24, quit working last year as a part-time childcare provider to pick up work as an employee harvesting green beans during the season at a local farm that provides them to Gerber; she worked there for about four months. She got her GED and her U.S. citizenship two years ago and would like to go to college, but she doesn’t understand all the financing involved. Her husband still works in fields, but she had to quit to take care of her new infant son.

Assuming all other eligibility factors are met, is she eligible for CAMP?






Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment Primary

Temporary/Seasonal

WORK

No other work

Harvesting green beans

Wages

Seasonal

IHE Admission

Status

First-year

Need

Farm


GED, Age, Status



CAMPEligible

Status

HEP Scenario #5

Maykao, an emancipated youth, 17, with no GED or H.S. Diploma moved two weeks ago from Texas to Missouri to work on a crew in the apple harvest; this is his first and only job. He has never done any other seasonal or migrant farmwork.

Assuming all other eligibility factors are met, is he eligible for HEP?






Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment Primary

Temporary/Seasonal

WORK

Yes

Harvesting apples

Wages

Seasonal

Age School

Enrollment School

Completion Need

Orchard

Two weeks

19Beyond Compulsory Age

No HSD/GED


X

X

NOT ELIGIBLE

CAMP Scenario #6Carlos, 23, a high school graduate and

permanent resident, moved from Michigan to Florida so he could work for wages in an orange grove for the harvest; he has been working for eighty days. Carlos had started college in Michigan and was a few courses away from finishing his Associates degree. He would like to go back to school and is interested in getting his degree in Business.

Assuming all other eligibility factors are met, is he eligible for CAMP?






Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment Primary

Temporary/Seasonal

WORK

No

Harvesting oranges

Wages

No

IHE Admission

Status

First-year

Need

Orange Grove

Eighty days

HSD, Age

Has completed more than first year


X

NOT ELIGIBLE

Status

HEP Scenario #7

Juan, 27, a native of California, moved to Ohio five months ago and started a job feeding cattle at a ranch. The job will only last 1 more week. He hasn’t found a place to live yet or any other work, so he has been living in his car. He didn’t finish high school in California, but would like to go into the military.







Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment Primary

Temporary/Seasonal

WORK

No other work

Feeding Cattle

Wages

Temporary

Age School

Enrollment School

Completion Need

Ranch

Five months in last year

27

Above Age

No HSD/GED


HEPEligible

CAMP Scenario #8Callie, 19, a native of Iowa, just graduated

from high school and plans to attend the local community college in the fall. Her dad was on vacation volunteering for a month helping on his brother’s Christmas trees farm; he will return in a week to work in construction.

Assuming all other eligibility factors are met, is she eligible for CAMP?






Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment Primary

Temporary/Seasonal

WORK

No

Harvesting Christmas Trees

Volunteering

Seasonal

X

IHE Admission

Status

First-year

Need

Farm

One month, recently

HSD, Age



X

XX

X

NOT ELIGIBLE

Status

HEP Scenario #9

Matak, 27, a Sudanese refugee, lived in Nebraska, but moved to Pennsylvania for a job driving a truck on a mushroom farm four months ago; he plans to return to Nebraska in the next month or so to pick-up seasonal work on a ranch. His English is pretty good, but he doesn’t have a H.S.D. or a GED.







Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment Primary

Temporary/Seasonal

WORK

Yes

Production of mushrooms

Wages

Seasonal

Age School

Enrollment School

Completion Need

Farm


27

Above Age

No HSD/GED


HEPEligible

CAMP Scenario #10

Juan Ortega has had a long history of moving from Arizona to Michigan and back. Mr. Ortega works at least 100 days for wages harvesting various crops during the spring, summer, and fall. This year, on his annual migration, Mr. Ortega brings with him his 19-year old son, born in Michigan, who just finished his GED. Mr. Ortega just returned from his annual migration to continue his other temporary job in construction.

Assuming all other eligibility factors are met, is the son eligible for CAMP?






Place

Duration (75/24)

Employment Primary

Temporary/Seasonal

WORK

Yes

Harvesting crops

Wages

Yes

IHE Admission

Status

First-year

Need

Farm

Over 100 days

GED, Age,

Status


CAMPEligible

Grantee has determined need

Sending OME Questionsand Scenarios

We are happy to look at scenarios or address

eligibility questions; however:

1. Make sure you have firstgone through your project’ schain-of-command to attempt toresolve the issue on your own.

2. In correspondence with us, please include all pertinent eligibility information.

3. Send the question to your program officer.


Contact Information

Nathan Weiss

Office of Migrant Education

400 Maryland SW

#3E321

Washington, DC 20202

[email protected]


nathan weiss us department of education office of migrant education hep and camp directors meeting

Documents

basic eligibilityguidance

basic eligibilityits

seasonal basis

camp participation eligibility

higher education act

migrant educationhep

migrant farmworker

migrant students