Vocational Rehabilitation for Seasonal and Migrant Farmworkers in California: A Personal Narrative

Abstract

Background:Little is known in the rehabilitation counseling profession regarding the needs and rehabilitation approaches used with seasonal and migrant farmworkers in the United States.Objectives:The purpose of this article is to provide rehabilitation counselors with awareness of the vocational needs of seasonal and migrant farmworkers. The article also provides best practice approaches to effectively provide vocational rehabilitation (VR) services to this population.Method:The article presents a first-person narrative by a recently retired rehabilitation counselor with more than 30 years of practice experience with the California Department of Rehabilitation. The bulk of this career focused on meeting the VR needs of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.Findings:The first-person narrative conveys best practice approaches with outreach, vocational assessment, partnerships, and job placement found helpful with seasonal and migrant farmworkers.Conclusions:To date, the rehabilitation counseling profession has largely ignored seasonal and migrant farmworkers. We hope the readers of this article will place greater professional attention on meeting the VR needs of this population in funding, program development, and training.