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Wrapping up! This Sunday will be our last OSY event. I&R recruitment activities, last day will be Nov 29 yeee :)

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DFD 21

Our recruiters are doing a great job, we have 3 of them that have less than a year with us and they are now doing excellent work with our families.

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R2 has begun a new recruiter annual review and evaluation process which was approved by the union and HR.

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We are in the process of hiring more full-time and part-time Recruiters

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Our CAT1 count has been increasing and we surpassed last PP COE count.

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- Our region was able to add a 6th Field/community recruiter! We are definitely looking ahead to another successful season in 2025

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I am very proud of the team for increasing enrollment counts for 4 consecutive years. Also very excited that I have a dedicated and flexible I&R team.

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Recruiters started to visit school sites more consistently and have been able to enroll more brand new families that we had missed from earlier this year.

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We are very excited that our region is seeing an increase in new families and several families from Washington. We are working with our new population and looking foward to our peak season this winter to welcome families to our area.

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Many recruitment and tabling events are happening in the schools and community. Our recruitment team is doing an amazing job of continuing identifying families.

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DFD 21

We had an increase in our CAT1 count.

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The support I'm getting from regional recruiters and I&R coordinators to recruit in my designated area :)

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R08

This is our second year tracking Employer-based, Community-Based, and School-Based Recruitment activities and analyzing which activities to keep doing and which to pause for the following year. Working toward having a balance and maximizing recruitment efforts.

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Currently in the fall our recruitment team focuses on school recruitment. They are currently at the school sites building relationships with school site secretaries, registrars, and staff.

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Our implementation of the google referral form has produced strong leads, increased collaboration among non-MEP staff, and increased our COE production efforts.

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We are completing INA/ILPs together. Our annual contract has been giving us leads to families that moved this summer. This process also gives us a picture of movement, when or if our families move.

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Trying to establish an OSY team with our current staff. Just needing to move duties around between recruiters so that we can kill many birds with one stone. Doing what we can with what we have.

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Region 5

Working on language surveys, beginning stages of employment recruitment. Utilizing MSIN reports for recruitment

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Our main activity is getting in contact with families who often depart during the winter to note down when they plan on returning so we can reach out to them then. We are also wrapping up annual INA's.

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It is an exciting time of transformation in Region 9! With the district offering a golden handshake, it opens up fresh possibilities for new energy and ideas to come forward. While this change will certainly impact the recruitment team, it’s a fantastic opportunity to embrace a creative approach and reimagine how you bring talent into the district. This shift is a chance to build an even more vibrant, innovative team that will shape the future in inspiring ways. A growth mindset among the recruiters will be key, and it’s wonderful to see everyone already excited about what 2025 will bring. With this positive outlook, it feels like the entire region is gearing up to make the most of this change, paving the way for fresh perspectives and dynamic new strategies. The future looks bright, and it’s an inspiring time for everyone involved!

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Employment based recruitment will be different in every region.

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Working on site recruitment since it's been giving us good outcomes while also doing research for employer based recruitment.

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Topic(s): State Administration
Subtopic(s): Record Keeping
Q. Do Migrant Education Program (MEP) funded staff need to complete time and effort personnel activity reports (PARs) and semi-annual certifications?

Charges for employee compensation must be based on records accurately reflecting work performed; however, no specific types of documentation (e.g., PARs) are required.

Salary documentation standards that grantees must meet are listed in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (also known as the Uniform Guidance)- see 2 CFR 200.430(i)(1). Salaries and wages for non-exempt employees must also be supported by records indicating the total number of hours worked each day (see 2 CFR 430(i)(2) and (3)).

As long as the State Educational Agency's (SEA's) system meets the requirements in 2 CFR 430(i)(1)-(3), it does not need to submit its system for the Department of Education's (ED's) review and approval. If the SEA chooses to use a substitute system that does not meet these requirements, then it is required to submit that substitute system to ED for review and approval.

Finally, although PARs and semi-annual certifications are not specifically required, the SEA may choose to continue use of this documentation for Title I, Part C, as this system would meet the standards described in the Uniform Guidance.

Topic(s): Program Performance and Child Count Reporting
Subtopic(s): Child Count

Q. When migratory children are identified and recruited for the Migrant Education Program (MEP), they are given backpacks containing health hygiene supplies, a coloring book and crayons, and various informational materials (social service resources, health/hygiene booklets, information on heat exhaustion and pesticide awareness, and a national health directory). The backpack can be used by the students to carry school supplies. May the State report the provision of these backpacks as a service in the Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR), because they contain more than informational items?

Based on the description of this activity and the supplies provided, the Office of Migrant Education (OME) does not consider this to meet our definition of a "service." As defined in Chapter V, A1 of the MEP Non-Regulatory Guidance, the 2017-18 CSPR Glossary, and ED Facts File Specifications (145), services are a subset of all allowable activities that the MEP provides through its programs and projects. Services are those educational or educationally related activities that:

1. Directly benefit a migratory child;

2. Address a need of a migratory child consistent with the SEA's comprehensive needs assessment and service delivery plan;

3. Are grounded in scientifically based research or, in the case of support services, are a generally accepted practice; and

4. Are designed to enable the program to meet its measurable outcomes and contribute to the achievement of the State's performance targets.

The provision of backpacks, including hygiene supplies, may directly benefit migratory children and may be a generally accepted practice (numbers 1 and 3 in the list above). However, the provision of such materials to migratory children upon recruitment does not appear to addresses a need of a migratory child consistent with the SEA's comprehensive needs assessment and service delivery plan, nor is it clear how this is designed to enable the program to meet its measurable outcomes and contribute to the achievement of the State's performance targets (numbers 2 and 4 in the list above).

Topic(s): Child Eligibility
Subtopic(s): Agricultural Work or Fishing Work

Q. Is work with hemp considered qualifying work for purposes of the Migrant Education Program (MEP)?

Production or initial processing of hemp crops may be considered qualifying work for purposes of the MEP, to the extent that such crops are legal under Federal and State law. Please see the MEP Non-Regulatory Guidance, Chapter II, F4 and F22 for further information on the types of activities that constitute production or initial processing of crops. Consistent with the definition of qualifying work, such activities must also be part of the individual's temporary or seasonal employment in agriculture.

Topic(s): State Administration
Subtopic(s): Funds for State Administration
Q. How much can a State educational agency (SEA) set aside from its Title I, Part C- Migrant Education Program (MEP) award for program administration?

There are two ways to set aside MEP funds at the State level for program administration. It depends on whether the funds are for general program administration (in which case there is a cap), or for administrative costs that are considered unique to the MEP (in which case there is no cap). See below for details:

SEAs may set aside a portion of their awards from Title I, Part A, Part C (MEP), and Part D to carry out general administrative functions. These are activities related to program operation or oversight that are common across programs. Some examples of general administrative costs are:

Design and distribution of forms required to operate the program, such as local educational agency (LEA) applications, performance and financial reports, and evaluation reports;

Processing of project applications (but not necessarily the costs of reviewing them for compliance);

Review and aggregation of reported data of the type generally reported under the ESEA;

Monitoring of projects for fiscal compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements;

Maintenance of fiscal control and accounting procedures; and

Dissemination of information.

In general, SEAs may set aside 1% from each of their Title I, Part A, Part C (MEP), and Part D awards for general costs of administering the programs (or $400,000 total- whichever is greater). However, in any year when the total amount appropriated by Congress to all three programs exceeds $14 billion, the law requires an adjustment to the actual amount SEAs may set aside from each program for general administrative costs, so it won't be exactly 1% of the amount the SEA received. This was the case in FY 2018 and for several prior years. Basically, award amounts are adjusted to calculate what each SEA would have received for each program, if $14 billion total had been authorized, and SEAs base their 1% set aside on that adjusted amount. Each fall, the Department issues a spreadsheet to SEAs that shows the adjusted amount for the three programs.

SEAs may keep these set-asides separate for the administration of each program, or combine them into a single pool of funds that may be used for general administrative costs of any of those three programs.

(See section 1004 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, as amended; 34 CFR §200.100(b); and Chapter XI, A1 and A2 of the MEP Non-Regulatory Guidance.)

Administrative Costs Unique to the MEP

In addition to the funds set aside for general administration of the program, SEAs may set aside additional funds from their MEP award for administrative functions that are more unique to the program. Some examples of administrative costs we consider to be "unique to the MEP":

Statewide identification and recruitment;

Interstate and intrastate coordination of the State MEP and its local projects with other relevant programs and local projects in the State and in other States;

Procedures beyond those required generally by State and local agencies for providing educational continuity for migratory children through the timely transfer of educational and health records;

Collecting and using information needed for accurate distribution of subgrant funds;

Collecting and using information needed to report Category 1 and Category 2 child counts;

Development of the statewide needs assessment and comprehensive State plan for MEP service delivery;

Supervision of instructional and support staff;

Establishment and implementation of the State parent advisory council; and

Conducting an evaluation of the effectiveness of the State MEP.

There is no specific cap in terms of dollar amount or percentage of the MEP award that may be set aside for these purposes. It depends on each State's size and program design.

(See 34 CFR §200.82 and Chapter XI, A4 of the MEP Non-Regulatory Guidance.)

Topic(s): Fiscal Requirements
Subtopic(s): Use of Funds
Q. How do the supplement, not supplant requirements in section 1118(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, apply to the Migrant Education Program (MEP)?

ESEA section 1304(c)(2) requires that MEP programs and projects be carried out in a manner consistent with the objectives of ESEA section 1118(b), which is the section that covers the supplement, not supplant (SNS) requirements for Title I, Part A. The specific requirements pertaining to the methodology, special rule, prohibition, and timelines that are described in ESEA section 1118(b)(2)-(5) do not apply to MEP, but the objectives of SNS described in ESEA section 1118(b)(1) do apply. Therefore, MEP programs are still required to provide services that supplement, and do not supplant, those provided with State and local funds. SEAs should continue to examine costs and services supported with MEP funds in order to determine whether MEP funds are supplementing, and not supplanting, State and local funds.

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Topic(s): State AdministrationSubtopic(s): Record Keeping Q. Do Migrant Education Program (MEP) funded staff need to complete time and effort personnel activity reports (PARs) and semi-annual certifications? Charges for employee compensation must be based on records accurately reflecting work performed; however, no specific types of documentation (e.g., PARs) are required.

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Someone shared this in a meeting and it has great information to review with staff to support some of our recruiment efforts.

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Our numbers have constantly gone up. Our C2 went down but still high. I have amazing staff.

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We are very happy to see that our efforts have helped increased numbers in all areas: CAT 1&2, and OSY. We know that our changes and new implementations have been working. We look forward to the new year.

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Recruiters are participating more in providing presentations for families in ELAC meetings to potentially identify more families. Our enrollment has been increasing.

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This is the our peek season in our region. We've had MANY more families who moved this summer so we are excited about that.

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We couldn’t be prouder of the partnerships we’ve built with local organizations! These collaborations are all about enriching the lives of our families by opening doors to unique opportunities and experiences that wouldn’t be possible on our own. Each partnership brings something special, whether it’s cultural events, educational programs, or family-friendly activities that spark joy and growth in our community. It’s heartwarming to see the positive impact these partnerships have, creating moments and memories for our families and strengthening our community bonds. We're so grateful for these connections, and we’re excited to keep building even more vibrant experiences together.

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I am very proud of our team for prioritizing I&R, with already busy schedules. My team is not 100% recruiters. We are good at school-based recruitment and working towards community-based recruitment.

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We are about to launch the I&R section on the SSTWeb platform, which will allow us to track the Annual Verification calls, the community referrals and school queries. It will also facilite the communication between the Recruiters and the families/agencies/schools.

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R08

We began an Annual Verification Pilot last year and hired a part-time staff member to assist and alleviate some of the initial work from Recruiters. We collected feedback from the I&R Team at various times of the year last year on how to improve. This year seems to be going much more smoothly.

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To find a list of employers in your county

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California LaborMarketInfo, State and Local Info

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DFD19

We are to have a new recruiter this year. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen our recruitment process, we are focused on understanding best practices, building meaningful relationships within our community, and reaching out to families who are up for renewal.

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Convincing families under political asylum that their information is safe with us. It's a bummer to run into cases where we know families qualify, but they refuse to sign up due to the fear of being 'caught' working.

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ChatGPT helps you get answers, find inspiration, and be more productive.

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CAT II is what we are most proud of at this moment. Although our CAT 1 did not go up, we went down, the gap was not as wide as in years past.

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Identifying Ps and new district enrollees for possible MEP qualification

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Moving along attempting to meet various I & R activities locally