Farmerworker Housing Resources - California Department of ...

HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 

FARMWORKER 

HOUSING 

RESOURCES 

October 2008 

Prepared by: 

California Department of Housing and 

Community Development 

Housing Policy Division 

Cathy E. Creswell, Deputy Director 

Linda M. Wheaton, Assistant Deputy Director 

Compiled by: 

Joel Tochterman, MLS 

Department of Housing and Community Development 

State of California 

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor 

Dale E. Bonner, Secretary, 

CALIFORNIA 

Business, Transportation and Housing 

Lynn L. Jacobs, Director, HCD

FARM WORKER HOUSING RESOURCES 

Table of Contents 

Reports/Books 3 - 12 

Government Publications 13 - 21 

Journal Articles 21 - 24 

NOTE: The resources are categorized in three sections by document type. Within 

each section, the resources are organized chronologically with the most recently 

published listed first. 

Visit HCD web site for link to this bibliography at: 

http://www.hcd.ca.gov/hpd/farmworker.pdf 

Other HCD bibliographies are available at: 

http://www.hcd.ca.gov/hpd/biblio.html 

(C) Copyright 2008, California Department of Housing and Community Development, Division of 

Housing Policy Development. 

The listing of publications below and the links to web sites do not constitute an endorsement from 

The California Department of Housing and Community Development. It is the responsibility of the 

user to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from these sites.

REPORTS / BOOKS 

Farm Worker Housing Resources 

MIGRANT AND SEASONAL AGRICULTURAL WORKER PROTECTION ACT (MSPA) 

/ Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration; 

Office of Compliance Assistance Policy, 2008, 18 p. 

Available full text via the World Wide Web: 

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/statutes/0001.mspa.htm 

The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act requires farm labor 

contractors, agricultural employers, and agricultural associations who recruit, solicit, hire, 

employ, furnish, transport or house agricultural workers, as well as providers of migrant 

housing, to meet certain minimum requirements in their dealings with migrant and 

seasonal agricultural workers. 

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE DEMAND FOR FARM WORKER HOUSING IN NAPA 

COUNTY / Strochlic, Ron; Villarejo, Don; Nichols, Sandra, et al. -- Davis, CA: California 

Institute for Rural Studies, 2007, 119 p. 


http://www.cirsinc.org/Documents/Pub0307.1.PDF 

The lack of access to decent and affordable housing is one of the more intractable 

issues affecting the health and well being of agricultural workers and their accompanying 

family members. Despite its status as California's premiere wine grape-growing region, 

many agricultural workers in Napa County lack access to decent and affordable housing. 

In order to identify ways to improve farm labor housing conditions, Napa County 

contracted with CIRS to assess the housing needs of agricultural workers and provide 

recommendations for improving those conditions. The research is based on a survey of 

200 farmworkers and150 agricultural employers, focus groups with farmworkers and key 

informant interviews with experts familiar with farm labor housing conditions. The 

research findings identify the numbers and characteristics of farmworkers employed in 

Napa County, housing conditions, additional units necessary to adequately meet their 

housing needs and other recommendations for improving farmworker-housing 

conditions. 

FARM WORKER HOUSING AND THE WASHINGTON LAW AGAINST 

DISCRIMINATION / Olympia, WA: Washington State Human Rights Commission 

(WSHRC), 2007, 21 p. 


http://content.knowledgeplex.org/kp2/cache/documents/17830/1783061.pdf 

“The Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) would like to see the 

farmworker housing shortage eliminated, and farmworkers provided with sanitary, safe, 

and livable housing. The fact that farmworkers in the state who lack adequate housing 

are predominately of one national origin group creates disturbing implications that 

human needs are not being met and that benefits are being distributed in an unfair and 

inequitable way. The WSHRC recommends elimination of the specter of possible 

national origin discrimination in the area of farmworker housing. Every family is entitled 

to safe, decent and affordable housing…There are many best practice models for 

creating safe, affordable farmworker housing. These models incorporate a variety of 

approaches. There are many options for both on and off farm sites; temporary and 

permanent; and subsidized and unsubsidized.” - (p. 2) 

California Department of Housing and Community Development 3 

Housing Policy Development Division (Revised October 2008)


REPORTS / BOOKS – Cont’d 

THE FARMWORKERS’ JOURNEY / Lopez, Ann Aurelia -- Berkeley, CA: University of 

California Press, 2007, 337 p. (Book) 

Available for purchase via the World Wide Web: 

http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10714.php 

“Illuminating the dark side of economic globalization, this book gives a rare insider's view 

of the migrant farmworkers' binational circuit that stretches from the west central Mexico 

countryside to central California. Over the course of ten years, Ann Aurelia López 

conducted a series of intimate interviews with farmworkers and their families along the 

migrant circuit. She deftly weaves their voices together with up-to-date research to 

portray a world hidden from most Americans—a world of inescapable poverty that has 

worsened considerably since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. In fact, today it has 

become nearly impossible for rural communities in Mexico to continue to farm the land 

sustainably, leaving few survival options except the perilous border crossing to the 

United States. This book brings together for the first time the many facets of this issue 

into a comprehensive and accessible narrative: how corporate agribusiness operates, 

how binational institutions and laws promote the subjugation of Mexican farmworkers, 

how migration affects family life, how genetically modified corn strains pouring into 

Mexico from the United States are affecting farmers, how migrants face exploitation from 

employers, and more.” 

INDIGENOUS OAXACAN COMMUNITIES IN CALIFORNIA: AN OVERVIEW / Kresge, 

Lisa -- Davis, CA: California Institute for Rural Studies, 2007, 22 p. 


http://www.cirsinc.org/Documents/Pub1107.1.pdf 

“Substandard housing conditions negatively affect the physical and mental health of 

indigenous Oaxacans. Poor housing conditions are associated with low incomes, high 

housing costs, limited availability of affordable housing and lack of access to housing 

assistance programs for undocumented immigrants. Substandard housing conditions are 

exacerbated by overcrowding. Multiple families often share a single apartment; it is not 

uncommon to find entire families sharing a single bedroom. Housing shortages are often 

worse among agricultural workers, many of whom live in converted garages or tool 

sheds lacking running water, toilets or heat. Conditions are worse yet for many others – 

particularly migrant workers – who sleep in cars, tents, open fields or caves.” - (p. 2-3) 

USDA SECTION 514/516: FARMWORKER HOUSING: Existing stock and changing 

needs / McGaha, Elizabeth, et al. -- Washington, DC: Housing Assistance Council 

(HAC), 2006, 47 p. 


http://www.ruralhome.org/manager/uploads/FWHousing.pdf 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Section 514/516 Farm Labor Housing 

Program provides funding to buy, build, improve, or repair housing for farm laborers. 

This research, conducted by the Housing Assistance Council (HAC), identifies and 

analyzes the location and general characteristics of the 2004 portfolio of USDA funded 

farmworker housing. The report provides an overview of the Section 514/516 Farm 

Labor Housing stock, as well as an exploration of current trends in the migrant 

population. 





ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH POLICY AND CALIFORNIA’S FARM LABOR HOUSING 

/ Villarejo, Don; Schenker, Marc -- Davis, CA: University of California, Davis; Western 

Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, 2006, 34 p. 


http://agcenter.ucdavis.edu/Announce/Documents/Env_Health_Pol.pdf 

“While the demand for hired farm workers has substantially increased in recent decades, 

the supply of employer-provided housing for hired farm workers has sharply declined. In 

the face of skyrocketing housing costs in California, workers are increasingly forced to 

rely on their own meager resources to obtain housing. Government agencies and 

researchers are in general agreement that a great many of the state’s hired farm 

workers have little choice but to reside in sub-standard and/or overcrowded units, 

including garages, sheds, barns and temporary structures. The National Agricultural 

Workers Survey (NAWS) finds that California’s crop farm laborers are mostly young, 

married, foreign-born (nearly all Mexican), low-income, Spanish-speaking men with low 

educational attainment who do not migrate to find work. The California Agricultural 

Workers Health Survey (CAWHS) finds nearly half (48%) of dwellings occupied by the 

state’s hired farm workers are overcrowded and a quarter (25%) extremely 

overcrowded…” - (p. 2) 

THE NEW POVERTY: Agriculture & immigration in California / Martin, Philip, et al. -- 

Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press, 2006, 121 p. (Book) 


http://www.urban.org/publications/211270.html 

Immigration is changing the face of rural America, from Florida to Washington and from 

Maine to California. Migrants arrive, many from Mexico, to fill jobs on farms and in farmrelated 

industries, usually at earnings below the poverty level. Leaders of rural industries 

are adamant that a steady influx of foreign workers is necessary for economic survival. 

But the integration of these newcomers is uneven: many immigrants achieve some 

measure of the American dream, but others find persistent poverty, overcrowded 

housing, and crime. This book examines the effect of rural immigration on inland 

agricultural areas in California, farm areas in coastal California, and meat and poultry 

processing centers in Delaware and Iowa. 

SERVING AMERICA’S RURAL HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NEEDS: 

National Rural Housing Coalition members in action / Washington, DC: National 

Rural Housing Coalition (NRHC), 2005, 32 p. 


http://www.nrhcweb.org/news/FinalReport.pdf 

"In 1992, the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition broke ground on the Desert Garden 

Apartment complex, which was ready for occupancy in 1998. Desert Garden Apartments 

consists of 88 units of affordable multi-family housing – one, two, three and four 

bedroom apartments – on 8.8 acres of land. Thirty-six units of the project serve retired 

farmworkers and 52 units are designated for farmworker families who work in the rural 

areas of Coachella, Mecca and Thermal" - (p. 6). In this report, case studies are included 

for various farmworker housing developments. 





A GUIDE TO NONPROFIT HOUSING ORGANIZATIONS SERVING THE COLONIAS / 

Yagley, James; Owens, Elizabeth -- Washington, DC: Housing Assistance Council 

(HAC), 2005, 103 p. 


http://www.ruralhome.org/manager/uploads/ColoniasGroups.pdf 

This guide represents the first effort to catalog systematically the housing resources 

available to colonias residents. Nonprofit organizations included in this guide are those 

that currently provide housing and related services to colonias residents or are in the 

process of establishing such programs. For the purposes of this guide, the Housing 

Assistance Council (HAC) has followed HUD’s regulatory definition of colonias used for 

the Community Development Block Grant Colonias Set-Aside Program. Therefore, a 

colonia is any identifiable community in the U.S.-Mexico border regions of Arizona, 

California, New Mexico, and Texas that is determined to be a colonia on the basis of 

objective criteria, including lack of a potable water supply, inadequate sewage systems, 

and a shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary housing. The border region is the area 

within 150 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border excluding Metropolitan Statistical Areas with 

populations exceeding one million. The directory combines contact information for each 

group with descriptive data on its service area and types of housing programs offered. 

HOUSING IN THE COLONIAS / Washington, DC: Housing Assistance Council (HAC), 

2005, 2 p. (Fact sheet) 


http://www.ruralhome.org/manager/uploads/colonias_infosheet.pdf 

The United States-Mexico border region is dotted with hundreds of rural subdivisions 

characterized by extreme poverty and severely substandard living conditions. These 

communities are called colonias, meaning “neighborhoods” in Spanish. Colonias are 

defined primarily by what they lack, such as potable drinking water, paved streets, sewer 

systems, and standard mortgage financing. Despite the numerous challenges existent in 

the colonias, a number of organizations have taken on the formidable task of addressing 

the problems these communities face. Local nonprofit groups, with strong grassroots 

support from the community, have developed and implemented a number of innovative 

approaches to address the conditions in the colonias and have worked to ensure new 

colonias do not emerge. 

FARMWORKER COOPERATIVE HOUSING: Training needs assessment / Bandy, 

Dewey, et al. / California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH) -- Sacramento, CA, 2004, 

37 p. 


http://www.calruralhousing.org/publications/234-farmworker-cooperative-housing-training-needsassessment 

In this assessment, the training needs of a total of nine out of the eleven 

farmworker housing cooperatives in the state were assessed. Results from these 

assessments showed that only one cooperative provided systematic and sustained 

member and board training and just four in total were doing any kind of training for their 

boards. Only one cooperative was directly training their general membership. Just one 

cooperative used suitability for cooperative housing as a new member selection criteria. 

New members receive very little if any orientation at any of the cooperatives in the 

assessment. That these problems would arise in the farmworker cooperatives is hardly 

surprising. 





LA POSADA HEALTH AND HOUSING PROJECT FOR UNACCOMPANIED MIGRANT 

AGRICULTURAL WORKERS: Case study / Agricultural Worker Health and Housing 

Program -- West Sacramento, CA: Rural Community Assistance Corp., 2003, 11 p. 


http://www.rcac.org/assets/files/awhhp/LaPosadacasestudy.pdf 

The purpose of this case study is to describe the La Posada project in Sonoma County, 

a health and housing project for unaccompanied migrant agricultural workers, the only 

such project AWHHP has funded. The case study will describe the methods and 

strategies which La Posada project partners used to mitigate the pre and post 

development barriers to providing housing for unaccompanied migrant agricultural 

workers. The case study highlights lessons learned that might be useful to others 

planning to implement unaccompanied migrant worker health and housing projects. 

MENDOCINO COUNTY AT THE CROSSROADS: The crisis of affordable housing / 

Harris, Marcee -- Santa Rosa, CA: New Economy, Working Solutions, 2003, 28 p. 


http://neweconomynorthbay.org/mendocino_report.pdf 

The County is at an important cross roads in its development. In cooperation with its 

neighbors to the north and south, Mendocino needs an aggressive and proactive 

approach to creating an adequate affordable housing stock for its residents. 

Unfortunately, the problem is not easily solved….This report looks at the affordable 

housing crisis that has developed in the Ukiah Valley of Mendocino County California. 

This report reviews the implications of the changing housing and job market and argues 

for aggressive response from the local community to move towards a more safe, 

healthy, inclusionary and stable housing market. An overview of farmworker housing is 

included in Appendix A (p. 20-21). 

MIGRANT AND SEASONAL FARMWORKER HOUSING / Washington, DC: Housing 

Assistance Council (HAC), 2003, 2 p. (Fact sheet) 


http://www.ruralhome.org/manager/uploads/Farmworkers.pdf 

Farmworkers are among the hardest-working people in the United States. They are also 

among the poorest. Farmworker poverty, along with other factors, leads directly to a lack 

of decent, safe, and affordable housing. Farmworkers face the entire range of housing 

problems: substandard housing quality, crowding, unaffordable housing costs, and low 

homeownership rates. 

SMART GROWTH AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Best practices in the Central 

Valley / Sacramento, CA: California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH), 2003, 69 p. 


http://www.calruralhousing.org/old/Publications/BEST%20PRACTICES%20FINAL.pdf 

Never has the need for effective growth management strategies been greater in the 

Central Valley. Population is projected to double in less than 40 years…. Alarming rates 

of agricultural land consumption, sprawling new commuter suburbs, and higher housing 

costs, which have accompanied this growth, threaten the economic well being and 

quality of life of long-time residents who live and work in these areas. This is especially 

true for lower income populations, farmworkers, immigrants and minorities who are 

being priced out of the housing market. 





CALIFORNIA'S FARMWORKER COOPERATIVES: Lessons on farmworker 

ownership and management / Bandy, Dewey; Weiner, Robert, et al. / California 

Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH) -- Sacramento, CA: CCRH, 2002, 84 p. 


http://www.calruralhousing.org/publications/233-californias-farmworker-cooperatives-lessons-onfarmworker-ownership-and-management 

This study was undertaken by the California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH) to 

evaluate the effectiveness of the cooperative model in providing affordable home 

ownership to California’s farmworkers. The cooperative housing model has been 

employed in California for almost three decades and there are now 11 farmworker 

housing cooperatives operating in the state. Although they vary in terms of funding 

sources, equity structures and occupational restrictions, all of these cooperatives share 

a common structure in which low-income farmworkers have an opportunity to collectively 

own and democratically operate their own housing. 

CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY FARM LABOR WORK FORCE: 2001 / Alvarado 

Andrew J.; Luna, Rosa -- Fresno, CA: California State University, Fresno; California 

Agricultural Technology Institute (CATI), 2002, 39 p. 


http://cati.csufresno.edu/cab/rese/pdfs/Labor%20Study.pdf 

Finding housing along with employment is one of the first concerns faced by the new 

arrivals. The majority of the workers reported living in single family houses (63%), and 

most (75%), including apartment (25%) and trailer house dwellers (9%), were renting. 

Only 2 percent lived in government subsidized housing, and less than 1 percent lived in 

farm sheds or motels. On average, five other individuals including spouses and children 

live with the respondents in homes that have an average of two bedrooms. Only 16 

percent of those living in houses were homeowners. Thirteen percent reported living in 

either farm employer or FLC provided housing. Only 1 percent lives on the farm property 

of their employers. Twenty-five percent live in apartments, and 9 percent live in trailer 

homes. The average amount of time living in their present residence was 3.5 years. 

Nearly all respondents (98%) reported having running hot and cold water and indoor 

toilet facilities. Eighty-one (81%) percent have direct access to a telephone in their place 

of residence (p. 10). 

TAKING STOCK: Rural people, poverty, and housing at the turn of the 21st 

century / George, Lance, et al. -- Washington, DC: Housing Assistance Council (HAC), 

2002, 170 p. 


http://www.ruralhome.org/pubs/hsganalysis/ts2000/index.htm 

“This report provides an overview of rural America's residents, their economic condition, 

and their homes. This publication is third in a series of decennial reports by the Housing 

Assistance Council (HAC) that use data from the Census and other sources along with 

case studies describing some of the poorest parts of the rural United States. As the 21st 

century begins, rural America's population is growing and is becoming more diverse than 

ever before….Overall, poverty persists as a greater problem in nonmetro places than in 

the U.S. as a whole, and housing affordability problems, often associated with urban 

areas, are increasing in rural places and now affect one rural household in four.” 





THE BOUNTY OF FOOD: The poverty of health / Tomas Rivera Policy Institute -- Los 

Angeles, CA: The California Endowment, 2001, 20 p. 


http://www.calendow.org/uploadedFiles/bounty_of_food.pdf 

This report presents the final recommendations of The California Endowment’s CEO 

Task Force on Agricultural Worker Health. This Task Force was created to help advise 

and guide The Endowment in the development of future grant-making strategies to 

address the distressing health and living conditions of the state’s one million seasonal 

and migrant agricultural workers and their families...This report contains specific 

programmatic and policy-related recommendations for The Endowment and others to 

consider. 

FARM LABOR IN CALIFORNIA: Then and now / Martin, Philip L. -- San Diego, CA: 

University of California, San Diego; Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, 2001, 

10 p. 


http://www.ccis-ucsd.org/PUBLICATIONS/wrkg37.PDF 

This paper was presented at the Symposium on "The State of Migrant Labor in the 

Western United States: Then and Now," Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, 

University of California-San Diego on April 17, 2001. The paper includes sections that 

cover: 1.) Labor Supply: Seasonality, Employment, Immigration; 2.) Wages and Fringes; 

and 3.) Unions, Immigration and Labor Law Enforcement. 

NO REFUGE FROM THE FIELDS: Findings from a survey of farmworker housing 

conditions in the United States / Holden, Christopher; George, Lance; Smith, Adrienne 

-- Washington, DC: Housing Assistance Council (HAC), 2001, 77 p. 


http://www.ruralhome.org/pubs/farmworker/norefuge/norefuge.pdf 

Working in partnership with farmworker service organizations around the nation, the 

Housing Assistance Council (HAC) performed a survey of farmworker housing 

conditions in the Eastern, Midwestern and Western migrant streams from 

December 1997 through June 2000.1 The purpose of this survey was to determine the 

typical structural, ownership, quality and cost characteristics of housing occupied by 

migrant, seasonal and year-round farmworkers in major agricultural areas throughout the 

country. 

FOREIGN TEMPORARY WORKERS IN AMERICA: Policies that benefit the U.S. 

economy / Westport, CO: Quorum Books, 1999, 285 p. (Book) 

See Chapter 8: California's farm labor market and immigration reform / by Philip L. 

Martin (p. 179-207) 

"Farm labor contractors continue to move crews of solo men from area to area, but there 

are now far fewer 'free-wheeling' families traveling up and down the state looking for 

farm jobs without prearranged jobs and housing than in the 1960s and 1970s. Workers 

tend to stay in one area of California for three reasons: the harvesting of some crops has 

been stretched out for marketing and processing reasons; temporary housing for 

migrants is scarce; and the availability of unemployment insurance and service 

programs makes migration less necessary." - (p. 187) 

Available: HD8081 A4 F67 1999 - California State Library 





THE BORDER COLONIAS REGION: Challenges and innovative approaches to 

effective community development / Dabir, Surabhi, et al. -- Washington, DC: Housing 

Assistance Council (HAC), 1998, 66 p. 


http://www.ruralhome.org/pubs/hsganalysis/colonias/contents.htm 

This report presents three detailed case studies of successful approaches to improving 

housing and infrastructure conditions faced by the colonias along the U.S.-Mexico 

border. It also outlines the key challenges faced by colonia residents and presents some 

broad policy recommendations based on the experiences of local groups. It is useful for 

both community-based organizations in that area as well as in a more general way for 

those organizations dealing with improving housing and communities in other places. 

HOME, CDBG AND FARMWORKER HOUSING DEVELOPMENT / Housing Assistance 

Council (HAC) -- Washington, DC: HAC, 1997, 70 p. 


http://www.ruralhome.org/pubs/farmworker/home/toc.htm 

The Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) and the HOME Investment 

Partnership program (HOME) provide federal block grant funds for local community and 

housing development that serves the needs of low- and moderate-income households. 

CDBG and HOME have been used to meet the housing needs of seasonal and migrant 

farmworkers. Since in rural areas these programs are administered primarily by the 

states, understanding the strengths and limits of their use should prove instructive for 

rural housing developers seeking to produce farmworker housing. This study will 

examine the primary uses of these funds in the development process, outline the 

political linkages necessary to secure CDBG and HOME funding at the state level, and 

identify productive strategies for overcoming obstacles to the use of these funds in 

constructing farmworker housing. 

LEVERAGING FUNDS FOR SECTION 514/516 FARMWORKER HOUSING 

DEVELOPMENT / Holden, Christopher; Wielgosz, Ruth -- Washington, DC: Housing 

Assistance Council (HAC), 1998, 38 p. 


http://ruralhome.org/pubs/farmworker/leveraging/levtoc.htm 

This report provides feedback and examples illustrating the strengths and limitations of 

moving Section 514/516 farm labor housing allocations to a competitive application 

process. In addition, the report focuses on the issue of leveraging other funds in 

conjunction with Section 514/516 awards, and the role that leveraging may play in 

evaluating applications under a competitive awards process. The report also provides 

brief summaries of state affordable housing programs designed to address farmworker 

housing needs. Finally, the report presents case study examples showing how 

organizations have successfully leveraged other funding sources for use in conjunction 

with Section 514/516 funding. These case studies provide examples of the challenges 

associated with leveraging and how groups have addressed these challenges to using 

multiple funding sources. The case studies are from Alliance Oh.; Berlin, Wisc.; Eastville, 

Va.; Indio, Calif.; Planada, Calif.; and Reedville, Ore. A chart in the appendix compares 

state farmworker housing programs. 





HOUSING FOR FAMILIES AND UNACCOMPANIED MIGRANT FARMWORKERS / 

Lopez, Norma, et al. -- Washington, DC: Housing Assistance Council (HAC), 1997, 56 p. 


http://www.ruralhome.org/pubs/farmworker/migrant/index.htm 

Every year, migrant farmworkers uproot themselves and sometimes their families to 

travel hundreds of miles in search of work. Usually the compensation they receive for 

their hard labor is inadequate. Farmworkers are one of the poorest working groups in the 

United States. Not only do they lack sufficient pay, they also lack other necessities, such 

as health care, transportation, adequate education and decent housing. 

POVERTY AMID PROSPERITY: Immigration and the changing face of rural 

California / Taylor, J. Edward; Martin, Philip L.; Fix, Michael -- Washington, DC: Urban 

Institute Press, 1997, 109 p. 


http://www.urban.org/pubs/pap/summary.html 

This volume synthesized the view of California's preeminent rural development 

researchers on how immigration is transforming rural communities. The book is 

organized into three parts. Part I (chapters 2-3) describes the history and impact of 

immigration in the rural United States and immigration patterns in California. It draws 

heavily from statistical analyses of U.S. Census of Population data. Part II (chapter 4) 

offers a qualitative complement to our statistical analysis. It summarized key findings 

from seven in-depth studies of rural towns and cities. Part III (chapters 5-6) explores 

immigrant or integration policies, drawing, where appropriate, from the findings on 

immigration patterns, impacts, and community studies reported in the first two parts of 

this book. 

FITTING THE PIECES TOGETHER: An examination of data sources related to 

farmworker housing / Washington DC: Housing Assistance Council (HAC), 1996. 


http://www.ruralhome.org/pubs/farmworker/pieces/fitting.htm 

They are essential, but invisible; mostly documented workers and citizens, but believed 

by many to be illegal; hardworking people, but viewed as undeserving. They are the 

hundreds of thousands of migrant and seasonal farmworkers who do the hard work of 

planting, tending and harvesting many of the crops that Americans expect to find at their 

grocery stores reasonably priced and unblemished. Because migrant and seasonal 

farmworkers move, because they are poor and because they are often from "minority" 

cultures, their concerns often receive low priority in the attention of the public and of 

social service and regulatory agencies. 

AN ASSESSMENT OF MIGRANT AND FARM WORKERS' NEED FOR HOUSING IN 

CALIFORNIA: How a cooperative model has helped meet that need / Gordon, 

James -- Davis, CA: U.C. Davis, Center for Cooperatives, 1995, 56 p. (Book) 


http://www.cooperatives.ucdavis.edu/reports/fmwk_house.pdf 

“A primary barrier to housing migrant farm workers is the lack of vacant units at the farm 

or in communities nearby to those in which they work. The existing rural housing 

infrastructure is nowhere near sufficient to meet the need. The availability of surplus 

labor discourages farmers from investing in the rehabilitation of existing housing stock to 

meet continually more stringent code requirements.” 





MIXTEC MIGRANTS IN CALIFORNIA: A new cycle of poverty / Zabin, Carol, et al. -- 

Davis, CA: California Institute for Rural Studies, 1993, 195 p. 


http://www.cirsinc.org/Documents/Pub0593.1.PDF 

“This report documents the living and working conditions of Mixtec farmworkers in West 

Coast agriculture and analyzes the effect their entry has had on mestizo Mexican (of 

mixed European and indigenous heritage) farmworkers who have a longer history of 

work in California agriculture. The study is based on a detailed interview-based survey of 

131 Mixtec farmworkers we conducted in Oregon and California, and ethnographic field 

work in both Mexico and the United States.” 

CALIFORNIA FARMWORKER HOUSING / Peck, Susan -- Davis, CA: California 

Institute for Rural Studies, 1989, 34 p. (Book) 

Working Group on Farm Labor and Rural Poverty; Working paper no. 6 

“In 1985, California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) brought suit against a Monterey 

County strawberry grower whose worker housing consisted mostly of hang-dug burrows, 

each sheltering two-to-five persons. Some workers slept in old outhouses turned on their 

sides. The affected workers were in the United States illegally, easy prey for the 

unscrupulous. But degrading, unhealthy, outright dangerous and often costly shelter is 

not only the curse of the undocumented worker. If it were, one could conveniently argue 

that legalization under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) would 

resolve these housing problems. Regrettably, bad and expensive housing is common for 

farmworkers whether they migrate or live year-round in an agricultural community.” (p. 1) 

Available: HD7289.U62 P43 1989 – California State Library 

CALIFORNIA FARM WORKER HOUSING: A study of the conditions and issues 

affecting housing for the workers in California's largest industry / Halverson, Lloyd, 

et al. -- Visalia, CA: Self-Help Enterprises, 1976, 55 p. (Book) 

Contents: Introduction; Ch.1) Agricultural employment: Seasonality; Migration; Earnings 

and Incomes; Illegal Aliens -- Ch.2) Anticipated changes in agriculture employment: 

Mechanization; Notes on prospect of crop mechanization; Crop patterns; Location of 

production; Unemployment insurance; Unionization; Further restrictions of illegal aliens; 

Summary of changes in farm work -- Ch.3) Current housing for farm workers: Family 

owned homes; Private rental housing; Employer furnished housing; Public rental 

housing; Current housing summary -- Ch.4) Current housing needs: The impact of 

housing needs of agricultural trends -- Ch.5) Recommendations; Appendices. This book 

includes bibliographical references. 

Available: HD7289.U5 S4 – California State Library 

FACTORIES IN THE FIELD: The story of migratory farm labor in California / 

McWilliams, Carey -- Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1939, 345 p. (Book) 

(2000 reprint edition - foreword by: Douglas C. Sackman) 

"Factories in the Field...transcends mere historical interest. Read in conversation and 

our collective history, with its time and place, and with its future and our present, it has 

much yet to tell us. The oranges and pears exported in 1939 have long since made their 

way back into the earth. Factories in the Field now goes out to shelves again, an 

imperishable and indispensable product of the California farms." (p. xvii) 

Available: HD1527.C2 M25 2000 California State Library 




GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS 

FACTS ABOUT FARMWORKERS AND COLONIAS / Washington, DC: U.S. 

Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2008, 1 p. (Fact sheet) 


http://www.hud.gov/groups/farmwkercolonia.cfm 

“Colonias are rural communities located within 150 miles of the US-Mexican Border. 

They often lack the basic necessities most Americans take for granted - running water, 

electricity, and paved roads. These mostly unincorporated communities began to be 

developed in the 1950s and continue to exist for a variety of reasons, such as poor land 

use regulations. Without safe, sanitary and affordable housing, drinkable water, sewer 

and drainage systems, colonias struggle with issues often associated with "Third World" 

countries.” This fact sheet includes links to related information. 

OMS MIGRANT FAMILY HOUSING CENTERS: Office of Migrant Services / 

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Housing and Community Development, 

Division of Financial Assistance, 2008, 2 p. 

Available via the World Wide Web: 

http://www.hcd.ca.gov/fa/oms/oms-map.pdf 

The purpose for HCD’s Office of Migrant Services is to provide safe, decent and 

affordable seasonal rental housing and support services for migrant farmworker families 

during the peak harvest season. This office publishes a colored map and list of 

farmworker centers. 

PROFILE OF HIRED FARMWORKERS: A 2008 update / Kandel, William -- 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2008, 65 p. (Economic Research 

Report No. 60) 


http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR60/ERR60.pdf 

Hired farmworkers make up a third of the total agricultural labor force and are critical to 

U.S. agricultural production, particularly in labor-intensive sectors such as fruits and 

vegetables. The hired farmworker labor market is unique because it includes a large 

population of relatively disadvantaged and often unauthorized workers, a portion of 

whom migrate to, and within, the United States. Recent economic and demographic 

trends, such as changing agricultural production methods that permit year-round 

employment, expanding immigrant populations in nonmetropolitan counties, and growing 

concerns over U.S. immigration policies, have elicited increased interest in hired 

farmworkers. 

THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL WORKERS SURVEY (NAWS) / Washington, DC: 

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration, 2007. 


http://www.doleta.gov/agworker/naws.cfm 

The National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) is an employment-based, random 

survey of the demographic, employment, and health characteristics of the U.S. crop 

labor force. The information is obtained directly from farm workers through face-to-face 

interviews. Since 1988, when the survey began, nearly 50,000 workers have been 

interviewed….Numerous Federal government agencies utilize NAWS findings for a 

multitude of purposes, including occupational injury and health surveillance, estimating 

the need for services, allocating program dollars to areas of greatest need, and program 

design and evaluation. 




GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS – Cont’d 

STRATEGIES FOR LINKING FARM WORKER HOUSING AND ECONOMIC 

DEVELOPMENT / ICF International -- Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing 

and Urban Development, 2007, 33 p. 


http://www.nhl.gov/local/wa/working/cpd/YakimaFarmworkerReport.pdf 

Stakeholders in Yakima County, Washington requested this report because of an 

interest in identifying ways to encourage collaboration around the development of 

affordable housing for farm workers and community and regional economic 

development. To explore this issue, ICF spoke with over a dozen stakeholders 

representing Federal, State and local government and nonprofit and for profit business 

interests, and conducted a review of existing literature on affordable housing and 

economic development in farm worker communities. The resulting report summarizes 

our findings and provides snapshots of successful strategies for rural communities 

dealing with similar issues. The strategies highlighted in this report demonstrate how 

other communities have developed and sustained partnerships across different 

disciplines, particularly affordable housing and economic development. The report 

describes how these partnerships were structured and how groups with different 

perspectives or goals found common interests around which they joined forces. 

THE CALIFORNIA FARM LABOR FORCE: Overview and trends from the National 

Agricultural Workers Survey / Aguirre International -- San Francisco, CA: U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9: Agricultural Program, 2005, 64 p. 


http://www.epa.gov/region09/ag/docs/final-naws-s092805.pdf 

The report was initiated as a result of "The Farmworker Health Issues in California" 

meeting held in San Diego on January 31, 2005, a collaborative effort of the California 

Office of Binational Border Health (COBBH), California-Mexico Health Initiative (CMHI), 

California Program on Access to Care (CPAC) and the US Environmental Projection 

Agency Region 9 (USEPA Region 9). This meeting highlighted the need for current 

demographic, occupational and health information on California’s farmworker population. 

The purpose of this report is to provide agencies and organizations the most current 

demographic information collected through the National Agriculture Worker Survey 

(NAWS). 

FARMWORKER HOUSING IN WASHINGTON STATE: Safe, Decent and Affordable / 

Abbett, Janet -- Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Community, Trade and 

Economic Development, 2005, 42 p. 


http://www.cted.wa.gov/DesktopModules/CTEDPublications/CTEDPublicationsView.aspx?tabID= 

0&ItemID=5195&MId=870&wversion=Staging 

Each year, thousands of migrant workers pour into Washington’s agricultural 

communities to cultivate and harvest crops. The sudden influx can be overwhelming to 

rural communities, which are unable to meet the increased demand for housing and 

other services. During peak harvest seasons, a critical shortage of housing forces 

hundreds of migrant workers and their families to live in substandard and overcrowded 

housing, or to camp illegally, posing health and safety hazards to themselves and to the 

community. The lack of adequate housing can also impact the availability of labor, 

resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to farmers and to the state’s economy. 





A PROFILE OF U.S. FARM WORKERS: Demographics, household composition, 

income and use of services / Mines, Richard; Gabbard, Susan; Steirman, Anne -- 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Secretary, 2005. (Office of 

Program Economics research report; No. 6) 


http://www.dol.gov/asp/programs/agworker/report/main.htm 

This special report written for the Commission on Immigration Reform describes the 

current U.S. farm workers' population and trace trends since 1988. It relies on data 

collected by the U.S. Department of Labor's National Agricultural Workers Survey 

(NAWS). The information is important to the Commission's work because farm workers 

represent a large, low-wage labor market which is made up mostly and increasingly of 

foreign born individuals. Moreover, due to the high turnover in the farm labor market, 

many of these individuals are young and relative newcomers to U.S. labor markets. The 

role of young, newcomer immigrants in our labor markets is a crucial issue which the 

Commission must confront. 

2002 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE: California state level data [Volume 1, Chapter 1] 

/ Washington, DC: U.S Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics 

Service, 2004. 


http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/volume1/ca/index1.htm 

The census of agriculture is the leading source of facts and statistics about the Nation’s 

agricultural production. It provides a detailed picture of U.S. farms and ranches every 

five years and is the only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every 

state and county or county equivalent in the U.S. Agriculture census data are routinely 

used by farm organizations, businesses, state departments of agriculture, elected 

representatives and legislative bodies at all levels of government, public and private 

sector analysts, and colleges and universities. 

SOUTHWEST BORDER REGION, COLONIAS AND MIGRANT/ FARMWORKER 

INITIATIVES / Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Office 

of Departmental Operations and Coordination, 2004, 4 p. (Brochure) No. US HH 1.2: SO 

8/2 


http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/ebooks/images/eff6697.pdf 

Migrant/farmworkers and residents of rural communities along the US-Mexican border, 

known as colonias, experience some of the worst housing conditions in the United 

States. Thirty percent of colonia residents live in poverty, and a staggering 61 percent of 

farmworkers live below the poverty level. These two under-served, rural populations 

have many similarities yet face unique challenges. Colonia residents have an average 

income of $5,000/year. The vast majority of “persistent poverty” counties are in the 

Texas border region. In migrant/farmworker communities 33% live in moderate to severe 

substandard housing, and 34% pay more than 1/3 of their income for housing. 





BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE FOR FARMWORKERS / Washington, DC: USDA 

Rural Development, 2004, 8 p. 


http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/pubs/pa1669.pdf 

Farmworkers, who perform some of the most exhausting, back-breaking labor in the 

United States, are also among the lowest paid workers. Their lives are made even more 

difficult by a lack of resources most Americans take for granted. Housing conditions for 

farm laborers lag far behind those for other Americans. In some cases, they live in 

houses that are little better than shacks. For migrant workers, the picture is particularly 

grim. They are sometimes forced to sleep in their vehicles, in tents, or completely 

outdoors. Even when shelter is available, it is often dangerous and unsanitary... 

However, help for improving farmworker living conditions is available. USDA Rural 

Development offers programs to help public and nonprofit organizations build farm labor 

housing as well as child-care centers, schools, and health-care facilities. Through loans, 

loan guarantees, and grants, this assistance has helped improve the lives of 

farmworkers across the United States. 

CALIFORNIA'S FARM LABOR MARKETS: A cross-sectional analysis of 

employment and earnings in 1991, 1996, 2001 / Khan, Akhtar; Martin, Philip L.; 

Hardiman, Phil -- Sacramento, CA: Employment Development Department, Labor 

Market Information Division, 2003, 21 p. 

“Employment reported by agricultural employers increased in the 1990s, reflecting 

increased production of more labor-intensive fruit and vegetable crops. About 1.1 million 

unique SSNs are reported by agricultural employers each year to state UI authorities, 

and most of these “farm workers” have relatively low earnings from their one California 

employer. With the state’s minimum wage at $6.25 an hour after January 1, 2001, 

earnings data suggest that most workers are employed on the state’s farm fewer than 

1,000 hours a year. Indeed, in 2001, there were about 2.8 individuals employed by 

agricultural employers for each year-round equivalent job in agriculture.” - (p. 12) 

Available: E1950 .F27 California State Library – Government Publications Section 

DECENNIAL CENSUS: Lessons learned for locating and counting migrant and 

seasonal farm workers / U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) -- Washington, DC: 

GAO, 2003, 34 p. No. GAO-03-605 


http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03605.pdf 

One of the U.S. Census Bureau's long-standing challenges has been counting migrant 

farm workers. Although the Bureau goes to great lengths to locate these individuals, its 

efforts are often hampered by the unconventional and hidden housing arrangements, 

distrust of outsiders, and language and literacy issues often associated with this 

population group. To help inform the planning for the 2010 Census, we were asked to 

review the adequacy of the Bureau's procedures for locating migrant farm workers and 

their dwellings during the 2000 Census, and the steps, if any, that the Bureau can take 

to improve those procedures. 





COUNTY OF VENTURA FARMWORKER HOUSING STUDY / Ventura, CA: Ventura 

County Resource Management Agency, Planning Department, 2002, 48 p. 


http://www.ventura.org/rma/planning/pdf/studies/fwh_study.pdf 

On June 19, 2001, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors…directed the Planning 

Division to begin implementation of program 3.3.3-5(14), which reads as follows: “The 

Planning Division will, in consultation with farm worker housing organizations and as part 

of the FY 2001-2002 budget, undertake a more detailed study of farm worker 

households, farm worker housing needs, and additional methods to address those 

needs.” This study includes a survey of a representative sample of farm worker 

households; an analysis of trends in changes in agricultural crop type; an estimate of 

future farm labor demand and housing need; an evaluation of AE and OS-zoned sites 

suitable for farm labor housing projects; and a review of a zoning ordinance to allow farm 

labor housing projects on AE and OS zoned land. 

HEALTH OF MIGRANT FARMWORKERS IN CALIFORNIA / Rodriguez, Michael; 

Toller, Jennifer L.; Dowling, Patrick -- Sacramento, CA: California State Library, 

California Research Bureau (CRB), 2002, 25 p. No. CRB-03-005 


http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/03/05/03-005.pdf 

In summary, the health and health care problems facing migrant agricultural workers are 

complex and require a comprehensive solution reflected in the recommendations 

presented. Policy options that hold promise to improve health care coverage range from 

allowing portability of Medi-Cal and Healthy Families to subsidizing insurance premiums 

or co-pays and implementation of programs to increase use of existing community 

resources. Other options focus on augmenting resources for clinics that serve migrant 

populations as well as promoting policies to increase the number of health professionals 

who work in rural areas. Options directed towards environmental issues (including 

programs to decrease pesticide exposure) and improvements in wage and living 

conditions are also included. The costs of new programs could be offset through 

targeted taxes. Ultimately, solutions will require a bi-national effort between the U.S. and 

Mexico that may include immigration reform. 

HISTORY OF THE CALIFORNIA EMPLOYEE HOUSING ACT / Javor, Ron -- 

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Housing and Community Development, 

Division of Codes & Standards, 2002, 7 p. 

Summary available via the World Wide Web: 

http://www.hcd.ca.gov/codes/eh/ehhstory.htm 

"On June 12, 1913, the California Legislature created the Commission of Immigration 

and Housing for the primary purpose of assisting immigrants and improving their working 

and housing conditions. The Legislature intended to protect immigrants from exploitation 

in the early stages of their California residency by guiding and aiding them in 

understanding and adjusting to American standards of living, and by encouraging their 

education in the English language and the rights and obligations of citizenship. In 

addition to direct aid to immigrants, the Commission was authorized to investigate and 

study housing conditions in the state…." (p. 1). 

Available: Housing Resource Center Library – CA Dept. of Housing & Community 

Development (916) 322-9648 





FARMWORKER HOUSING AND HEALTH ASSESSMENT STUDY: Salinas and 

Pajaro Valley final report / Watsonville, CA: Applied Survey Research, 2001, 200 p. 

(Book) 


http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/bds/board/20010605/068.pdf 

“The picturesque Salinas and Pajaro Valleys constitute some of the most fertile and 

lucrative agricultural lands in the world. The combined annual crop production value of 

these lands was nearly 2.5 billion dollars in 1999. Behind these numbers are the human 

beings- men, women and children- who are an indispensable part of the local agricultural 

industry. They plant, harvest and process much of the food that we put on our tables. 

Yet their living and working conditions are often difficult. In April 2000 the lack of decent 

and affordable housing for farmworkers was identified as a priority issue in both Santa 

Cruz and Monterey County planning efforts” (p. 1). Attached are letters addressed to the 

Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Cruz. 

OPERATION OF FARM LABOR HOUSING IN CALIFORNIA: A survey of farmers / 

ranchers / Working Group on Agriculture and Affordable Housing -- Sacramento, CA: 

California Department of Housing and Community Development, 2001, 20 p. 

“Among over 1,100 farmers/ranchers surveyed in 20 California counties, only one-third 

currently provide housing for their workers, while two-thirds do not offer 

accommodations. Dairy / livestock operators are the commodity group most likely to 

house their workers, but tree, fruit and nut producers account for three of every four 

housing providers. Most providers are larger farmers/ranchers with 100 or more acres... 

The main reasons why farmers/ranchers provide housing are they require skilled yearround 

workers on-site, full time, and want to attract dependable and migrant workers 

back each year. Nearly two-thirds, however, cited the cost of development as a major 

factor discouraging employers from housing workers….” - (p. i) 

Available: Housing Resource Center Library – CA Dept. of Housing & Community 

Development (916) 322-9648 

FINDINGS FROM THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL WORKERS SURVEY (NAWS) 

1997- 1998: A demographic and employment profile of United States farmworkers / 

-- Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Office of Program Economics, 2000, 61 p. 

(Office of Program Economics research report; No. 8) 


http://www.dol.gov/asp/programs/agworker/report_8.pdf 

“This is Report Number 8 in a series of publications based on the findings of the National 

Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), a nationwide, random survey on the demographic 

and employment characteristics of hired crop workers. This report, like those before it, 

finds that several long-standing trends characterizing the farm labor workforce and the 

farm labor market continue. It finds that farm-worker wages have stagnated, annual 

earnings remain below the poverty level, farmworkers experience chronic 

underemployment and that the farm workforce increasingly consists of young, single 

males who are recent immigrants.” - (p. vii) 





CALIFORNIA’S HOUSING MARKETS: 1990-1997, statewide housing plan update, 

phase II / Smith-Heimer, Michael, et al. / University of California, Berkeley, Institute for 

Urban and Regional Development -- Sacramento, CA: California Department of Housing 

and Community Development, 1998, 143 p. (see “California’s Farmworker Population,” 

p. 111 – 120) 


http://www.hcd.ca.gov/hpd/hrc/plan/shp/shp2.pdf 

California’s strong agricultural sector functions with farm labor throughout the State. 

These employees and their families must have access to adequate housing while they 

are temporarily – or permanently – employed in an area. Far too often they are forced to 

occupy substandard “homes.” Very few California residents have seen the “homes” of 

many of these farmworkers or day laborers. They often live out of sight to avoid 

harassment from permanent residents or passing motorists — in undeveloped canyons, 

fields, and squatter camps, as well as motels, trailers, cars, and back houses. 

FARMWORKERS IN CALIFORNIA / Bugarin, Alicia; Lopez, Elias / California State 

Library, California Research Bureau (CRB) -- Sacramento, CA: CRB, 1998, 55 p. 

(No. CRB-98-007) 


http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/98/07/98007a.pdf 

“California is the nation’s largest agricultural state. It produces more than 250 different 

crops valued at nearly $25 billion. California farmers are changing their crops to respond 

to consumer demand, producing more fresh vegetables, fruits and nuts. These high 

valued-added crops require more labor. During 1996, California produced nearly 14 

million tons of fruits and nuts and 20 million tons of vegetables. This was more than half 

of the total U.S. production….Although farmworkers play a significant role in one of the 

state’s most important industries, their working conditions are difficult: low earnings, poor 

or no health benefits, substandard housing, physically taxing and sometimes unsafe 

work conditions, and long hours.” - (p. 3) 

FARMWORKER HOUSING: A summary report from the interim hearing of the 

Senate Committee on Housing and Land Use / California Legislature, Senate 

Committee on Housing and Land Use -- Sacramento, CA: Senate Publications, 1995. 

Senate Publications stock no.; 824-S (October 23, 1995) 


http://www.sen.ca.gov/publications/order.htm 

Farmworker Housing Background Staff Paper // Demand and Need: "Private, 

cooperative, or public programs to provide housing for farmworkers must recognize that 

employment and settlement patterns influence the demand for housing. For example: 

single men with families in Mexico may follow the harvest seasons from county to 

county. They need seasonal labor camps at reasonable weekly or monthly fees. Some 

central services should provide for their basic needs. But a family of resident aliens or 

U.S. citizens may work on nearby farms year-round in the same community. They need 

affordable rental housing, access to schools and other community services, and the 

chance for home ownership" (p. 2). 





IMPROVING SERVICES FOR CALIFORNIA'S FARM WORKER COMMUNITY: A 

status report / Farm Worker Services Coordinating Council -- Sacramento, CA: State of 

California, Health and Welfare Agency, 1994, 59 p. 

This status report provided a summary of the Council’s accomplishments to date (see 

Housing chapter, p. 203-23). “To address the serious lack of safe and affordable 

housing, HCD developed strategies to leverage existing funds into a multi-year effort that 

will significantly increase housing... Another strategy to improve the supply of seasonal 

housing that has proven very effective is the department's new policy allowing employers 

to roll penalties over into rehabilitation of substandard housing.” 

Available: H230 .I46 – California State Library, Government Publications Section 

FARM LABOR IN CALIFORNIA: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE: A supplemental 

report for the Farm Worker Services Coordinating Council / Martin, Philip L. -- 

Sacramento, CA: Farm Worker Services Coordinating Council, 1992, 33 p. 

“The purpose of this report is to provide background information on California’s farm 

labor market. The topics covered include the importance of labor-intensive fruit and 

vegetable agriculture to the state’s economy; trends in the employment of farm workers; 

who farm workers are; how farm workers find jobs; what they earn; and what they do 

after they leave the farm work force. The federal and state governments spend and 

estimated $600 million to $1 billion on services for migrant and seasonal farm workers 

(MSFWs) and their families, equivalent to 10 to 20 percent of the annual earnings of 

these workers. About one-third of these federal MSFW service expenditures are made in 

California.” - (p. 1) 

Available: H230 .F37 – California State Library – Government Publications Section 

STAFF REPORT, SUMMARY OF THE INTERIM HEARING ON FARMWORKER 

HOUSING / California Legislature, Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs -- 

Sacramento, CA: Senate Publications, 1992. 

Senate Publications stock no. ; 652-S (October 15, 1992) 


http://www.sen.ca.gov/publications/order.htm 

This report includes: “A Review of Farmworker Housing Problems: Past Responses and 

Potential Solutions.” 

MIGRANT FARMWORKER HOUSING IN CALIFORNIA: A study pursuant to AB 

3628 (Bradley; chapter 1002, Statutes of 1986) / California Department of Housing 

and Community Development (HCD) -- Sacramento, CA: HCD, 1988, 44 p. 

"While the State is only one of the entities involved in the provision of migrant 

farmworker housing, its role has been substantial. For each of the last five years, the 

Administration's budget has included from $5.0 to $5.2 million for the Dept. of Housing & 

Community Development's Office of Migrant Services. These funds have been used to 

construct and rehabilitate 7,727 units of housing at migrant centers throughout the 

state.” – (p. [1]) 

Available: H777 .M53 – California State Library, Government Publications Section 





CALIFORNIA FARMWORKERS HOUSING ASSISTANCE PLAN: 1977 / California 

Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) -- Sacramento, CA: HCD, 

1977, 49 p. 

“Investigations by the Dept. of Housing and Community Development and the Dept. of 

Health show that agricultural workers and their families are subject to serious and 

hazardous housing conditions which are either not covered by the Employee Housing 

Act or because of the nature of the Act elude inspection efforts.” - (p. 31) 

Available: H777 .F35 – California State Library, Government Publications Section 

JOURNAL ARTICLES 

FARMWORKER HOUSING AND SPACES OF BELONGING IN WOODBURN, 

OREGON / Nelson, Lise -- New York, NY: American Geographical Society, 2007, 22 p. 

(Journal article) 

Geographical Review – Vol. 97, No. 4 (October 2007) p. 520-541 


http://www.amergeog.org/gr/oct07/nelson.html 

This article traces the history of efforts to build subsidized farmworker housing in 

Woodburn, Oregon, during the early 1990s. Although the northern Willamette Valley has 

been dependent on Mexican and Mexican American farmworkers since the 1940s, until 

the 1980s most of those workers had been migratory and lived in labor camps. Political 

economic transformations shifted these dynamics, causing an increasing number of 

farmworkers to settle permanently in towns such as Woodburn. Rising housing costs, in 

combination with skyrocketing demand for low-income housing, led to a housing crisis in 

the late 1980s. The Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, established in 1991, 

successfully built two housing projects in Woodburn despite fierce resistance from city 

leaders and many longtime residents. 

BUREAUCRATIC STRATEGIES OF EXCLUSION: Land use ideology and images of 

Mexican farmworkers in housing policy / Forbes, Kathryn -- Oklahoma City, OK: 

Society for Applied Anthropology, 2007, 7 p. (Journal article) 

Human Organization – Vol. 66, No. 2 (Summer 2007) p. 196-202 


http://www.sfaa.net/ho/main/recentback.html 

This article examines how land use ideology and popular images of farmworkers 

contribute to the housing crisis for Mexican farmworkers in Fresno County, California. 

Despite the desperate need for affordable housing in the rural areas of Fresno County, 

local policy makers either have failed to aid or have actively discouraged attempts to 

increase the stock of affordable housing. Through an ethnographic examination of public 

policy decision making about residential construction on the west side of Fresno County, 

I document how public officials make policy decisions based on both a land use ideology 

that rationalizes governmental failure to serve Mexicans working in the agriculture 

industry and portraits of farmworkers and farmworker families that reflect stereotypes 

and nationally relevant population characteristics rather than regionally specific realities. 




JOURNAL ARTICLES – Cont’d 

FEDERAL COLONIAS POLICY IN CALIFORNIA: Too broad and too narrow / 

Mukhija, Vinit; Monkkonen, Paavo -- Washington, DC: Fannie Mae Foundation, 2006, 26 

p. (Journal article) 

Housing Policy Debate – Vol. 17, No. 4 (Winter 2006) p. 755-780. 


http://content.knowledgeplex.org/kp2/cache/documents/2542/254228.pdf 

In this article, we compare colonias in Texas and California and evaluate the federal 

policy relating to them. In Texas, designated colonias are recently subdivided but 

unregulated housing settlements that lack infrastructure. California’s designated colonias 

are old communities, with varying demographics, infrastructure needs, and jurisdictional 

authority. Because subdivisions are strongly regulated in California, we did not expect to 

find designated colonias there. In actuality, there are over 30. However, federal policy is 

based on Texas colonias, and we argue that it is too broad because it fails to distinguish 

between inherently distinct areas and investment needs. Paradoxically, the federal 

criteria for defining colonias are also too narrow. Many locally designated colonias in 

California do not qualify for funding because they are not close to the Mexican border or 

exceed the population ceiling. Ironically, some of the colonias that fail to qualify have the 

worst housing conditions. 

HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS OF FARMWORKER FAMILIES IN NORTH 

CAROLINA / Early, Julie, et al. -- New York, NY: Springer, 2006, 12 p. (Journal article) 

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health – Vol. 8, No. 2 (2006) p. 173-184 


http://www.springerlink.com/content/70j3768157g4h032/ 

Little research has documented the housing quality of immigrant Latino farmworker 

families. This analysis uses data from four surveys of North Carolina farmworker 

communities conducted in 2001 and 2003 to document aspects of housing quality that 

could affect farmworker family health. Three housing domains are considered: dwelling 

characteristics, household characteristics, and household behaviors. Most farmworker 

families live in mobile homes, and few own their dwellings. Many are located near 

agricultural fields. Most houses are small, but household size is large, containing adults, 

in addition to the nuclear family. Crowding is common among farmworker families. Many 

farmworker households lack basic facilities, such as washing machines. Farmworkers 

attempt to reduce exposure by frequently cleaning their dwellings. These findings 

suggest that the health of farmworker families is at risk due to inadequate housing. 

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF FLORIDA FARMWORKER HOUSING / Flocks, Joan; 

Burns, Allan -- Philadelphia, PA: The Hawood Press, Inc., 2006, 9 p. (Journal article) 

Journal of Agromedicine – Vol. 11, No. 1 (2006) p. 59-67 


http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=84077 

Farmworkers, farmworker advocates, state and federal policy-makers, and researchers 

all consider adequate housing as central to successful migration, community building, 

and quality of life, including good health, among farmworkers. This study analyzes 

results from interviews and focus groups with stakeholders involved in Florida 

farmworker housing conducted with the goal of providing recommendations for future 

farmworker housing policy. These recommendations include considering housing needs 

within a life continuum and understanding how wages and housing are interconnected. 





ASSOCIATION OF HOUSING DISREPAIR INDICATORS: With cockroach and 

rodent infestations in a cohort of pregnant Latina women and their children / 

Bradman, Asa, et al. -- Cary, NC: U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health 

Sciences, 2005 (Journal article) 

Environmental Health Perspectives – Vol. 113, No. 12 (2005) p. 1795-801 


http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/ 

An environmental assessment in 644 homes of pregnant Latina women and their 

children living in the Salinas Valley, CA discovered that high residential densities were 

common, with 39% of homes housing more than 1.5 persons per room. Housing 

disrepair was also common: 58% of homes had peeling paint, 43% had mold; 25% had 

water damage, and 11% had rotting wood. Evidence of cock-roaches and rodents was 

present in 60% and 32% of homes, respectively. Compared with representative national 

survey data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homes in 

our sample were more likely to have rodents, peeling paint, leaks under sinks, and much 

higher residential densities. 

FARMWORKER HOUSING: Turning challenges into successes / Housing Assistance 

Council (HAC) -- Washington, DC: HAC, 2005, 28 p. (Journal issue) 

Rural Voices – Vol. 10, No. 2 (Summer 2005) p. 1-25 


http://www.ruralhome.org/manager/uploads/VoicesSummer2005.pdf 

Farm labor is integral to the agricultural industry in the United States. But farmworkers' 

hard work is rewarded by low wages, so farmworkers are one of the poorest groups of 

people in the country. Their low incomes translate into an inability to attain decent, safe, 

and affordable housing. Farmworkers must cope with the entire spectrum of housing 

problems: costs that do not fit their incomes, substandard quality, and, for migrant 

workers, a need for short-term rentals in places where they work only temporarily. This 

issue of Rural Voices begins with an overview describing the farmworker population, 

their housing needs, and some relevant federal housing programs. Then writers from the 

upper Midwest, California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Washington share their 

knowledge about the provision of farmworker housing. Each organization has 

encountered serious challenges in this effort and has faced these challenges with 

strength and determination. 

MIGRANT, NOT HOMELESS / Goodno, James B. -- Chicago, IL: American Planning 

Association (APA), 2005, 6 p. (Journal article) 


http://www.planning.org/affordablereader/planning/migrant1103.htm 

Planning – Vol. 69, No. 10 (November 2003) p. 10-15 

"The vast majority of the 15,000 migrants who arrive in this southern California desert 

valley for the annual table-grape harvest must fend for themselves. Some crowd into 

rented garages, apartments, trailers, and motel rooms. Others camp in parks, parking 

lots, and by irrigation canals, living in what a federal Housing and Urban Development 

official calls Third World conditions. This situation is not unique to the Coachella Valley." 

- (p. 10) 





INCREASING THE HARVEST FOR FARMWORKER HOUSING / Robinson, Lena -- 

San Francisco, CA: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 2004, 9 p. (Journal article) 

Community Investments – Vol. 16, No. 2 (September 2004) p. 1-9 


http://www.frbsf.org/publications/community/investments/0409/harvestarticle.html 

“A three-year survey of housing availability and conditions for migrant and seasonal farm 

workers conducted by the Housing Assistance Council found that 52 percent of the 

housing intended for single-family occupancy was overcrowded. Aside from the 

challenge of providing housing for this transient population, the limited housing available 

for permanent farm workers in predominately agricultural communities is often 

overpriced or substandard. This same survey found that 32 percent of farmworker 

housing units in the four western states surveyed (CA, ID, OR, WA) could be considered 

either ‘moderately’ or ‘severely substandard’ with such conditions as sagging roofs, 

broken windows and rodent infestation. The majority of these units had children 

present.” - (p. 1-2) 

WHY HOUSING MATTERS TO FARMWORKER HEALTH / Zatz, Shoshana -- 

Washington, DC: Rural Assistance Council, 2001, 3 p. (Journal article) 

Rural Voices – Vol. 6, No. 1 (Winter 2000-2001) p. 5-7 


http://www.ruralhome.org/manager/uploads/VoicesWinter2000_2001.pdf 

Through 22 years in 12 states, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation has 

learned that all efforts to improve the well-being of agricultural workers must start with 

housing. This approach is based on the premise that the greatest resource and tool for 

improving the quality of life for agricultural workers are the workers themselves. The best 

way to enhance the agricultural worker’s ability to shape his/her future is to stabilize 

his/her living situation. Stability begins with reducing the amount of income that is 

devoted to housing and ensuring that the housing is safe, decent, dignified and 

adequate. This action often reduces migration, both work- and housing-related, and thus 

amplifies the effectiveness of other solutions such as education, training, social and 

health services. 

FOR CALIFORNIA FARMWORKERS, FUTURE HOLDS LITTLE PROSPECT FOR 

CHANGE / Martin, Philip L.; Taylor, J. Edward -- Davis, California: University of 

California, Davis; Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources, 2000, 7 p. (Journal article) 

California Agriculture – Vol. 54, No. 1 (January/February 2000) p. 19-25 


http://californiaagriculture.ucop.edu/ 

"This paper surveys the farm labor market at the beginning of the 21st century and 

outlines its likely evolution. The number and characteristics of farmworkers played a 

major role in shaping 20th century agriculture and the farm labor market, and the farm 

labor supply is likely to continue to do so in the 21st century. At the beginning of the 

20th-century, farmers worried about whether Chinese and Japanese farmworkers would 

continue to be available; at the end of the 20th century, farmers worry about the future 

availability of Mexican farmworkers." - (p. 19) 



Selected California Libraries Contact List 

California Department of Housing and Community Development 

Housing Resource Center - HCD/HRC 

1800 Third Street, Rm. 430, Sacramento, CA 95814 

(916) 322-9648; jtochterman@hcd.ca.gov 

California State Library - General Collection 

Library and Courts Building, 914 Capital Mall, Rm. 300 

Sacramento, CA 95814 - (916) 654-0261 

http://www.library.ca.gov/ 

California State Library - Government Documents 

Library and Courts Building, 914 Capital Mall, Rm. 304 

Sacramento, CA 95814 - (916) 654-0069 

http://www.library.ca.gov/ 

UC Berkeley - Environmental Design Library 

Moffitt Library, 5th floor, UC Berkeley, 94720 

(510) 642-4818; envi@library.berkeley.edu 

UC Berkeley - Institute of Government Studies 

Library, 109 Moses, UC Berkeley, 94720 

(510) 642-1472; http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ 

(C) Copyright 2008, California Dept. of Housing and Community Development, Housing Resource Center 

*The listing of publications and the links to web sites do not constitute endorsement from the California Department 

of Housing & Community Development. The resources listed are provided as an information service only. It is the 

responsibility of the user to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from these resources.

Farmerworker Housing Resources - California Department of ...

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