empowering farmworkers to improve their living and working conditions since 1981

The Farmworker Health Network

Health & Safety - General Health

The Health Resources and Services Administration works with six national organizations that provide technical assistance to migrant health centers.  These organizations specialize in health issues specific to migrant farmworkers.

As part of the Farmworker Health Network, Farmworker Justice, in partnership with the Migrant Clinicians Network, provides training and technical assistance to migrant health centers primarily on issues of occupational and environmental health. Our services include:

• providing training and individualized consultations to clinicians, outreach workers, and promotores de salud (lay health educators);
• developing curricula, evaluation tools and patient education materials;
• conducting advocacy and responding to inquiries on health policy and health law issues;
• writing reports and articles;
• developing and disseminating research; and
• assisting new starts and applicants for health center grants.

FHN: Farmworker Health Network: Key Resources for Migrant Health (PDF Guide)

Migrant Clinicians Network is the oldest and largest clinical network serving underserved migrant populations.  It provides technical assistance to migrant health centers, including on-site and online training, individualized consultations and aids with the development of culturally appropriate materials concerning: recruitment and retention of health center staff; clinical issues; developing clinical leadership; bridge case management and referrals (through its networks such as Track II on diabetes); continuing professional education, peer networking for clinicians, patient education and other clinical resources. It also publishes the Streamline newsletter.

Other organizations providing technical assistance to migrant health centers through the Farmworker Health Network include:

Migrant Health Promotion (MHP) works to strengthen the capacity of farmworker families and communities to improve their health, using peer education and advocacy. Its technical assistance focuses on the development and implementation of its Camp Health Aide and other promotores de salud programs; the development of culturally appropriate training curricula, evaluation tools, patient education and other health education materials; identification of funding opportunities and assistance with grant development; promoting networking among program managers, and promotores, and the dissemination of a promotor(a) newsletter.

Health Outreach Partners (formerly Farmworker Health Services, Inc.) focuses primarily on the development and support of health outreach and enabling services programs; creating health education and prevention materials; promoting cultural competency; and collecting health data on outcome measures, etc.

National Association of Community Health Centers, Inc. promotes the provision of high quality, comprehensive health care that is accessible, coordinated, culturally and linguistically competent, and community-directed for all underserved populations. Its training and technical assistance services focus on: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funding initiatives; health center governance and financial operations; educating new medical directors, etc. It also sponsors an annual, national migrant health conference, administers a migrant-health list serve and email distribution group; monitors and recommends policies affecting migrant health centers or their patients; facilitates recruitment and retention of health center staff; develops clinical protocols and tools; and offers accreditation for clinical continuing education, etc.

Finally, the National Center for Farmworker Health offers technical assistance on: leadership development and training; migrant-specific and bi-lingual on-site consultations; development and dissemination of research, training and patient education materials; maintenance of a current and archival library and multi-media resource center; network development and expansion: facilitating navigation of the public health system and the securing care in exceptional circumstances via the Call for Health system; health center governance and management; and recruitment and retention of health center staff.