Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The audience initially targeted for disaster preparedness training consisted of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their youth, ages 13 through 19, mostly from Texas and Florida who travel to work in Oceana County in northwest Michigan. This population is at high risk of disasters yet it lacks in disaster preparedness education and disaster preparedness training. However, also reached by the training were personnel from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Michigan State University Extension Educators involved with the project. Changes/Problems:In 2016, the weather in June delayed the asparagus harvest for two weeks, causing a time conflict between the harvest and the disaster preparedness-training workshop that had been scheduled for June. This resulted in a large number of farmworkers who had signed up for workshop to cancel their participation in the June workshop. The project had an August 2016 deadline, so the project team requested a no cost extension that NIFA approved to allow the project team to conduct another training workshop after the apple harvest in October. There were several other challenges to implementing the trainings in the field. These were mostly created by the logistics of the project and funding restrictions. The project site was 140 miles from campus, making it cost ineffective for the project team leaders to visit in the fields with key stakeholder to encourage participation. The team opted instead to enter into partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in Oceana County who service the farmworkers as their clients for The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other health and human service programs. DHHS Staff who screened farmworkers for service programs contacted their clients to encourage participation. In the October training, this client-based approach was supplemented by an employer approach to encourage participation. However, the team leaders did not contact the employers of farmworkers. Instead, they relied on a local community leader and local nonprofit director who reached out to a local packing farm. We thought we had addressed the challenge of not having a bilingual FEMA trainer in the region to conduct the training by using the English speaking youth of migrant and seasonal farmworkers to help the participants who did not understand English. However, the youth were busy learning the material themselves. Fortunately, we had DHHS workers and volunteers participate in the training who helped with translation. Although the project team planned around and adopted to the challenge of not finding a bilingual certified trainer in the region, this challenge persists. Unless FEMA certified bilingual disaster preparedness trainers become available, conducting disaster preparedness training in receiving communities in rural areas in northern states, like Oceana County, where migrants travel to work, will remain a challenge. There is a need for one final note. The perfomring Department is not Michigan State University's School of Planning Design and Construction, as is indicated in teh cover sheet. The grant was awarded while the PI was in the Department of Community Sustatinability and it was administered through that unit through its completion. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training: Although the training targeted migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their youth, three staff members from the Oceana-Mason Department of Health and Human Services, and for Michigan State University Extension educators participated in the training. Professional Development: MSUE personnel involved in the project developed their skills and capacity to address the gap in disaster preparedness of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their youth by learning how to bring together and organizing a set of relevant stakeholder to take action in addressing this critically important need. FEMA personnel ought to have a study group that investigate the lack of bilingual certified CERT trainers with the ability to deliver CERT training to bilingual audiences. This is particularly the case in communities that receive farmworkers that harvest the seasonal crops and don't have the capacity to serve this population in the event of a disaster. The lack of bilingual certified trainers acts as a botteneck that hinders the provision of disaster prepahdeness training to interested spanish speaking farmworker residents and migrant in communities where they travel to work. It also hinders the community ability to respond to the needs of this population in the event of a disaster emergency. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Commensurate with our dissemination plan, ten YouTube videos featuring our program participants sharing what they learned were made available on the World Wide Web. We also conducted two nation-wide webinars. The Chicago FEMA regional office learned about our program and FEMA in Washington D.C. invited us to feature our novel program to a national audience as part of its 2017 National African American History Month webinar entitled Building Partnerships to Strengthen Preparedness through Diverse Communities webinar on February 27, 2016 to 246 attendees. Among webinar participants were FEMA personnel with the Individual and Community Preparedness Division, MSU Extension Personnel, Michigan Health and Human Services personnel, and others. We also delivered an eXtension Foundation Zoom webinar May 23, 2016, entitled, The Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Disasters Preparedness Demonstration Project: Implementation and Lessons Learned. Our purpose was to reach Extension personnel, Migrant Health Center personnel, and others across the country. In addition, the PI made a power point presentation before the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Migrant Interagency Services Committee and a presentation before the Allegan/Ottawa/Barry Migrant Resource Council. A session of the 2017 Michigan State University Extension Fall Conference by an Extension educator, also used YouTube videos from our program to share information about bilingual course development with MSU Extension personnel. Recent communications with representatives from the EDEN network has resulted in plans to share the results with this Extension Disaster Education Network. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
There is a huge need to addressing the gap in disaster preparedness and disaster preparedness training in the Hispanic migrant and seasonal farm worker population. This project yielded three types of impacts to address this problem. The evidence suggests the project training enhanced community emergency response and disaster preparedness levels, as well as understanding of CPR and AED response strategies, for migrant and seasonal farmworker families. Additionally, the project team learned valuable disaster preparedness training planning lessons. For example, project planning and implementation requires partnerships and collaboration with relevant local stakeholders. Additionally, the farmworker work schedule as well as the youth school schedules need to be considered when setting the times, length and structure of the training modules. Translating materials into Spanish is necessary for recruitment, training, and evaluation. Secondly, disaster preparedness conditions in Oceana County improved because of the project. Because of the training, thirty participants, largely Hispanics, became members of the President's Citizen Corps by completing the Community Emergency Response Team Training. Additionally, the thirty training participants were certified by the American Heart Asssociation. Perhaps most significantly is the impact of the training as measured by the actions and attitudes of trainees assessed several months after the training took place. An evaluation survey mailed to 24 training participants conducted one year after the June 2016 training and nine months after the October training provides evidence of this. In response to the question, "Have you received additional disaster preparedness training since you took the course? Yes or No", eight respondents said yes and sixteen said no. Of the eight, two had taken another CPR class at work and one had taken a First Aid and a CPR class at work. Another participant took a CPR class and a First Aid class in High School. Additionally, five attended Oceana Co. CERT Team meetings/classes. We had 13 responses to the question, "Have you used the knowledge and skills you gained during the disaster preparedness training since you received the training? Yes or No. If yes, how?" One training participant indicates showing the CPR certificate helped him gain employment. Others indicate ways they took action in an emergency. One training participant helped a co-worker who cut her leg by taking action to stop the bleeding and driving the co-worker to the hospital, where he received stitches. Two workshop trainees helped a choking victim. Another called the ambulance and 911 while helping a co-worker keep calm. Another participant who went camping used the extinguisher to turn off the fire in the camper. Other actions taken by training participants since the training include, calling 911 about a grass fire, helping co-workers who fainted, and stopping the bleeding and providing first aid in a variety of cases. Additionally, 15 participants responded the program had impacted their career choices. Some expressed interest in going back to college, enrolling in courses to become a firefighter or police officer. One trainee wants to be an RN at West Shore Community College. Another mentioned going back to college and enrolling in human service courses. The youth talked about finishing high school, getting their GED, and joining the Emergency Response Team. This project's primary goal was to address the gap in disaster preparedness and in disaster preparedness training in the migrant and seasonal farmworker population. It planned to do that by delivering disaster preparedness education training to Hispanic farmworker youth and adults using the CERT curriculum. The goal of the training was to increase awareness and build capacity in migrant and seasonal Hispanic farmworker high school youth and adults to enable them to help themselves, their families and their communities in the event of a disaster. Each of the project objectives and activities, data collected and results and outcomes realized are summarized below. Objective 1: Design and market the training program: The outcomes (activities, events, services, and products that contributed to the objective 1) include · Starting in November 2015, and again in September we rented a facility in which to conduct the training. · We identified and entered into a service contract agreement with a certified trainer for the delivery of the CERT disaster preparedness education program. · Designed a flyer in English and Spanish to use in marketing the program. Mason-Oceana County Department of Health and Human Services personnel shared information about the training with clients, and prepared and mail a letter to farmworker employers in the area containing information about the project. · Formed a working group to design and market the project. Held 10 meetings at the project location site to design and plan training and marketing strategies. As a result, the project team designed, planned and marketed two disaster preparedness education-training workshops, one in June and the other in October 2016. Objective 2: Identify, select, recruit, and train 40 Hispanic farmworker youth and adults from selected agricultural camps and municipalities in Oceana County on the Family Preparedness and the Teen CERT program. The activities, events, services, and products that contributed to the objective 2 include · Entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to use DHHS personnel to recruit program participants and assist with program planning and implementation. · Developed English and Spanish versions of participant application and parent consent forms. · Translated survey instruments used in evaluating other disaster preparedness courses to evaluate our training program. Participants evaluated the overall quality of the training highly. For example, of the 16 respondents to the survey question "My knowledge and skills increased as a result of this training," 12 answered "Strongly Agreed" and four marked "agreed". · Because of our efforts, thirty-three farmworkers were recruited for the June workshop and nine were recruited for the October workshop. However, for reasons noted in the Challenge section of this report, the number of farmworkers who participated in the training was considerably less. In the June workshop, we delivered training to 14 farmworker teens and adults. In addition, three DHHS farmworker specialist and four Extension personnel also participated in the training, for 21. Nine more farmworkers participated in the October workshop. · One year and nine month from the June 2016 and October 2016 training, respectively, program participants were surveyed one last time. As noted in the introduction of this section, the survey results show our accomplishments had a huge impact on the intended target audience. Objective 3: Produce YouTube version of the Teen CERT program using migrant and seasonal farmworker children and distribute the educational materials developed. · Developed Spanish and English video release forms. Videotaped parts of the Disaster Preparedness training and put together an album of video clips used to create ten YouTube videos found at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtzfWvjcdTzG-L-51bZpBlQ..
Publications
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The hired Hispanic Migrant and Seasonal farmworker population in Oceana County, Michigan and the surrounding area. Changes/Problems:The weather delayed the asparagus harvest for two weeks, causing a time conflict between the harvest and the disaster preparedness-training workshop. This resulted in a large number of farmworker workshop recruits to cancel their participation in the June workshop. A no cost extension request to NIFA has been approved. This will allow the project team to conduct another training workshop after the apple harvest. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project offered a disaster emergency preparedness workshop June 9, 2016 that was attended by 21 participants. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Developed Spanish and English video release forms. Extension personnel attended the 3-day workshop, videotaped parts of the Disaster Preparedness training and put together an album of video clips used to create the YouTube video found at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtzfWvjcdTzG-L-51bZpBlQ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to offer the workshop again in November to another group of farmworkers, and work with local groups to recruit participants. We then plan to analyze the results through various venues, including video, presentations, and publications.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Project Outcomes: Knowledge gained Enhanced community emergency response and disaster preparedness levels, as well as understanding of CPR and AED response strategies, of 21 migrant and farmworker families, and DHHS and MSUE staff Disaster preparedness training lessons learned: Project planning and implementation requires partnerships and collaboration with relevant local stakeholders. Have materials translated into Spanish is very important for recruitment, training, and evaluation. Project Outcomes: Action taken Thirteen participants expressed interest in being members of the local CERT Project Outcomes: Changed Conditions Twenty-one participants, largely Hispanics, became members of the President's Citizen Corps by completing the Community Emergency Response Team Training Twenty-one participants were CRP certified.
Publications
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