Employers’ Perspective on Childcare Services for Hired Farm Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chyou P-H ; Lee BC ; Liebman AK ; Salzwedel MA
• Description:
  The goal of this project was to protect children while parents work in agriculture by improving off-farm services for children of migrant and seasonal farm workers. Large agricultural enterprises have policies forbidding children in the worksite. At the same time, their employees, who are trying to generate income, seek as many work hours as possible but often lack viable options for childcare services. As employers strive to increase their labor pool, and workers seek off-farm child care, there is mutual interest in improving access to child care services in agricultural regions dependent on large numbers of full-time and seasonal workers. This report describes the employers' perspectives on childcare needs of hired farm workers' families and their barriers and motivators to facilitating off-farm childcare services. Using descriptive survey research methodology, data were collected from a convenience sample of 102 agribusiness owners and Human Resource directors attending an agricultural conference regarding labor laws or personnel management. Results revealed significant differences for those companies employing more than 25 workers compared to their counterparts. Primary motivators for offering child care as an employment benefit were improved employee morale, enhanced company reputation, and a more stable workforce. A major barrier was that half of large-scale enterprises lack guidance on how to provide childcare options for their workers. Survey results are being used to facilitate collaboration among employers, farm workers, and childcare providers to offer a safe, nurturing environment for children while their parents work in agriculture. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Emigration And Immigration Family Farmers Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Industry Author Keywords: Agriculture Child Care Children Employers Families Farm Workers Labor Relations Migrant Workers Policy Seasonal Workers Socio-ecological Model

  More +
• ISSN:
  1059-924X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  376-383
• Volume:
  22
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050197
• Citation:
  J Agromedicine 2017 Oct; 22(4):376-383
• Contact Point Address:
  Barbara C. Lee, National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, Marshfield, WI
• Email:
  lee.barbara@mcrf.mfldclin.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20080930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agromedicine
• End Date:
  20250929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:62b613694d1e4d5fde3b66a6c35c9bf906e4d8742ef25b4f9520635a93a9b56a988847e0950e9adabd9427ce1388da27c25e25c8d55c1f51110353533c8b0a8f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210648/cdc_210648_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.02 MB ]