1. Commenting on the Certificate of Eligibility
Maria Perez-DeLeon, Juanita Arias, Abel Estrada
02/17/2015

2. What is the comments section?
The comments section documents supplementary evidence to help “wrap up” the migrant story. These comments help us to understand some pieces that may be missing from the Certificate of Eligibility application. 2

3. Most common comments Moves to Join
Worker’s statement/Employers statement
Does not obtain employment/No previous history requires credible evidence
Personal Subsistence
Translation services 3

4. 11/28/2018
Please remember
Each migrant story has a unique background and varying circumstances, while we give a couple of common examples every family is different and must be examined individually
No two zebras are exactly alike. Each one has distinctive stripe pattern that makes it special and unique. Migrant families are the same way. 4

5. 11/28/2018
Meeting to join
Move= A change from one residence to another residence that occurs due to economic necessity
QAD (Qualifying Arrival date): The date in which both the child and the worker arrive to the obtain qualifying work.
May precede or follow the workers move.
Should be no more than 12 months.
The child must move to accompany the worker who moved to obtain qualifying work. This includes a child who moves separately to join a parent spouse or guardian. A child who is not a migratory agricultural worker or fisher qualifies if they join the agricultural worker or fisher in order to obtain qualifying work. 5

6. Worker’s statement
This comes into effect where work may not be seasonal but is temporary eg: Dairy farms, Livestock, etc
Worker gives a direct statement saying that the move was to obtain work for a temporary time. 6

7. Employer’s statement
A recruiter may also use an employers statement in determining eligibility 7

8. Personal Subsistence
NRG G28. What does “personal subsistence” mean?
As used in the definitions of agricultural work and fishing work in § (a) and (b) of the regulations, and as defined in § (h) of the regulations, “personal subsistence” means that the worker and the worker’s family, as a matter of economic necessity, consume, as a substantial portion of their food intake, the crops, dairy products, or livestock they produce or the fish they catch.
When a recruiter is qualifying a family/worker under “Personal Subsistence” the recruiter should weigh three things:
Economic necessity- is the food crop, important to sustain the food supply for the worker or his/her family?
Consume- does the family eat the crop? And
Does the family consume a large portion of the crop? 8

9. 11/28/2018
Personal subsistence
The worker and the worker’s family, as a matter of economic necessity, consume as a substantial portion of their food intake, the crops, dairy products or livestock they produce
May use wording such as:
Helps to sustain the family
Part of the food intake
Portion of the fish caught are used for subsistence 9

10. Does not obtain work
Sometimes things happen outside of one’s control and a migrant worker may not obtain agricultural work even if they were seeking it. In these cases children may still be eligible to receive MEP funds.
If the Worker has a history of qualifying work they may be automatically eligible. Ask worker if there is a history SEA will verify and grant eligibility
If there is no history credible evidence is required 10

11. Credible evidence
Most commonly used when there is no prior history, Worker applies but there is no hire
Examples of credible evidence include
Submitted applications and paperwork
Letters from employers
Personal data talks with employers
Newspaper listing explaining extraordinary circumstances 11

12. Documenting Language Interpretation Services
The Colorado MEP Service Matrix - Language interpretation services refer to the act of facilitating spoken language communication between two or more parties who do not share a common language by delivering, as faithfully as possible, the original message from source into target language without any omissions, additions or distortion. Must be translated by adult.
IV. COMMENTS (Must include 2b/c, 4c,5, 6a, and 6b
Interpreting provided by: ABC Interpreting service-Ana May or ID#1234
Uncle Thiha LaLa translated for family 12

13. Now it’s your turn…
Please get into groups and discuss the following scenarios. Together decide if the applicant is eligible or not eligible and write up a comment for the comments section of the COE. 13

14. Take away points:
Each and every family is unique and needs to be looked at in their own lens.
Always hold on to any evidence or background information you may come across.
Be very intentional about what you disclose on the COE. The COE is exclusively for determining eligibility based on employment. 14

15. Thank you all
For more information refer to the IDR manual or contact us at the state 15