The agricultural industry employs a substantial number of migrant farm workers in planting, cultivating, harvesting and packaging of the many labor-intensive crops grown in Michigan. Good housing is an essential element in securing an adequate supply of seasonal agricultural workers. Migrant housing exists throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan at approximately 870 licensed housing sites including 4,000 living units with a capacity for 23,000 persons.  

Part 124 of Act 368, Public Acts of 1978, as amended, requires annual licensing of sites occupied or used as living quarters for five or more migratory laborers engaged in agricultural activities, including related food processing.

• The program provides a means of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of migratory laborers and their families who occupy agricultural labor camps.
  
  
• Migrant labor housing licensing program activities include an inspection each year for each licensed camp. The purpose of this inspection is to determine compliance with the licensing rules and ensure good operation and maintenance.
  
  
• If during the initial inspection the camp is in substantial compliance, a full license is issued. Where non-serious violations are found, a temporary license may be issued pending correction of the violations.
  
  
• In cases where serious health hazards exist, the license is denied and the camp operator is ordered to keep the camp vacant until corrections are made.
  
  
• The major areas emphasized under the requirements are: water supplies, camp maintenance, structurally sound and properly equipped shelters, fire safety, bathing and laundry facilities, toilet facilities, and proper waste disposal.

Other Migrant Labor Housing Program activities include services in the following areas:

• Plan reviews are conducted for new or substantially improved camps to determine compliance with the rules before construction or renovation begins.
  
  
• Technical assistance and consultations are provided to camp operators for the purpose of answering questions and improving camp facilities.
  
  
• Complaints are investigated by section staff and in some cases with the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act inspectors.
  
  
• Water sampling and water supply sanitary surveys are conducted on a routine basis to determine and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. Water supplies serving migrant housing must be properly constructed and meet applicable drinking water quality standards.

Migrant Labor Housing Construction Grants

The construction grant funding provides financial assistance to growers for improving and building new migrant housing.

There are two migrant labor housing construction grant programs. The first program is a matching grant where migrant housing providers are reimbursed for 50% of the cost of new construction or remodeling of migrant housing and related facilities. For this program, grants are limited to a maximum of $5,000 per year per grant recipient.

The second program is a $5,000 grant per living unit for building new self-contained housing which must meet certain requirements. Self-contained means the unit must have its own kitchen, toilet, and shower facility. The maximum grant for this program is $5,000 per living unit up to a maximum of 4 living units or a $20,000 grant.

Grant applications can be filed at any time. There may be only one application on file for each camp. Grant applications are assigned a priority number based on a post mark date and funded accordingly. The desire to build and improve migrant housing is reflected by the number of applications on file.

The typical annual documented project costs for new housing construction and improvements to existing housing for both programs is 5 times the annual grant appropriation. This represents a $5.00 investment by producers for every $1.00 invested by the state.