CHS News

The Rollback Malaria Partnership (RBM) has designated April 25th as the annual day for organizations worldwide to reaffirm a commitment to rolling back malaria in Africa and throughout the world. Read more.

World TB Day Event Held to Raise Awareness in Migrant Farmworker Community

Activities to raise awareness about TB among migrant and seasonal farmworkers were held on World TB Day, March 24th, in Cumberland County, NJ by the Center for Human Services (CHS).

CHS’ Louis Marino was invited to testify as an expert witness on immigrant education and social services issues at a public hearing convened in Bridgeton, New Jersey, by the the State of New Jersey Governor’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigrant Policy. The public hearing, held at Bridgeton Senior High School on March 11, 2008, was called to highlight issues of keen interest in southern New Jersey farm country relating to migrant agricultural workers – including workplace rights, issues confronting day laborers working from muster zones, and English as a Second Language Training for workers.

As Director for CHS’ Diabetes Disparities Project for Latinos, African Americans and migrant farmworkers in the State of New Jersey and Director of CHS’ Rehabilitation Vocational Program for disabled migrant and seasonal farmworkers for the past seven years, Mr. Marino has extensive experience with the complex issues facing migrant farmworkers, their families, and the communities in which they live and work.

CHS has been serving Hispanics and migrant and seasonal farmworkers in Southern New Jersey for more than 22 years. In 1999, CHS created a Migrant Farmworker Task Force composed of disabled farmworkers, their family members, community organizations, and state agencies that serve farmworkers. The Task Force group assists CHS in identifying the needs of farmworkers and their families and evaluating program effectiveness.

For more information on CHS’ work with migrant education services, contact Louis Marino at lmarino@urc-chs.com.

An art exhibit sponsored by the Prevention of High Risk Drinking Among College Students Program was held November 26-30 at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. The exhibit featured works by McDaniel College art students that were created to depict students' impressions of alcohol abuse. Read more.

Government of Mexico Invites CHS’ Louis Marino to Accept Award for CHS” Work on Plazas Comunitarias

The Government of Mexico, in September 2007, invited Louis Marino, CHS New Jersey Program Director, to Mexico City to receive an award on behalf of CHS’ work on Plaza Comunitarias, a program which has been in place in New Jersey since 2002. CHS and three other U.S. groups were honored by the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Institute of Adult Education.

CHS’ New Jersey office, in 2002, was selected by the Mexican Government as one of the sites in the U.S. for its long distance learning program. The ‘Plazas Comunitarias’ concept provides Mexican students in the U.S. with the opportunity to earn a Mexican secondary diploma via web-based education programming. Students have access to content and website links in Spanish and English related to 14 topics, including education, health, math, science, literature, culture, career opportunities, and post-secondary education.

Mr. Marino noted that the program now is not only available to Mexican students but to immigrants of any nationality who would like to continue their education. CHS’ online platform integrates the Government of Mexico’s initiative but also incorporates additional content designed to meet the requirements of both the U.S. High School Equivalency Program and Vocational Rehabilitation.

CHS Wins Grant for Pennsylvania Disabled Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Program

The United States Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration has awarded the Center of Human Services (CHS) a new five-year grant to provide vocational rehabilitation (VR) services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs) living in four counties in Pennsylvania. Under a separate grant funded by the DOE/RSA CHS is already providing VR services to migrant farmworkers with disabilities in Cumberland County, New Jersey.

Agricultural workers experience the highest rate of employee fatalities and injuries in the country, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics. A significant percentage of the agricultural workforce is comprised of migrant and seasonal farmworkers, most of whom are immigrants of Latin American origin and who face language and cultural barriers to accessing traditional services. Under the grant, CHS will assist disabled MSFWs and their families in Adams, Franklin, York, and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania to address and overcome these obstacles.

Under the grant, CHS will work in partnership with the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to provide access to diagnostic, restorative and rehabilitative services, career counseling, life skills training, vocational skills training, and job placement. Program participants will develop individualized rehabilitation plans to achieve their vocational goals and to prepare for, begin, and maintain a career. In addition, CHS will assist migrant and seasonal farmworkers to complete General Education Development and postsecondary courses.

For more information on this project, please contact Grogan Ullah at gullah@urc-chs.com.

CHS is applying modern Quality Improvement (QI) methods to build capacity for improved recuperation of malnourished children within Niger’s national health system. At facilities participating in CHS’ “Rapid Expansion of Nutritional Recuperation Services for Malnourished Children in Nigerien Facilities” program, funded by USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the percentage of children screened for malnutrition has risen sharply, and case fatality rates have dramatically declined. Read more.

CHS has received a two-year grant from the United States Department of Education to decrease by 5 percent high-risk drinking (HRD) at McDaniel College (http://www.mcdaniel.edu), targeting first-year students and fraternity/sorority members. The program is designed to engage first-year students and fraternity/sorority members in addressing factors fostering HRD, through appropriate messaging and activities. The project will also disseminate lessons learned to the higher education community through the Higher Education Center (http://www.higheredcenter.org/), a resource sponsored by the Department of Education to help college and community leaders develop, implement, and evaluate programs and policies to reduce student problems related to alcohol and other drug use.

The Migrant Education Resource Center (MERC) is pleased to announce the launch of its new website at http://www.mercweb.org. CHS is prime contractor on the MERC project which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Migrant Education.

The new interactive web site—the first of its kind in the Migrant Education Program (MEP)—is intended to create a community of practice among educators and states agencies involved in migrant education. The site provides educators of children of migrant workers with resources and information to assist with MEP administration and implementation. All of the site components are intended to create a central clearinghouse for documents and training pertinent to the MEP and serve as a mechanism for problem-solving and professional development.

In addition, the site highlights training and technical assistance events and will include a directory of practitioners to facilitate peer-to-peer technical assistance and networking.

CHS’ Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Vocational Rehabilitation Program Part of Congressional Briefing

CHS' Mr. Louis Marino and Ms. Carmen Lopez spoke on vocational rehabilitation services for farmworkers as part of a Congressional briefing held at the Rayburn Office Building in Washington, DC on March 21, 2007. The briefing was sponsored by the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs and the National Farmworker Alliance to highlight the positive impact of programs that offer services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Presentations were offered on the National Farmworker Jobs Program, the Migrant Head Start Program, as well as CHS’ Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers with Disabilities Service Project. Farmworkers who received help from the programs described the impact on the lives of themselves and their families.

CHS has served migrant and seasonal farmworker populations for over 20 years with high school equivalency training, vocational education, bilingual education, English as a second language, and health promotion programs.

The Center for Human Services (CHS), the non-profit affiliate of University Research Co., LLC, is pleased to announce receipt of a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct multi-country research on potential demand for new diagnostic tests. The Foundation has identified as priorities 7 diagnostics for diseases that cause high morbidity and mortality in the developing world. With this grant, URC-CHS will have an opportunity to contribute to the Gates Foundation’s goal of accelerating access to existing vaccines, drugs, and other tools to fight diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries and to find new health technologies that are effective, affordable, and practical for use in poor countries.

Widening demand for and improving access to accurate diagnostic tools is critical to stemming the spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria—which together account for 5.6 million deaths each year—as well as of sexually transmitted and other infectious diseases. Early and correct diagnosis of these diseases can produce a wide range of benefits. The high treatment costs of HIV/AIDS and other diseases make correct diagnosis essential. Accurate diagnosis and treatment can help prevent or delay the spread of drug-resistant microbes. In addition, the ability to rule out malaria can lead to more opportune diagnosis and treatment of other causes of fever, such as meningitis or respiratory infections.

“This agreement with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a wonderful opportunity for CHS to apply our experience with local health delivery systems to improve the application of diagnostic tools in resource poor settings,” notes URC-CHS President Barbara Turner.

Beginning in early 2007, CHS will conduct research in five primary countries (Benin, India, Peru, Russia, and Tanzania) and four secondary countries (Albania, Cambodia, Lesotho, and Nicaragua). The research will estimate potential demand in the public, private-for-profit, and private non-profit health sectors, as well as among health care consumers. It will examine the likely effects of factors such as price, sensitivity, specificity, and practicality on potential demand. The study will also look at channels through which diagnostic tests are purchased in the study countries and make recommendations about how new diagnostics can most effectively be introduced.

For more information on the diagnostic test cost analysis being conducted for the Gates Foundation, please contact Dr. Steven Harvey, CHS’ Principal Investigator, at sharvey@urc-chs.com.

The U.S. Department of Education/Office of Migrant Education (USDOE/OME) has awarded the Center for Human Services (CHS) a five-year contract to establish a Migrant Education Resource Center (MERC) in the U.S.

The U.S. Elementary and Secondary Act authorizes a Migrant Education Program to help improve the interstate and intrastate coordination of education for children whose parent, spouse, or guardian is a migratory agricultural worker in temporary or seasonal employment. MERC will support the USDOE/OME by:

MERC is a nationwide program which will help state migrant programs meet the numerous and unique challenges they face in providing migratory children with a continuous quality education. Because the children of migrant farmworkers move with their parents from place to place and school to school, it is often difficult for identification and recruitment personnel, teachers, and school administrators to provide appropriate services. MERC is intended to provide the tools and resources to assess the children’s eligibility for program services.

As prime contractor, CHS will lead a project team consisting of Social & Health Services, Ltd. (SHS); Encompass, LLC; and Support Services International (SSI). The project builds on over 20 years’ experience of URC/CHS with migrant worker education programs and outreach to Hispanic/Latino populations in the U.S.

Paula Errigo, M.Ed. will serve as Project Director for MERC. Ms. Errigo is a nationally respected leader in the area of migrant education, with over 30 years of extensive experience with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Division of Migrant Education. For more information on the project contact Paula Errigo at perrigo@urc-chs.com.

CHS Continues ESL and Civics Education Project for New Jersey Hispanic Community

The Center for Human Services in New Jersey on July 1, 2006, began the second year of an innovative English Literacy and Civics Education Program directed to Southern New Jersey’s large Hispanic Community. In partnership with the Vineland City Public School System, the prime recipient of a grant from the New Jersey State Department of Labor, CHS administers this Adult Basic Skills and English as a Second Language (ESL) Program to non-native adult learners of all Hispanic nationalities in Southern New Jersey.

The comprehensive program offers ESL instruction for Hispanic adult learners at various levels of English language proficiency. In addition to ESL training and secondary-level education courses, program participants are provided with civics instruction intended to help build a more personalized knowledge of U.S. history, governance, and democracy. Students are assisted to learn U.S. laws and customs and to prepare for the U.S. Naturalization test. In addition, the program offers training in job skills and strategies designed to help students obtain and retain employment and to advance in their careers.

CHS plays a key role in the region in bridging the gap created by language and cultural differences by serving as a central resource and service center for New Jersey’s Hispanic communities. While learning English, program participants can get assistance with a variety of social and health-related issues and even obtain day care for their children while they study. Programs targeted to the Hispanic communities and to Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers include high school equivalency preparation and courses in ESL and computer training. CHS offers vocational rehabilitation and services for the prevention and management of diabetes. In addition, the Government of Mexico, for its long distance learning program, selected the CHS New Jersey office as one of the sites in the U.S. where Mexicans can use a computer portal to complete their high school or college degrees.

For more information on CHS’ activities in New Jersey please contact Louis Marino at lmarino@urc-chs.com.