Posted on Oct 31, 2007

California State University, Monterey Bay has received a $2 million federal grant aimed at enrolling more migrant students in higher education.

CSUMB will be able to offer outreach and recruitment, financial assistance, academic and career services, cultural and social enrichment and health and counseling services through the College Assistance Migrant Program grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The grant covers five years and will help with recruiting high school students for college, as well as providing support for the students once they are enrolled.

The grant will start in August and run through the summer of 2012. It will provide services and assistance for 60 migrant students from Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Santa Clara counties. CAMP scholarships, along with other sources of financial aid, will cover 100 percent of tuition and books and more than half of room and board costs for each student.

Services provided by the CAMP grant will include parent orientations, high school and community outreach events, admissions and financial aid application workshops, one-week summer orientation programs, tutoring and follow-up support services through graduation.

An estimated 160,000 farm workers reside in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, making the Central Coast home to the largest population of farm workers in California. In Monterey County, the average farm worker family has an annual income of $12,855; the figure is $15,006 for Santa Cruz County residents.

In the Central Coast region, nearly 80 percent of first-generation migrant youth between the ages of 16 and 24 are not in school, making programs such as CAMP essential.