Agricultural Workforce Housing Facilitation Team Meeting: February 12, 2026

The Agriculture Workforce Housing Facilitation Team (AWHFT) meets regularly to discuss farmworker housing, resources for farmworker housing, and how to address the needs of farmworkers in Oregon.

Meeting agenda: February 12, 2026

1. Welcome, grounding, and introductions
2. Program and agency updates
3. Barriers, gaps, and information needs
4. Next steps and action items

Welcome, grounding, and introductions

• Facilitator opening remarks
• Space for participants to share reflections and current context
• Introductions and roundtable check-in

Program and agency updates

• Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS)
• On-farm set-aside portion of Agriculture Workforce Housing Tax Credit (AWHTC) is available for applications now and community-based credits are available through the Oregon Centralized Application (ORCA) process.
• Bienestar project will be getting credits for their project.
• Most of last year’s set-aside has been allocated to on-farm projects.
• The community-based credits mostly remain unallocated though that will change soon.
• There is some gap funds set aside for 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects, but the agency has otherwise already reserved other OHCS resources for projects.
• Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI)
• Planning 2026 outreach season (Know your rights trainings, technical assistance for property managers to remain in compliance, presentations at conferences)
• Meeting members brought up concern of BOLI complaint resolution taking longer in situations that are time sensitive.
• Questions were posed to BOLI representative of what can be done if employers lower minimum wage rates.
• Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• New publication on worker’s rights in English and Spanish
• In the process of rolling out resources for new rules
• Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA)
• No updates
• Other updates as needed
• Vecinos is a nonprofit that provides refreshments for farmworkers.

Barriers, gaps, and information needs

• Updates to the barriers and issues log
• Data, capacity, or coordination gaps
• Items to track moving forward

Next steps and action items

• Confirm action items and responsibilities
• Identify coordination needs
  
• Discuss timing and focus of the next meeting
  

Next Meeting: May 14, 2026, from 10-11 a.m.

The next meeting will be held on May 14, 2026 through Microsoft Teams. Please check online for meeting materials and updates. You can also view past meeting notes from previous sessions.

Have questions about AWHFT or this meeting? Please email Rachel Pallatin, OHCS community engagement coordinator:rachel.pallatin@hcs.oregon.gov.

OHCS wants to ensure that everyone has access to its information and programs. If you would like this information in a different language, please email Language.Access@hcs.oregon.gov.