2024 “Breaking Barriers” Training
The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Region 9, will be providing two one-day training sessions to assist County Agricultural Commissioner (CAC) biologists who do not speak Spanish in interviewing fieldworkers and handlers who do not speak English.
Space is limited, we are requesting Commissioner, or the Pesticide Use Enforcement Deputy, to fill out the survey by August 16, 2024. Please select up to five inspectors you would like to attend in order of preference (1st priority, 2nd priority, 3rd priority). We will try to accommodate as many attendees as possible but may only be able to accommodate 1-2 CAC biologist to attend from each county depending on interest. Attendees will be selected according to the priority assigned by the Commissioner. Attendance confirmation will be sent to the Commissioner who filled out the survey by September 13, 2024.
| Location | Address | Training Date |
|---|---|---|
| Coast | County of Santa Clara Animal Services Conference Room / 12425 Monterey Rd, / San Martin, CA 95046 | September 24, 2024 |
| San Joaquin Valley | Merced County Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer / 2139 Wardrobe Ave, / Merced, CA 95341 | September 26, 2024 |
Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. and the training session runs from 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Course topics will include:
- Introduction to Hispanic Culture
- Methods for Approaching & Interviewing Hispanic Fieldworkers/Handlers
- Working with an Interpreter
- Spanish Vocabulary and Phrases, Greetings, Pesticide Safety, and Basic Conversations
- Written Translation Tools, Flip Chart and Questionnaire
The course is for CAC biologists whose responsibilities may include conducting fieldworker safety inspections and agricultural use monitoring inspections (such as pesticide use, field fumigation, and commodity fumigation).
The course includes a general session, as well as group sessions of up to six CAC biologists interacting with a Spanish bilingual facilitator. Location space is limited to 30 attendees per session; counties are being asked to prioritize their staff nominations.
County Spanish bilingual volunteers may be needed to assist with the interactive group sessions. If you have bilingual staff who are willing to assist as a failitator, please include their names in the relevant section of the survey.
If you have any questions regarding registering for this training, please contact Leonard Herrera, DPR Enforcement Headquarters Branch, at Leonard.Herrera@cdpr.ca.gov.
Sincerely,