Women's Farmworker Housing, CA Funding, Future Of Napa County's AG Homes On Agenda

NAPA VALLEY, CA — Napa County housing officials are weighing a major shift in how the county houses agricultural workers by exploring plans to open its three farmworker centers to women for the first time.

The Napa County Housing Commission will receive an update Tuesday on a subcommittee studying the integration of women farmworkers into housing centers that have served only single, unaccompanied men.

The discussion follows a 2024 Napa County Farmworker Housing Needs and Impacts Assessment, which found that women now make up about 20 percent of the county's farmworker labor force.

The county-owned housing centers currently provide room and board only for men.

Each center includes dormitories, a commercial kitchen, recreation space, and staff apartments. County rules limit occupancy to no more than 60 farmworkers at one time and no more than 330 days each year.

Commissioners formed the subcommittee in late 2025 to study how the centers could accommodate women while continuing to serve seasonal agricultural workers.

The group has surveyed female farmworkers, conducted interviews, visited the facilities, and reviewed housing programs in other agricultural regions.

Commissioners will also consider appointing Julia Palos, farmworker advocate for Silverado Farming Company, to the subcommittee following Commissioner Putnam's resignation in April.

The commission will also receive an update on the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program, which helps fund construction, rehabilitation, acquisition, maintenance, and operation of housing for agricultural workers.

The Napa County Housing Authority has received $250,000 annually through the state program since 2019 to operate its three county-owned farmworker centers.

In exchange, the authority agreed to continue serving Napa County's migrant farmworkers for 25 years beginning with the program's first funding disbursement in 2020.

County officials are now seeking to extend the agreement for another 10 years while doubling the annual state contribution to $500,000.

That effort has advanced through Assembly Bill 1890, sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and Sen. Christopher Cabaldon.

The bill passed the Senate Housing Committee on a unanimous 10-0 vote on June 10 and now awaits consideration by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Lawmakers must approve the measure by Aug. 14 for it to advance to the Senate floor after the Legislature returns from its July recess.

The Napa County Housing Commission meets at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Board of Supervisors Chambers, 1195 Third St., Third Floor, Napa.