California, largest employer of seasonal labor in the United States, employs an average of 119,600 seasonal farmworkers per year. Since 1966 the State Department of Housing and Community Development's Office of Migrant Services has contracted with local government agencies to provide decent/affordable housing for approximately 50,220 families (251,100 individuals). In 1986, 25 centers in 14 agricultural counties housed 2,384 migrant families during the 6-month harvest season from April through November. The 20th annual demographic data on migrant families who occupy these housing units indicated the typical 1986 migrant family consisted of 5 persons, with 2 parents between 18 and 44 years old, who had completed 4 to 6 years of school. The family had two or three children and possibly another relative living with them. Two household members worked in the field and two children attended day/infant care facilities or summer school. Approximately 39% of families migrated annually from as far away as Central Mexico (1,800 miles); 28% migrated from South Texas and the northern Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Chihuahua; and 27% came from the Yuma-El Centro-Mexicali area. An estimated 50% of the 2,384 families served stayed at the centers the entire 180-day occupancy period. (NEC)