Identifying and recruiting eligible migrant children is a cornerstone of the MEP. Identification means determining the presence and location of migratory children within a State. Recruitment means describing the benefits of the MEP to the child and his or her family and obtaining the necessary information to document the child's eligibility and enroll the child in the program

The United States Department of Education Office of Migrant Education (OME) has identified the proper and timely identification and recruitment of eligible students as one of three programmatic areas of the Migrant Education Program (MEP) to help attain the goal of assisting migrant children to achieve challenging academic standards and graduate from high school.