Between ad hoc and a hard pace: Developing an urban, multicultural CHW ‘Basic Training' initiative

Community or employer-based Community Health Worker (CHW) training can be sporadic and spotty (ad hoc); degree programs too distant, didactic, and theoretical (hard pace). To find CHW training “middle ground” and address local CHW needs for core transferable skills and career advancement, a public community college in a large multicultural urban area contacted US CHW training leaders, local CHW employers, and CHWs to find partners and ways to create a CHW training initiative offering the best of both worlds. So far, the initiative includes four projects in their developmental stages: 1) the “CHW-ization” of Community Health courses in a community college Community Health A.S. degree program; (2) the “deconstruction” of the Community Health major into two 12-credit certificate programs culminating in a 24 credit Community Health career launch pad for Community Health Workers or other Community Health practitioners; (3) the formation of a strategic alliance among leaders of local college/university-based CHW training initiatives to coordinate and standardize CHW training citywide; and (4) the design and implementation of a CHW employer survey. A CHW and a community college faculty member will present the initiative, highlighting the roles of partner organizations and CHWs and the initiative's broader applicability. Next, a presenter will facilitate a discussion of (1) initiative strengths and limitations to date in terms of CHW principles, and (2) further opportunities to integrate CHW movement principles into the initiative. Recommendations will be recorded and forwarded to the college's CHW “basic training” partners.