Community Health Worker (CHW) Certification and Training: A National Survey of Regionally and State-Based Programs

Increased utilization of community health workers (CHWs) in the U.S. is coupled with a growing interest in standardized training of, and formal credentialing requirements for, CHWs on the part of state legislatures and federal agencies. The purpose of this qualitative study is to provide a national overview of state policy and state involvement in more formal training and certification of CHWs, and to analyze the potential effects of these policy trends. The study addresses these topics: certification and/or training program history, structure of certification and/or training programs, goals of the programs, training curricula, program evaluation processes, and impact and future of the certification and/or training programs.