Supporting the Integration of Community Health Workers in Whole Person Care Pilots

Whole Person Care (WPC) is a California waiver program that provides counties, cities, and/or health/hospital authorities with an opportunity to coordinate clinical care, behavioral health, and social services for the most vulnerable and high-utilizers of Medi-Cal. Many WPC-participating entities plan to or are already employing community health workers (CHWs) to achieve their aim of care coordination. However, WPC pilots across the state have nuanced programmatic goals; consequently, strategies for CHW employment and CHW placement vary from region to region. We sought to provide technical assistance and support to WPC participants who requested assistance with their own CHW programs, including Monterey County, the City of Sacramento, and Santa Clara County. Because needs varied, the type of assistance that we provided varied.