Community Health Workers, Promotores & Representatives

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Community Engagement Plan for the Community Health Worker, Promotor, and Representative Program

After hearing from community partners about the need for additional community engagement on the rollout of the Community Health Worker, Promotor, Representative (CHW/P/R) program, the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS), Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), announced a pause to the previously-issued July 2023 HCAI guidance letter. The State is committed to broadening and continuing the engagement with community partners, which includes an additional series of dialogue sessions to re-engage stakeholders about the CHW/P/R program.

What is the purpose of the dialogues?

The purpose of the dialogues is to hear from community partners about 1) how to build CHW/P/R capacity across California, 2) how to increase uptake of the Medi-Cal benefit, and 3) any concerns regarding the certificate program as set out in HCAI’s July 2023 guidance letter.

What is the expected outcome after the dialogue sessions?

After the dialogue sessions conclude, we hope to develop strategies to build up the infrastructure and investments needed to scale up and support the CHW/P/R workforce across the state. Discussions will include the purpose and scope of a CHW/P/R certificate, development of common curricula, investments in CHW/P/R training capacity, and other ways to use funding to better support CHW/P/R
workforce development and community access to health care. Strategies will be reviewed by a CHW/P/R Advisory Workgroup and used to inform the allocation of HCAI funding for CHW/P/Rs.

What is the process for the dialogue sessions?

Our goal is to conduct the dialogue sessions over the next ~6 months (January 2024 – June 2024). The dialogue sessions will be led by RACE for Equity, Angela Gallegos-Castillo, and their teams of experienced community facilitators. Representatives from CalHHS, HCAI and DHCS will attend sessions to listen and learn.

Our aim is to ensure that the dialogue sessions reach a broad range of CHW/P/Rs and the organizations that represent them; we are looking for diversity both in terms of the populations that CHW/P/Rs represent and serve, and geographic regions.

Please reach out to us at CHW@hcai.ca.gov to 1) ensure you are on the distribution list for all announcements and 2) indicate if you would like to host or participate in a dialogue session.

If there are partners that have not yet been part of these engagement efforts and are interested in participating, please share this information so that they can join the dialogues. We would like to prioritize those we have yet to hear from.

While the dialogue sessions are underway, what will be paused?

HCAI’s July 2023 guidance letter regarding implementation of the state CHW/P/R certificate has been paused.

What will remain in place during the dialogue sessions?

There has been no change to the CHW/P/R Medi-Cal benefit. The CHW/P/R Medi-Cal benefit as outlined in the CHW Provider Manual and the DHCS All Plan Letter of September 18, 2023, remains in place. As before, CHW/P/Rs that seek to support Medi-Cal members via the Medi-Cal CHW benefit must:

  • Demonstrate minimum qualifications via 1) a certificate of completion or 2) work experience (2,000 hours);
  • Have lived experience that aligns with and provides a connection between the CHW and the community or population being served; and,
  • Be supervised by a licensed provider, clinic, hospital, CBO, or Local Health Jurisdiction who is enrolled in the Medi-Cal program.

    Details on these qualifications can be found in the CHW provider manual.