our story

Introduction

Founding members have been meeting regularly since January 2021. At our first all member retreat on June 7, 2021 we crafted our personal vision and mission statements which were subsequently crafted by a smaller workgroup into proposed collective vision and mission statements. The group agreed that we would use the APHA /NACHW CHW definition as an umbrella for the many CHW job titles and that CHW and Allies would self identify.

Based in the following values /principles 

• Promote CHW leadership and self determination
• Be inclusive of multicultural diversity 
• Honor mutual respect
• Advocate with compassion and commitment
• Inspire collaborative learning with the freedom to explore innovative ideas

Several group agreements informed this process:

Prior to developing the Vision and Mission statements, the CA CHW organizing group agreed to the following: 

1. The organization will be a Community of Practice who share a common concern, and interest in a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come together to fulfill both individual and group goals. (See Creating Communities of Practice.)   In this case support of the Community Health Worker workforce, actively recruiting CHW as well as allies.  
2. The organization will use the American Public Health Association (APHA)/National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW) definition of CHW as an umbrella term for all job titles:
3. Anyone who self-identifies as a CHW based on the APHA/NACHW definition will be considered a CHW by the CA CHW CoP; all other members will be considered allies. 
4. Our primary goal is to advocate for and support the emergence of a multicultural state level Community Health Worker association in California.

NACHW Definition of CHW 

"A Community Health Worker (CHW) is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served. This trusting relationship enables the CHW to serve as a liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery. A CHW also builds individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach, community education, informal counseling, social support and advocacy."

The vision and mission statements were crafted from an integration of the individual vision and mission statements from June 7, 2021 retreat.  

 Vision Statement: 

A multiculturally inclusive Community Health Worker (CHW) learning collaborative that advances the CHW role and scope of practice and amplifies their voices in achieving health equity and social justice within the full spectrum of practice settings in California.   

Mission statement: 

To  promote  sustainable integration and professional recognition of the Community Health Worker workforce through partnerships, leadership development, education, training, capacity building, community organizing, and policy advocacy. 

Next steps will be to take this proposed vision and mission out to the wider CHW and ally community for discussion and feedback via a survey and small discussion groups/forums online and in person (covid restrictions permitting.)The   Vision and Mission Survey  was a "snowball" distribution through our newsletter CHW~LINK and distribution lists of our members. 

A collaborative organizational development committee formed from founding members and those who come forward to do the work of organizational development. We have been meeting on the first and third Mondays from 12 -1pm.  

Several areas of interest were identified by participants and two coordinators volunteered to facilitate each special interest group.

Special Interest Groups (SPIG) 

• CHW Organizational Development 
• CHW Professional Development 
• CHW Workforce , Training and Employment 
• CHW Policy  ( and Advocacy)
• CHW Research and Evaluation and Journal Club 
• CHW Sustainable Financing

California Association of Community Health Workers (CACHW)

Out of the Professional Development Group a core group of CHWs took the first steps to establishing a California Association of Community Health Workers. (CACHW). We have submitted and been approved as a legal entity. In other words  we have an organizational "birth certificate" or a "building permit" . The intention is to build from the ground up with CHWs in the drivers seat and allies as trusted navigators/advisors.  It will take everyone working together to make this dream a reality.

The CACHW team's next step is to do a "CA CHW Listening Tour" to ask multicultural CHW from across California what their priorities are in building  a California Association of Community Health Workers. 

Strategic plan for  June 2022- June 2023 

It is over a year since our last retreat/strategic planning session and time to think about next steps for the coming year.   To this aim we have engaged a professional facilitator to guide us through a strategic planning process to help us map out next steps:   

• Clarify goals and set priorities 
• Establish key performance indicators ( Metrics)  
• Develop a project plan with action steps and workflow accountability 

Upcoming opportunities to participate will be share through the CHW~LINK newsletter which you can sign up for by completing this interest form 

   Rank  Language                 Est. Number of Speakers

1. English                         20,379,282
2. Spanish                       10,672,610
3. Chinese                       1,231,425
4. Tagalog                        796,451
5. Vietnamese                 558,932
6. Korean                         367,523
7. Armenian                    192,980
8. Persian                         203,770 

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 10:50 AM - 11:10 AM

Carol West, CHW; BSC OT; MBBCH; DCH , Community Health Worker Initiative of Sonoma County (CHWISC), Petaluma, CA Stephanie Merrida-Grant, CHW , Community Health Worker Initiative of Sonoma County (CHWISC.org), Petaluma, CA Cynthia Morfin, CHW , Community Health Worker Initiative of Sonoma County (CHWISC.org), Petaluma, CA 

"Think globally but act locally" is the mobilizing premise of the Community Health Workers (CHW) who in January 2011 founded the Community Health Worker Initiative of Sonoma County in California. Using core CHW competency skills we are building relationships in our community with frontline health workers, with many different job titles and diverse cultural back grounds, whose scope of practice falls within the APHA definition of a CHW. Attending regional and national conferences that support the professional development of CHWs, facilitated our learning about health policy advances made in other states, peer support models that are successfully supporting the professional role and scope of practice of the of the CHW throughout the USA. Learning from the national leaders in our field has expedited the process of organizational development of our own peer support network , building local leadership capacity, promoting cultural humility and inclusivity, advocating for lifelong learning, ongoing professional development and self advocacy. Our work is extremely challenging. If we are to be effective builders of healthy communities and advocates for our families, friends and neighbors, we must first build our own professional community at a local, regional state and national level to keep our hope and tenacity alive to motivate the work that still must be done to build a more equitable and just health care system in our country. While we are excited about the possibilities that the affordable health care act might bring; we share what can be done with passion, vision and commitment. 

Community Health Worker Initiative of Sonoma County

The National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW) and many CHW advocacy collaboratives, alliances and associations across the USA are using the APHA- Community Health Worker Section (APHA)definition

"A Community Health Worker (CHW) is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served. This trusting relationship enables the CHW to serve as a liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery. A CHW also builds individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach, community education, informal counseling, social support and advocacy."

NACHW National Survey of CHW Membership organizations June 2018 https://nachw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Report-Results-of-a-national-survey-of-CHW-membership-organizations-for-Dissemination.pdf

Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS)Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)

21-1094 

Community Health Workers Assist individuals and communities to adopt healthy behaviors. Conduct outreach for medical personnel or health organizations to implement programs in the community that promote, maintain, and improve individual and community health. May provide information on available resources, provide social support and informal counseling, advocate for individuals and community health needs, and provide services such as first aid and blood pressure screening. May collect data to help identify community health needs. Excludes “Health Educators” (21-1091).

Illustrative examples: Peer Health Promoter, Lay Health Advocate

Broad Occupation: 21-1090 Miscellaneous Community and Social Service Specialists
Minor Group: 21-1000 Counselors, Social Workers, and Other Community and Social Service Specialists
Major Group: 21-0000 Community and Social Service Occupations 

Peer Support Specialist  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not collect data specifically on peer support specialists. Instead, it counts them among community health workers, of which 51,900 were employed in May 2016. 

BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htm

 Community- Based Workforce Alliance; 

Partners: Health Begins; Health Leads; NACHW

Principle 1: Recruit & manage with a racial equity framework

Principle 2: Invest in trusted voices, including Community Health Workers

Principle 3: ​Strengthen connections with psychosocial services & systems

Principle 4: ​Launch a community-based jobs program as a force multiplier

Principle 5: Embed job training & pipelines to local careers

Principle 6: ​Strengthen community infrastructure & financing