Community Health Workers, Promotoras, & Representatives Coalition

The CHW/P/R Coalition is a statewide grassroots coalition that is comprised of CHW/P/R individuals and community-based organizations that serve diverse communities including BIPOC, immigrant, refugee, LGBTQ+ and persons with disabilities, and other interested stakeholders from across the state. The coalition is dedicated to ensuring that the needs of California’s diverse CHW/P/R workforce are addressed and members are able to participate actively in policymaking processes related to the future of their workforce. The coalition collaborates together to ensure policies that impact CHW/P/R are rooted in CHW/P/R voice, strengthen health care quality and lead to more equitable health outcomes, are financially sustainable, prioritize workforce diversity, and value community cultural wealth. The coalition shall hold meetings on a regular basis to discuss and raise awareness of emerging CHW/P/R policies, practices and proposals, advocacy and mobilization opportunities impacting California’s diverse CHW/P/R workforce.

We would like to invite you to the following events, meetings, and opportunities! You will receive a zoom link and a calendar invite as soon as you register and select one of the following events:

Please stay tuned for upcoming events and trainings in 2025.

Please note: We will NOT ask you to provide any confidential information such as financial and/or tax information or payment of any kind. If you think someone fraudulently represented themselves as part of this coalition, please contact us right away. 

The CHW/P/R policy coalition is comprised of eleven lead entities: Asian Resources, Inc., California Consortium for Urban Indian Health, the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, El Sol, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project, Roots Community Health, The Children’s Partnership, Transitions Clinic Network, San Diego Refugee Communities Coalition, and Visión y Compromiso. 

Goal and Objectives:

The coalition centers CHW/P/Rs as the antiracist strategy to achieve our vision of holistic community wellness–the harmonizing of mind, body, and spirit [1].  Our goal is that California will have a sustainable, diverse, coordinated, and impactful coalition of Community Health Workers, Promotores, community members, advocates and stakeholders.  

We will reach our goal through our three main objectives: 

1. Convening: Convene CHW/P/Rs and advocates for CHW/P/Rs from diverse communities across the state and receive their input on emerging CHW/P/R related policies.  
   • Policy Committee meeting bimonthly on Thursday’s from 2:30pm-4pm PT 
     • 1 meeting with just the policy committee members who are organizational representatives 
     • 1 meeting with policy committee members, CHW/P/R leader voices and additional stakeholders as appropriate 
2. Coordinated Voice: Ensure that stakeholders in the coalition contribute their perspectives towards the formation of a coordinated voice around CHW/P/R related issues in California.  
3. Communication & Stakeholder Engagement: Engage with a broader set of stakeholders by hosting two all-network webinars and publishing two newsletters. For example: topics can focus on public education and policy advocacy.  

[1] Based on Community Responsive Wellness, The Promotor Model: A Model for Building Healthy Communities, and Healing Centered Engagement

The Coalition has provided a structure whereby organizations come together around a shared set of higher-level policy priorities and to stay up to date on CHW/P/R policies as they emerge in California. The advocacy that takes place is led by the individual organizations, and not by the Coalition. For example, if there is a sign-on letter related to CHW/P/R policies, that effort is led by an individual organization and will be signed on behalf of individual organizations. The Coalition does not represent themselves as an advocacy body to policy makers. 

Group Roles:  

• Coalition Policy Committee Organization Lead: California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN)  
  • Activities:  
    • Leads semi-monthly coalition meetings, which includes agenda creation, facilitating meetings, and keeping meeting minutes  
    • Keeps track of and updates PC listserv 
    • Connects policy committee members and Amplifying Impact Initiative regional partners together informally and through facilitated meetings  

• Public Education Lead: The Children’s Partnership (TCP) 
  • Activities:  
    • CHWPR newsletter distribution 
    • Amplify coalition mission through digital channels and TCP newsletter as needed 
    • Keep track of and update newsletter distribution list 

• Policy Monitoring, Updates, & Campaign Coordination Lead: California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) & Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC) (see areas of focus below):  
  • Medi-Cal Benefit: CPEHN, VYC, LCHC 
  • CalAIM: Roots, CCUIH  
  • Certification/Training: VYC, MICOP, El Sol, LCHC  

• CHW/P/R Leader Voice in Monthly Meetings: CHWPR entities including Asian Resources, Inc. (ARI) 
  • Activities:  
    • Coordinates with all PC organizations to identify CHW/P/R leaders who would have capacity to attend our 2nd monthly PC meeting  
    • Coordinates with CPEHN to add additional stakeholders/groups into the agenda  

• Other organizations/advocate Coordination: All PC members, including Asian Resources, Inc. (ARI) 
  • Activities:  
    • Monitor when PC would benefit from having another organization/advocate come attend our 2nd monthly PC meetings e.g. DHCS or a CBO 

All interested CHW/P/Rs are invited to become members of our policy coalition. Join our coalition listserv to stay connected on different coalition meetings and events and up-to-date on California CHW/P/R policies.  .

Join Here: https://forms.gle/ZfRn4D3cuRssvUJs9.

Please note: We will NOT ask you to provide any confidential information such as financial and/or tax information or payment of any kind. If you think someone fraudulently represented themselves as part of this coalition, please contact us right away.

The CHW/P/R Coalition’s Key Principles

The CHW/P/R Coalition aims to ensure that California’s policies and services center CHW/P/R values and encourage the participation of culturally and linguistically diverse, community-based CHW/P/Rs who carry with them a wealth of social, cultural and community knowledge and expertise. To that end, below are some principles we feel are important to integrate into CHW/P/R workforce policies in California:

• California Healthcare Foundation’s CHW/P Coalition blog: https://www.chcf.org/blog/its-time-build-new-opportunities-community-health-workers-promotores/

Resources

Glossary of Terms

Community Health worker

As defined by the Community Health Worker Section of the American Public Health Association:

• 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. 
• For more information, click here.

Promotores

• Characterized by servicio de corazon (service from the heart), promotores are natural leaders and the “go to” people in their neighborhoods. They share the ethnicity, language, cultural traditions, practices, socioeconomic status and life experiences of the communities they serve” 
• For more information, visit Visión y Compromiso’s website 

Community Health representatives

• CHRs are frontline public health workers who are trusted members of the community with a close understanding of the community, language, and traditions essential to the spectrum of Tribal community-oriented primary health care services.
• CHRs serve as a link between the clinical setting and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery.
• They assist by increasing health knowledge of patients and communities through a broad range of activities such as transportation to health visits, outreach, community education, informal counseling, social support, and advocacy.
• For more information, visit Indian Health Services

Preventive services rule

§ 440.130 Diagnostic, screening, preventive, and rehabilitative services.  

* * * * *  

(c) Preventive services are services recommended by a physician or other licensed practitioner of the healing arts acting within the scope of authorized practice under State law to—  

(1) Prevent disease, disability, and other health conditions or their progression;  

(2) Prolong life; and  

(3) Promote physical and mental health and efficiency.  

42 CFR 440.130(c)