Certified Community Health Worker (CCHW)

The Virginia Community Health Worker Advisory Group and Virginia Community Health Worker Association submit this document in support of certification of Community Health Workers (CHWs) working in Virginia.  Seven (7) domain areas have been identified and defined to ensure that individuals seeking to become “certified community health workers” in the Commonwealth have been trained and have experience in the domains.  The term “community health worker,” includes but is not limited to other titles such as outreach worker, lay health promoter, family advocate, peer leader, promotores de salud, and others.  Individuals interested in becoming a “certified community health worker” are defined as: Individual(s) who (i) applies his(her) unique understanding of the experience, language, and culture of the populations he(she) serves to promote healthy living and to help people take greater control over their health and lives and (ii) is trained to work in a variety of community settings, partnering in the delivery of health and human services to carry out one or more of the following roles: (a) providing culturally appropriate health education and information; (b) linking people to direct service providers, including informal counseling; (c) advocating for individual and community needs, including identification of gaps and existing strengths and actively building individual and community capacity.