Thursday, April 3, 2025
4/3/2025
Category C: Community Health Worker Organizations and Programs - Across the country, the Community Health Worker (CHW) workforce has grown rapidly and the need for their work in addressing social determinants of health and health disparities is greater than ever. However, CHW organizations and CHW programs within other sectors that support public health face challenges such as lack of widely available information on best practices for effective implementation, lack of sustainable funding and lack of CHW voice in leading initiatives. Capacity building assistance to those leading, engaging in and supporting CHW organizations and CHW programs is critical so that they have the tools to build and strengthen this workforce, with a strong foundation of support from workforce and allied experts, and with tools to engage CHWs in leadership towards sustainability. The Envision Equity CHW Technical Assistance and Training Center (Envision), has demonstrated capability, expertise, national reach, and a track record of providing Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) to CHW organizations such as networks and associations, CHW-focused initiatives at local, state and tribal health departments, and CHW programs embedded in other sectors and institutions that support public health. Envision currently convenes national CHW-focused and ally partner organizations to implement programs and policies to increase the effectiveness of and sustain the CHW workforce. Through this opportunity (parts one and two), Envision will build on our existing work and expertise to further improve the capacity of CHW organizations and programs to address social determinants of health and advance health equity. Our strategies include (1) increasing awareness of CBA services and products available for CHW organization and program leaders to use for capacity building, sustainability and leadership development and (2) supporting these leaders to strengthen their knowledge and ability to engage effectively and equitably with partners such as state, local and tribal health departments, national public health organizations, community-based organizations and academic centers, among others. Ultimately, this work will create more aligned, higher quality CHW initiatives with CHWs participating in equitable design and implementation, which will result in improved health outcomes and a reduction in health disparities.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).