Community Health Worker Training Program - • Deb Lyzenga, Project Director • 201 N. Washington Square, Lansing, MI 48933. 517-335-5858 • https://www.michigan.gov/leo • LEO-E&T is requesting $3,000,000.00 with a funding preference for this application. A significant portion of individuals that qualify for support through LEO-E&T qualify for Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding and are considered economically disadvantaged. The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Employment and Training (LEO-E&T) is proposing the Michigan Career Opportunity Academies for Community Health (MiCOACH) — a Talent Pipeline Management (TPM) model to convene a statewide network of partners in the community mental health industry to address HRSA’s priority of health equity and the shortage of behavioral healthcare workers. The TPM approach to filling the critical need in the Community Health Worker (CHW) and Health Support Worker (HSW) workforce is a proven method that LEO-E&T and the state’s workforce system has used in several industries, including standing up the nation’s first Medical Assistant Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) in 2015. This methodology is a winning strategy to increase the numbers and diversity of CHWs and HSWs. The outcome goal of the MiCOACH program is to coach and mentor 240 graduating students, 24 each at the ten most under-resourced high schools in the state, to enter CHW and HSW behavioral health career pathways. These students, from historically and medically underserved communities, will have access to newly developed Career Academies at the Intermediate School Districts (ISDs), staffed by Career Navigators that will coach them through the career selection process including pursuing a newly developed Community Health Support Worker Certificate training leading to a Registered Apprenticeship Program in behavioral healthcare after graduation. By recruiting from disadvantaged communities, this will result in an increase in diversity of HSWs that would be reflective of the communities that are experiencing the greatest health disparities. Providing mentors to future workers that typically do not have career guidance support and equipping them with the information they need to make informed career decisions, both individual and community outcomes will be improved. At the individual level, HSWs will be teamed with training and educational opportunities and employers committed to hiring them, and financial incentives will help them to persevere to the end game, these future workers will be placed on a winning path. At the community level, an increase in CHW/HSWs sensitive to the exact needs and challenges of the community will help to increase health literacy and standards of care that have often been barriers to good health. The TPM approach is a proven workforce development strategy that defines job duties and career pathways to ensure workers entering the field know what the job entails and have the skills and training they need to succeed. Funding will be used to establish Career Academies, place Career Navigators directly into ISDs, develop career readiness education and CHW essential skills training programs, and establish a statewide CHW/HSW Registered Apprenticeship Program. The Project Director provides oversight for MiCOACH and a Program Coordinator will run the daily activities and facilitate partnerships. The Data Collection Coordinator with the Data Support Analyst will analyze and disseminate data to assist the ELC to make data-driven decisions. LEO-E&T is backed by the state’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who is committed to expanding the skills and credentials of Michigan’s workers. LEO-E&T has also garnered support from numerous partners spanning employers, education and training partners, local workforce development boards, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Michigan Office of Apprenticeship.
