“HRSA Community Health Worker Training and Apprenticeship Program”
The Apprenticeship Program is currently full but we hope to open it up again. Please join the CHWARI newsletter to be updated.
Due to a generous grant from the Health Resource Service Administration (HRSA), enthusiastic permanent US residents who are starting out as Community Health Workers can participate in our apprenticeship program. This program provides mentoring and financial support to help CHW apprentices train, become certified, and then excel in community health work! This opportunity is in addition to employment in a participating job (2100-2500 working hours). Stipends between $5-9K (on top of salary) are available for completing program milestones.
This program is an ideal opportunity for new and upcoming CHWs (with permanent US residency) who are interested in building their portfolio of community health work and acquiring gainful employment.
This includes:
- People who are working in the community already but have not been formally trained or certified as CHW.
- Individuals looking for an opportunity to change career paths.
- Anyone who is excited by the opportunity to help others in their community connect to essential resources like healthcare, behavioral health care, housing initiatives, family services, and other social determinants of health.
- Individuals who have experience working in health care and health services but are looking to get involved in and work towards building health literacy and education in their communities.
- Those who are interested in expanding their skillset to include Core Competency in CHW, Mental Health First Aid, Emergency Preparedness, Vaccine Hesitancy, Digital Literacy and Job Readiness.
This is NOT a great fit for:
- Those who are in the process of pursuing or have already attained their CHW certification or have advanced educational credentials.
- Candidates who are NOT fluent in English.
- Candidates who do not have permanent residency. (Unfortunately, we have no flexibility on this.)
CHWARI and the Institute for Education in Healthcare (IEH) at Rhode Island College (RIC) awarded funds to bolster CHW workforce to address social and health inequities of underserved Rhode Islanders.
Multi-year program focused on education and on-the-job training to build pipeline of community health workers. Goal: 170 new CHWs
Training and apprenticeship program to increase CHW workforce. Connecting underserved populations to care, mental health, preventative care, treatment and recovery, chronic disease care, etc.
Increase access to care, improve public health emergency
response, address needs of underserved communities.
The intention of these stipends is to provide financial support to CHW trainees to reduce barriers to enrollment and retention in program. (*This schedule may change in 2024, but the total will remain the same.) 152 training hours are necessary to fullfill the education apprenticeship requirement.
Disbursement handled by the Institute for Education in Healthcare at Rhode Island College.
We try to keep this list as current as possible but can’t promise these jobs are still open. You can also browse the websites of our Employer Partners (below) for more current listings. There are lots more CHW jobs that are not eligible for our apprenticeship program on CHWARI’s main jobs page.
Community Health Worker
Providence Housing Authority
Location: Providence
Full-time, $21.00
Bilingual Spanish Required
Apprenticeship Eligible
Community Health Worker
East Bay Community Action Center
Full-time, Newport, RI
CCHW Certified or within 6 months
Bilingual Spanish a plus
Apprenticeship Eligible
This list changes, but here is an example of our robust list of employer partners. These employers have jobs that are eligible for the apprenticeship program. You must gain employment in a participating job in order to participate in the program.
- Blackstone Valley Community Health Centers
- Boswell
- Child and Family
- Coastal Medical/Lifespan
- Community Health Institute/Lifespan
- Community Health Network of RI
- Comprehensive Community Action Plan (CCAP)
- Crossroads
- East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP)
- Meals on Wheels
- Neighborhood Health Plan
- Newport Mental Health
- Prospect Medical
- Providence Community Health Centers (PCHC)
- Providence Housing Authority
- Raising Hope Inc.
- RI Physicians Corporation Primary Care
- The Autism Project/Lifespan
- Thundermist
- Tides Family Services
- Tri-County HEZ
- Urban Perinatal Education Center
- Wood River
These trainings are free to our apprentices. Your stipends are intended to help pay for your time as you attend trainings.
- Mental Health First Aid (8 hr)
- Emergency Preparedness (8 hr)
- Technology and Digital Literacy, Employee Readiness (with RIC Professional Studies and Continuing Education) (24 hrs)
- Vaccine Hesitancy (2 hr)
- Advanced Public Health Training (30 hr)
Specialized Trainings Integrated into Apprenticeship (Apprentice Chooses 1)
- Older Adults Training (30 hr)
- Dementia Training (30 hr)
- Behavioral Health Certificate Training (30 hr)
- CHW Supervisor Training (30 hr)
- HIV Endorsement Training (45 hr)
- Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes Management (30 hr)
- Racial and Social Justice Training (30 hr)
152 training hours fulfills apprenticeship requirement
If you believe a new CHW would thrive at your organization, we are excited to talk to you! Contact Tara LaMarre for explanation of program details and application.
Employer Partner Committment:
- Hire 1 or more CHWs as an employee of your organization for length of the apprenticeship
- (3-month probationary period).
- At the end of apprenticeship commit to “pay-bump” as apprentice transitions into traditional employee.
- Interface with IEH data collection coordinator for performance measures and reporting.
- Receive monthly site visits from IEH Program Evaluator and CHW Wellness Coordinators for observational purposes.
- Participate in partner/ IEH meetings as needed to discuss grant.
Contact
If you are interested, please contact:
Director CHW Training and Apprenticeships
Tara LaMarre
[email protected].
