Community Health Workers (CHWs) are front-line health workers, typically from the communities they serve, who address health disparities and social determinants of health by providing culturally-competent health education, care coordination, advocacy, and other services under their scope of practice. As an emerging health profession, CHWs are increasingly becoming integrated into medical teams and health care delivery systems with great effect.
CHWs are still new to many Minnesota health and human service agencies, and the field faces challenges related to awareness, recognition, and integration into team-based models. Stronger connections between CHWs, healthcare and public health systems, payers, policy-makers, community-based organizations, employers, and other allies are needed to sustain this innovation and maximize its potential to help address Minnesota’s persistent health inequities.
A statewide CHW registry, organized and maintained by the Alliance, is a voluntary listing of Minnesota CHWs. This platform serves as a centralized database of CHWs in Minnesota.
A CHW registry provides a strong foundation for strengthening the CHW field, helping to support community building among CHWs and connections with agencies and employers across sectors and geographic locations. This registry can help track how many CHWs work in Minnesota and identify better integration of this workforce on healthcare teams.
Minnesota CHWs work under many different titles and in many different settings. The statewide registry will seek participation by all those working under the broad CHW umbrella in our state. It will include those who have completed Minnesota’s model CHW certificate program (“certificate-holders”) as well as experienced CHWs who have not as yet attained this credential. It will include community health representatives (CHRs) who work in tribal agencies and IHS facilities as well as promotoras/es du salud who serve Latinx communities.
In addition, stakeholders have the option to create an account and get perks as well as support the MN CHW Alliance! Stakeholders may include researchers, employers, educators, or nonprofit allies.
No, a certificate is not required. We ask that you work in the Community Health Worker field or are working to return to the field as a CHW. We will have a question indicating whether CHWs have a certificate, as some employers are interested in hiring only certificate holders.
By having a registry of CHWs in Minnesota, the Alliance is able to be a better partner to CHWs; employers; researchers; state and local governments, policymakers, and payers; community-based organizations, and communities impacted by health inequities.
The benefits of the CHW registry include, but are not limited to:
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- Cultivates an opportunity for CHWs to increase communication within the field, allowing for information to be brought to one place for professional development, networking, policy advocacy, and career advancement
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- Efficiently links employers recruiting CHWs with qualified job seekers including a location to post job postings to the field
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- Builds a deeper understanding of the size, composition, and diversity of the CHW profession
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- Identifies CHW shortage areas in the state of Minnesota
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- Creates a better understanding of the full potential of the CHW role
The ultimate aim of improving the workforce in this way is to continue to better serve communities that are systematically affected by health and social inequities.
To join the registry, CHWs will pay an annual fee of $30. These funds will be used by the Alliance to operate the registry. Upon payment of the yearly dues, or having an employer sponsor their yearly membership, the CHW will create or update their account of professional identifiers and select privacy settings. The CHW registrant will have login capabilities on the Alliance website that gives them easy and early access to employment, learning, and professional development opportunities as well as a networking discussion board.
Stakeholders can also join the registry platform, with fees varying based on nonprofit status. Organizational accounts have access to similar features (employment and education opportunities for CHWs, Stakeholder-specific networking tool) as well as the ability to get access to high-level data about the CHW field. Specific data queries can be answered, as long as they align with our privacy policy, for a small fee. In addition, stakeholders can have their logo displayed on our website as a supporter with the purchase of their registration.
The registry will have three different price levels. CHWs can join for an annual fee of $30. For-profit stakeholders (employers, interest groups, etc.) can join for $200 a year. Finally, non-profit stakeholders (local non-profits and educational institutions) can join for $120 a year. Payment will be taken through a secure server when registering.
Please reach out to the following email for assistance and support: registry@mnchwalliance.org
Registry Privacy Policy >
CHW Registry Community Engagement and Outreach
Would you like an Alliance representative to speak at your next organizational meeting about the CHW Registry and how to join? Please direct both your questions and requests to: registry@mnchwalliance.org or info@mnchwalliance.org.