ENACT 2.0 – Community Health Worker Professional Development and Training Collaborator for Certification Program
Community health workers (CHWs) are essential to addressing disparities in health care delivery and health outcomes in vulnerable populations and have been recognized as front-line public health workers for several decades. After the 1999 publication of the groundbreaking report, Weaving the Future, the American Public Health Association passed a policy statement, Recognition and Support for Community Health Workers’ Contributions to Meeting our Nation’s Health Care Needs, which included what is now a widely accepted definition of CHWs: A CHW is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served. This trusting relationship enables the worker to serve as a liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery.
Currently many states, including Illinois, are implementing training and certification policies designed to stabilize, support and develop the CHW workforce. The Illinois effort is being conducted under the auspices of specific legislation, the 2021 CHW Certification and Reimbursement Act (410 ILCS 67). This legislation calls for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to establish a CHW Certification Program to address the recognized challenges and ensure that high quality, comprehensive, and ongoing professional development opportunities are available to the Illinois CHW workforce.
Since 2023, the Community Engagement and Health Equity Office at the University of Illinois Cancer Center has partnered with IDPH to support the implementation of the CHW Certification Program. Through this partnership, we completed an environmental scan of CHW assets in Illinois and we are currently supporting the development of the program’s curriculum and evaluation components.
The Environmental Scan of Community Health Worker Training Assets (ENACT)
The Environmental Scan of Community Health Worker Training Assets (ENACT) in Illinois was a state-wide initiative to assess the landscape and networks of training and professional development opportunities available to Illinois CHWs. This report presents the findings from the 2023-2024 environmental scan.
Contact Us
To learn more about our partnerships, contact the Cancer Center Community Engagement & Health Equity Office:
