Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the CHW Academy? 

The Community Health Worker Academy at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU)  aims to be a center for the development and implementation of training/evaluation of CHWs for clinical settings, scholarship on CHWs and policy/ advocacy in the CHW arena.  

2. The Academy Training Includes:
   • CHW core education. 
   • Continuing education.
   • Organizational readiness assessment for clinical settings to integrate Community Health Workers (CHWs).

We’re happy to help you determine what best fits your organization’s current needs! Please reach out to  chwa@cdrewu.edu to submit inquiries.

3. Is your training curriculum standards-based? 
   • Yes, our entire curriculum is based on the nationally recognized CHW competencies called the National C3 Council (C3) Roles and Skills:

4. How long is the CHW Academy Training? 
   • Our didactic training currently has two main components: 
     • Core Education: 200 hrs.
     • Continuing Education: 40 hrs.

5. Is your training in-person, virtual, or both? 
   • Our  CHW training is entirely virtual.

6. Is your curriculum available to the public? 
   • No, our curriculum is currently not available to the public. 

7. I currently employ non-certified CHWs or would like to train new staff members as CHWs. How much time would training take for existing CHWs and what would the cost be? 

8. What are the CHW Academy Shared-Learning Communities? 
   • Our shared-learning communities are virtual spaces that focus on providing opportunities to CHW stakeholders of different types including but not limited to: our CHW alumni, other CHWs in the area, clinics who employ CHWs, as well as other stakeholders interested in the CHW sphere.  We share networking opportunities,  resources, and CHW-focused events via our social media platforms and newsletters. They also consist of knowledge-sharing through CHW and Clinic-led workshops in efforts to help expand and support the CHW Workforce. Workshops are in development and coming soon! 

9. How can I keep up with the CHW Academy?