Community Health Workers in Behavioral Health

Course Description
This self-paced course provides a comprehensive overview of Community Health Workers (CHWs) and their evolving role within the behavioral health landscape. Participants will gain a clear understanding of who CHWs are, the scope of their work, the diverse populations they serve, and the wide range of health challenges they help address. The session also explores emerging models of care and new opportunities for CHWs specifically within behavioral health settings, highlighting how these roles are expanding to better support individuals and communities. Finally, learners will be introduced to key Iowa-specific resources—including training programs, workforce initiatives, and support networks—that can help CHWs enhance their skills and strengthen behavioral health systems across the state.

Objectives
After completing this course, you will have an understanding of:

1. Who Community Health Workers (CHWs) are, what they do, the populations they work with, and the health issues they address.
2. The emerging models of care and opportunities for Community Health Workers in behavioral health settings.
3. Available resources for Community Health Worker trainings and initiatives in Iowa.

Course Length
The entire course will take about 1 hour to complete in one sitting; however, you can leave the course and complete at any time.

Disclaimer
This self-paced course is hosted by Iowa's Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health (CEBH). While Iowa CEBH is partly sponsored by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS), please note that the views, opinions, and content shared in this course are those of our trainings and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of Iowa HHS. After all modules are complete and the survey is submitted, the downloadable Certificate of Attendance will be unlocked.

For questions, please contact iowa-cebh@uiowa.edu.