STATE CHW LEGISLATION ADVANCES

As of this writing (June 6, 2011), only one of five pieces of state CHW legislation introduced this year has actually passed. Texas House Bill 2610, which was placed on the governor’s desk on May 26, would require the state’s Health and Human Services Commission to conduct a study to explore funding options, including recommendations to “maximize employment of and access to” Promotoras/CHWs.  The bill also moves the State’s CHW certification program from the Health Department to the Commission, which oversees the Medicaid and SCHIP programs.

A similar bill in California (AB916) was reintroduced in 2011 and reported favorably out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 27.  More sweeping bills have been introduced in Oregon (HB 3650) and Pennsylvania (HB342); both bills include prominent roles for CHWs in state-designed health care reform models. The Oregon bill has moved farthest, referred to Ways and Means on May 18.

New Mexico Senate Joint Memorial 12, reintroduced in January, would create the State’s Office of CHWs in statute; the Office was created by the governor several years ago but was considered temporary. This bill was reported favorably by committees but has not progressed.

For the text of any of these bills please contact Section Secretary Carl Rush, carl@chrllc.net.

CHW LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE IS LAUNCHED

The federal Office of Women’s Health has officially launched the expansion of its CHW leadership development program based on the very successful Border Women’s Health Promotora Institute.  According to Rosie Piper of the Mariposa Community Health Center (Nogales, Ariz.), creators of the Institute in 2004-6, the initiative will roll out in two federal regions this year, and in six more regions in the following two years.

The program supports Promotoras/CHWs in taking leadership roles on local community health projects with the support of their supervisors. Federal officials have recognized that this expanded leadership capacity can be of benefit to local, state and national CHW networks.

Watch for more details and announcements in coming months!

H.U.D. CHW PROGRAMS EXPAND

Have you considered partnering with your local housing authority to place CHWs in subsidized housing developments? The Department of Housing and Urban Development has been quietly exploring CHW roles in housing and has launched several exciting projects, which may expend depending on their results and available funding.

The HUD CHW initiatives are the brainchild of Carol Payne, a regional HUD official in Baltimore and co-founder of the Community Outreach Worker Association of Maryland (COWAM).  The initiatives include:

—CHWs targeting cardiovascular health disparities in 22 local sites of the HOPE VI program.

—Collaboration with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on SCHIP enrollment and utilization (a pilot project with three local housing authorities under the 2009 CHIPRA legislation).

— A Health Literacy Partnership with the National Library of Medicine, with CHWs playing a key leadership/advocacy role at the local level

For more information, contact Carol at carol_b._payne@hud.gov.