Community Health Worker Program (CHWP)

CAI provides innovative training and online learning programs to staff of the 24 Community Health Worker Programs (CHWP) funded by the New York State Department of Health. With the goal of optimizing health among the highest-risk pregnant women and their families, CHWP facilitates pregnant women's entry into early and consistent prenatal care and ensures that families obtain primary and preventive health care services.  The program strategically focuses on communities with high rates of late-to-no prenatal care, teen pregnancies and births, infant mortality and poor maternal health outcomes.  Through CHWP, community health workers provide intensive outreach, education, referral and follow-up, case management, advocacy, and home visiting services to high-risk women, as well as linking families with health and financial support systems in an effort to increase their skills and resources to improve their health status, family functioning, and self-sufficiency.

CAI coordinates and delivers enhanced core trainings to all new CHWP staff, supervision and leadership training to new and seasoned program coordinators, as well as specialized trainings and webinars on various subject areas such as preconception health, substance use screening tools, reproductive health updates, and oral health and pregnancy.  These different approaches to training are intended to increase the capacity of community health workers in maintaining proper documentation, improving outreach skills, establishing appropriate boundaries with clients, contributing to the prevention of perinatal HIV transmission and delivering culturally competent services and support to the highest-risk women and their families.