Community health worker training in California, starting from where you are.
No degree. No prior healthcare experience. Medi-Cal now pays for community health worker services, which means health plans, clinics and care management providers have a real budget to hire from. The gap for most candidates is not compassion — it is software fluency and documented hours. We close both.
- Cost
- Free · no tuition
- Length
- 8 weeks core course
- Format
- Remote-friendly, statewide
- Ends with
- Certificate + coaching
Four steps from interested to hired.
01
Digital skills first
Eight weeks, 36 lessons, free. Email, documentation, secure messaging, scheduling tools and practical AI — the software fluency every CHW job description assumes you already have.
02
Community health foundations
What CalAIM changed, what Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports cover, how referrals move, and how to document work that a health plan can pay for.
03
Field practice
Outreach, enrollment support and care navigation alongside our team, so you leave with logged hours and real references instead of only a certificate.
04
Placement support
Resume and interview coaching aimed at FQHCs, county public health, managed care plans and Enhanced Care Management providers, plus follow-up at 30 and 90 days.
Employers hiring community health workers.
Federally qualified health centers
Outreach, enrollment support and patient navigation inside community clinics.
Medi-Cal managed care plans
Member outreach and referral into Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports.
Enhanced Care Management providers
Field-based care coordination for members with the most complex needs.
County public health & community organizations
Health education, benefit navigation and neighborhood field teams.
Background reading: how to become a community health worker in California, CalAIM Community Supports explained, and Enhanced Care Management eligibility.
Before you enroll.
Do I need a degree or healthcare experience to become a community health worker?
No. Community health worker is one of the few healthcare roles in California open to people without a degree. Employers weigh language skills, lived experience of the systems you will help people navigate, reliability, and documentation discipline far more heavily than formal credentials.
Is community health worker training free?
Our digital skills course is free, with no tuition and a certificate on completion. Community health foundations and field practice are delivered through our programs and partners; we will tell you plainly if any partner step carries a cost before you commit to it.
Does California require a CHW certification?
There is no single statewide license. For Medi-Cal-billable CHW services, employers generally need either a certificate from an approved training program or documented supervised experience, commonly around 2,000 hours, plus supervision by a licensed provider. A certificate makes hiring easier; documented hours and language skills also carry real weight.
What do community health workers do day to day?
Field outreach, benefit and Medi-Cal enrollment support, explaining care plans in the language a family actually uses at home, arranging transportation, and following up so referrals do not die in a voicemail box.
Who is this pathway for?
Adults across California, including justice-impacted residents, immigrants and multilingual speakers, transition-age and foster youth, and anyone already doing this work informally for their family or neighborhood and wanting to get paid for it.
Do you serve areas outside the Bay Area?
Yes. Coursework is remote-friendly and available statewide. Field practice depends on active partnerships in your region, so tell us your county when you enroll.
Get cohort dates by email.
We email when a new cohort opens and when community health worker openings come through our partners. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
Get program updates
One short email a month: cohort dates, graduate stories, and where your support goes. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Fund a seat.
Training is free for participants because donors cover it. A gift funds coursework, coaching, and the wraparound support that turns a certificate into a paycheck.
Fund job training