Community Health Worker ProTrain the people your community already trusts.
CHW Pro is 160 hours of community health worker training in 12 units, mapped to the 10 C3 roles and 11 C3 skills. Every unit ends with an exam. Add a 130-hour practicum log and finish with the My Healthy IDEAS capstone.
New to health work? Start with the FREE CHW Basics. DHN Pro counts toward Unit 5.
Hours by level
Start small. Go all the way.
Every level stacks on the one before it. Nothing you finish is wasted.
CHW Foundations
Units 1, 2 and 5. The core of the job, including all of Digital Health Navigator Pro.
- Professional conduct
- Communication & relationships
- Care coordination & navigation
CHW Pro
All 12 units with an exam per unit. Built to the 160-hour Texas standard.
- All 10 C3 roles, 11 C3 skills
- 8-hr mental health & crisis
- My Healthy IDEAS capstone
CHW Pro + Practicum
CHW Pro plus a 130-hour supervised practicum, logged and signed off in the course.
- Supervisor sign-off per entry
- Exportable hours record
- Portfolio-ready
Junior CHW
For high school CTE programs. CHW Foundations plus the My Healthy IDEAS capstone.
- Fits a CTE semester
- Teacher-led with the Leader Guide
- Leads into CHW Pro at 18
Learn it your way.
The same 12 units power all three. Your minutes, coins and badges carry across the FFH Academy.
The Course
- Video lessons that play in the page and count only when watched
- Learn It · Live It · Share It in every unit
- Pre/post check, unit exams and a final exam (80% to pass)
- Minute-level time on task for every learner
The CHW Qwest
- A station for every unit: learn, term cards, scenario, match, boss quiz
- Realistic cases: choose what to do next
- Capstone simulations end to end
- Rank up from CHW Trainee to CHW Pro
The 12 eBooks
- An illustrated flip book for every unit
- Key terms, a real-world scenario and a practice check
- Text view and read-aloud for accessibility
- Plus a FREE "10 Things" eBook
New here? Start with the FREE Basics or the free 10 Things eBook. Running a group? The Group Leader Guide has a 16-week cohort calendar, a Junior CHW schedule and practicum forms.
12 units. 160 hours.
Each unit maps to a C3 role or skill and ends with an exam. Tap a column header to sort.
| Unit | Title | Hours | C3 role or skill | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Professional conduct Ethics, boundaries, scope of practice | 12 | Skill: Professional skills & conduct | Foundations |
| 2 | Communication & relationship building Motivational interviewing basics, active listening | 16 | Skills: Communication; Interpersonal & relationship-building | Foundations |
| 3 | Cultural mediation Bridging communities and health and social service systems | 14 | Role 1: Cultural mediation | Pro |
| 4 | Culturally appropriate health education Plain language, teach-back, group facilitation | 16 | Role 2: Culturally appropriate health education | Pro |
| 5 | Care coordination & system navigation Includes all of Digital Health Navigator Pro | 24 | Role 3: Care coordination, case management & system navigation | Foundations |
| 6 | Coaching & social support Goal setting, peer support, chronic condition self-management | 20 | Role 4: Coaching & social support | Pro |
| 7 | Advocacy & capacity building Speaking up for clients and building community power | 10 | Roles 5–6: Advocacy; Capacity building | Pro |
| 8 | Individual & community assessment SDOH screening, asset mapping, community data | 12 | Role 8: Individual & community assessment | Pro |
| 9 | Outreach Finding and engaging people where they are | 8 | Role 9: Outreach | Pro |
| 10 | Direct service within scope Includes 8 hours of mental health & crisis response | 12 | Role 7: Direct service | Pro |
| 11 | Evaluation & research Collecting data, telling the story with numbers | 8 | Role 10: Evaluation & research | Pro |
| 12 | Safety & law HIPAA, mandated reporting, personal safety, self-care | 8 | Skills: Knowledge base; Professional conduct | Pro |
If your learners already finished DHN Pro, they have done 24 of the 160 hours. Start them at Unit 1 and let Unit 5 count.
Mapped to the standards that matter.
CHW Pro is aligned to the C3 national standard, Arizona's ADHS scope of practice and core competencies and Medicare's Community Health Integration (CHI) competencies, and built to the 160-hour Texas standard.
C3 roles & skills
Every unit maps to a C3 role or skill. All 10 roles and 11 skills are covered.
Arizona ADHS
Mapped to the scope of practice (10 areas) and core competencies in Arizona's CHW certification rules (A.A.C. R9-16-801–802).
Medicare CHI
Aligned to the CHI competencies for Medicare Community Health Integration services.
Texas standard
Built to the 160-hour training standard used in Texas.
My Healthy IDEAS.
Learners finish by running a real community project in five steps. It is built on FFH's Health BASICS and Social Determinants of Health courses.
Identify
Pick one health need in your community using data and the voices of people who live there.
Design
Plan a small, doable project with a clear goal and a way to measure it.
Engage
Bring in partners and the people the project is for.
Assess
Measure what changed and what you learned.
Share
Present the results to your community, your class or your funder.
130 hours. Signed and counted.
Learners log practicum hours right in the course. A site supervisor signs off on each entry. Program leaders see it all on the cohort dashboard and can export it.
- Log by date, site, C3 role and hours
- Supervisor sign-off per entry
- Exportable record for employers and certification applications
- Arizona's ADHS certification path also asks for 480 hours of work experience. A clean log helps you show it.
| Date | C3 role | Hours | Sign-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | Outreach | 4 | ✓ Supervisor |
| Sep 4 | Care coordination | 6 | ✓ Supervisor |
| Sep 9 | Health education | 3 | ✓ Supervisor |
| Sep 11 | Assessment | 5 | Pending |
Continuing education, one unit at a time.
Certified CHWs can take single units to refresh a skill or go deeper, such as mental health & crisis, digital navigation or evaluation. Each unit has its own exam and certificate of completion.
- Pick only the units you need
- Minute-level time on task for your CE records
- Check with your state certifying body that a unit counts toward your CE hours
Pick your level.
CHW Foundations
- Includes DHN Pro
- Unit exams
- Certificate of completion
CHW Pro
- All C3 roles and skills
- 12 unit exams
- My Healthy IDEAS capstone
- Practicum log
Pro + Practicum
- 130-hour supervised practicum
- Supervisor sign-off
- Cohort dashboard
Schools & agencies
- Junior CHW for CTE
- Volume pricing
- Group Leader Guide
Not sure yet? Start with the FREE Basics or Digital Health Navigator Pro. Both count toward this pathway.
Welcome from Coach Lucy and Dr. Rob
Welcome. Community Health Workers are the trusted bridge between neighbors and the health and social services they need. Many of the best CHWs started by helping their own families.
CHW Pro gives you the skills, the scope and the boundaries of the role, mapped to the national C3 standard, with a capstone where you lead a real community project.
Take it one unit at a time. Learn it, live it, then share it. Your community is already counting on you.
The Force for Health® Network · physician- and woman-led
Good to know
Is CHW Pro a state certification?
No. CHW Pro is an FFH training program aligned to the C3 national standard, Arizona's ADHS scope of practice and core competencies and Medicare's Community Health Integration (CHI) competencies, and built to the 160-hour Texas standard. State approval is in progress, starting with Arizona (AzCHOW) and Pennsylvania. Certification rules vary by state.
How long does it take?
CHW Foundations is 52 hours. CHW Pro is 160 hours. Group leaders can run it over a semester or on a faster schedule. The optional practicum adds 130 hours at a partner site.
Who is Junior CHW for?
High school students ages 16 to 17 in CTE programs. They complete CHW Foundations plus the My Healthy IDEAS capstone, then can continue to CHW Pro at 18.
Does Digital Health Navigator Pro count?
Yes. DHN Pro is part of Unit 5, Care coordination & system navigation. It is also included in CHW Foundations.
How are learners tested?
Each of the 12 units ends with an exam. Learners also complete the My Healthy IDEAS capstone.
Can we run it as a cohort?
Yes. Group leaders get schedules and session plans, a cohort dashboard with minute-level time on task, unit scores and practicum hours, and exports for funders.
Ready to build your CHW team?
Start one learner with Foundations today, or plan a whole cohort with us.