Reentry Specialist CHW Certificate of Achievement

The Community Health Worker, Re-Entry SpecialistCertificate of Achievement is part of the Community Health Worker Program. This certificate is designed to prepare individuals for positions working with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in community health and social services agencies and programs. It emphasizes specific competencies for working with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people such as cultural humility and providing client-centered assessment, education, counseling and care management services. As part of their education, students will complete an internship with a local agency. The San Francisco Department of Public Health accepts the certificate of achievement to satisfy six out of twelve months of experience that is required as minimum qualification for hiring as a HealthWorker 1-3. 

The new ReentrySpecialist Certificate will become one of five different CHW Certificateoptions.   We anticipate that the annual number ofcompleters of all five certificates will be approximately 60.  Of these, approximately  8 - 15 are expected to complete the Reentry Specialist Certificate.

 

The estimate is basedon enrollment data for the past two years, Fall 2016 – Spring 2018:

 

Enrollment Data, Fall 2014-2016 Required Courses for the HIV & Hepatitis Specialty Certificate
Course Number	No. of Sections	No of Students
HLTH 201	4	122
HLTH 202	4	80
HLTH 203	4	77
HLTH 66	2	28
HLTH 110	2	31

 

 

The goal of the ReentrySpecialist CHW Certificate is to provide students with foundational knowledge and skills required for entry level employment in public health, health careers and related settings with an emphasis on promoting the health and wellness of clients and communities with histories of incarceration.     

 The ReentrySpecialist Certificate will be one of five (5) certificate options in theHealth Education Department’s Community Health Worker Program.

 To enroll in the ReentrySpecialty Certificate, students must either complete a pre-requisite course – HLTH59: Introduction to the CHW Field – or submit an application along with documentation that they have been working or volunteering for at least a year as a CHW or in a related position.  These are the same requirements for all five of the CHW Certificates.

 

Upon completion of this certificate, students will be able to:

• Analyze and evaluate public health concepts and information for health promotion.
• Assess and integrate professional skills necessary for employment in the CHW field.
• Evaluate and implement entry-level proficiency in CHW core competencies for working effectively with diverse individuals, groups and communities.
• Analyze and apply key concepts and skills for working with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated clients and communities.

HLTH 201	CHW Principles & Practice 1	5	S1
HLTH 202	CHW Principles & Practice 2	5	S2
HLTH 203 HLTH 203W	Professional Skills for Community Health Workers CHW Internship Placement	2 2	S2 S2
HLTH 110 HLTH 66	Health Impacts of Incarceration Chronic Conditions	3 3	any semester any semester

 

Course Number                                  Units               Sequence

HLTH 201: CHW Principles& Practice 1  5                     The first in the series of foundational classes            

HLTH202: CHW Principles & Practice 2  5                     Must be taken after completing H201

HLTH203: Professional Skills                 2                     Concurrently or after completing H202

ForCommunity Health Workers

HLTH203(W): CHW Internship  2                      Concurrently or after completing H203

Placement

HLTH66: Chronic Conditions                  3          Any semester

HLTH 110:Health Impacts                      3          Any semester

Of incarceration

 

Total number of units = 20

Note that students will complete a brief “Certificate Passport” detailing an individual plan for completing the requirements of any CHW Certificate. 

The Post Prison Health Worker Certificate was developed over a decade ago in partnership with local employer partners. We are revising the certificate to include a new title – the Re-entry Specialist CHW Certificate – and an updated internship placement courses as required by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. HLTH 203 is being revised to a 2-unit course and new 2-unit HLTH 203(W) field placement course is being added to the certificate. These changes were discussed and approved by the CHW Community Advisory Board in November of 2018.

There are no similar programs focusing on re-entry populations at any community college in the wider Bay Area. There are, however, other Community Health Worker certificate programs throughout the Bay Area. We reached out to the Human Services Department at Cañada College, and have not received a response. Students may also study similar competencies and complete degrees in public health or health education at the bachelor’s level at San Francisco State University and the University of California, Berkeley.