For enrolled learners, faculty, and partner sites
Enter the password from your welcome email. Lessons, slide decks, handouts, and post-tests are inside.
This lock is a courtesy, not security. Before launch the host must protect this folder (see CLAUDE.md). Nothing confidential belongs here until then.
ORIENT.D The Working CHW Bridge
Honoring your experience and finding your route to the Ohio certificate
Your materials
Slides (PowerPoint) Handout (Word)
For instructors
Facilitator guide Printable pre and post tests Quiz (LMS import)
What you will learn
- Identify which Ohio route to the CHW certificate fits you
- Explain the rules for a practicum at your own job
- Describe learn and earn options with your employer
- List renewal, continuing education and career next steps
Start here
You may have done this work for years. What would it mean to have it recognized?
Lesson
Your experience counts
Pathway D is for people already doing CHW work under another title.
- We honor it: Your relationships, community knowledge and skills are assets you bring into the room.
- We check your route: Some people qualify for the certificate without the full program. We help you find out.
- We fit your job: Your practicum can happen at your workplace, under program rules and supervision.
- We open doors: The certificate leads to specialties, lead roles and college pathways.
Route check: which path fits you
| Route | Who it fits | Ohio law |
|---|---|---|
| Prior employment | Did CHW-type work in Ohio before Feb 1, 2005 | ORC 4723.84(B) |
| Endorsement | Certified or practicing as a CHW in another state | OAC 4723-26-03 |
| Military | Has military education or skills training | OAC 4723-26-12 |
| Bridge program | Everyone else: our full program, built around your job | ORC 4723.84(A) |
The prior employment route
Under ORC 4723.84(B), the training program may be waived if you:
- Worked before Feb 1, 2005: In a job substantially the same as a community health worker.
- Have employer documentation: Your employer attests in writing that you are competent to do CHW work.
- Meet the other requirements: Age 18 or older, diploma or equivalent, and a criminal records check.
- Follow Board rules: Apply to the Ohio Board of Nursing as its rules require.
Endorsement from another state
| If you hold | Held for | Practiced as a CHW |
|---|---|---|
| Out-of-state license or government certification | At least 1 year | 1 of the last 5 years |
| Private certification, state without certification | At least 2 years | 2 of the last 5 years |
| No credential: state without one, or military | Not required | 3 of the last 5 years |
A practicum at your own job
Counts
- CHW tasks with clients across the lifespan
- Work guided by a qualified program-approved supervisor
- Group education, outreach and your IDEAS project
- Hours logged and signed, with a site agreement
Does not count
- Routine duties like filing or front desk work
- Hours with no qualified supervision
- Work at a site without a signed agreement
- Hours you did not actually complete
Why recognition is upstream work
- What we see: Ms. Holloway has done outreach in East Cleveland for 15 years but earns less than coworkers with titles.
- Why it happens (upstream): Unrecognized community expertise, short-term grant funding and few credential pathways for working adults.
- What we can build on (assets): Her deep relationships, an employer willing to sponsor learn and earn, our bridge program and a peer cohort.
After you are certified
- Renew every 2 years: Earn 15 contact hours each renewal period. The first renewal is exempt.
- Two required topics: At least 1 hour on Ohio nursing law and Board rules, and 1 on professional boundaries.
- Grow your career: Specialties, lead CHW and supervisor roles, and college credit toward degrees.
- Learn and earn: Ask your employer about paid study time or tuition help while you train.
Situation: is my job enough
Situation: Rochelle schedules appointments at a Glenville clinic and sometimes helps patients find food pantries. She asks if all her regular work hours can count toward the 130 hour practicum.
What should program staff tell her?
- Thank her and recognize the community work she already does
- Explain that routine duties like scheduling do not count
- Plan CHW tasks with her supervisor and a site agreement
- Log only supervised CHW hours, across life stages
Study sheet
The big idea: Your experience is an asset; we help you find the right route and make your work count toward the certificate.
Key points
- Ohio waives training for people who did CHW-type work before February 1, 2005, with employer attestation.
- Endorsement covers people with CHW credentials or practice in other states or the military.
- Our program reviews military education and skills training for credit, as Ohio rules require.
- Most working CHWs take our bridge program, with a practicum built around their job.
- Practicum hours must be CHW tasks, supervised, under a site agreement; routine duties do not count.
- Renew every two years with 15 contact hours, including law and rules and professional boundaries.
Remember
- Prior employment route: CHW-type work before Feb 1, 2005 plus employer attestation
- Endorsement: 1 year held and 1 of 5 years practice (license or government certification)
- Endorsement: 2 years held and 2 of 5 (private); 3 of 5 years practice with no credential
- Renewal: 15 contact hours; first renewal exempt
Ask yourself
- Which parts of my current job are true CHW tasks, and which are routine duties?
- What would I ask my employer for to support my training?
Vocabulary
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Bridge program | Our full CHW program, arranged so working CHWs can learn around their jobs. |
| Route check | A private review with program staff to see which path to certification fits you. |
| Endorsement | An Ohio certificate based on a credential or CHW practice in another state or the military. |
| Attestation | A signed statement from an employer that confirms facts about your work or skill. |
| Government certification | A credential issued by a state or the uniformed services, not a private group. |
| Private certification | A credential from a private organization in a state that does not certify CHWs. |
| Uniformed services | The U.S. military branches and other federal uniformed services. |
| Job-embedded practicum | Practicum hours done at your workplace under program rules, a site agreement and qualified supervision. |
| Learn and earn | An arrangement where you keep working and earning while you train. |
| Contact hour | A unit of continuing education, roughly one hour of approved learning. |
Real-life situations
Certified in another state
Luis moved to Clark-Fulton from another state, where he held a state CHW certification for three years and worked as a CHW until last year.
What to do
- Explain that Ohio offers certification by endorsement
- Review OAC 4723-26-03 with him: held 1 year, practiced 1 of the last 5
- Tell him the issuing state and his employer must send verification directly to the Board
- Remind him of the BCI records check and application fee
Why: He appears to meet the endorsement rule, so he may not need the full training program.
The longtime outreach worker
Mrs. Barnes has done health outreach in Hough since 1998 for an agency that still operates. She hopes she does not need the class.
What to do
- Honor her long service
- Explain the prior employment route under ORC 4723.84(B)
- Ask if the agency will attest in writing to her competence
- Connect her with program staff to review documents before she applies
Why: Ohio waives the training program for people who did substantially similar work before Feb 1, 2005, with employer attestation.
The veteran
Andre served as a medic in the Army and now works for a Lorain community agency. He asks whether his military training counts.
What to do
- Thank him for his service
- Explain our program reviews military education and skills training for credit
- Ask him for his military training records
- If he practiced as a CHW in the military 3 of the last 5 years, mention endorsement
Why: Ohio rules require programs to award credit for substantially equivalent military training, and endorsement covers uniformed services practice.
Activity: My route and my practicum plan
About 25 minutes.
- Answer the route check questions: when you began CHW-type work, where, and any credentials you hold.
- List five tasks you do at work and mark each as a CHW task or a routine duty.
- Name a person at work who might serve as your site supervisor.
- Write one learn and earn request you could bring to your employer.
- Upload your answers so program staff can schedule your private route check.
Post-test
Ten questions. You need 75% to pass, with one retake. Your result is saved in this browser.
Sources
- Ohio Revised Code 4723.84, CHW certificate requirements
- Ohio Administrative Code 4723-26-03, Certification by endorsement
- Ohio Administrative Code 4723-26-05, Continuing education
- Ohio Administrative Code 4723-26-12, Training program standards
- Ohio Administrative Code 4723-26-13, Standard curriculum
- Ohio Administrative Code 4723-26-02, CHW certification