Virginia Community Health Worker Guide

Virginia’s Certified Community Health Worker credential is administered by the Virginia Certification Board. Current requirements include accredited training, qualifying experience and supervision. Program leaders should distinguish the protected certified title, the Board’s current application instructions and proposed regulations, while verifying funding and service requirements separately. Virginia Certification Board credential VCB application Virginia Code §32.1-15.1 Virginia regulatory docket

Virginia CHW quick facts

What does a CHW do in Virginia?

Virginia’s CHW resources describe trusted community members connecting people with health and social services, education and advocacy. Workers may use titles such as outreach worker, navigator, family advocate or promotor de salud. Define the actual responsibilities rather than relying on the title alone. Virginia Certification Board credential VDH maternal health guide

An organization should identify the population, service area and escalation contacts. A worker can support a participant’s goals without making clinical decisions beyond the role. Keep CHW qualifications separate from recovery-peer, doula or clinical credentials.

Certification and the certified title

Virginia Code §32.1-15.1 addresses use of the title “certified community health worker” and approval of the relevant training and certifying bodies. VDH directs prospective CHWs to VCB’s approved-training resources. A course completion certificate should not be represented as an issued CCHW credential. VDH maternal health guide Virginia Code §32.1-15.1

The current regulatory record lists the certification chapter as under development. Proposed text should not be quoted as a final operative rule. Use current VCB application instructions for its credential and monitor the official regulatory status. Virginia regulatory docket

Virginia CCHW requirements

VCB identifies approved education, qualifying experience, a signed current job or volunteer description and supervision. The application says applicants must live or work in Virginia when applying. Training, experience and supervision should be supported separately rather than combined into a single total. Virginia Certification Board credential VCB application

For a worker with several positions, obtain the relevant organization evidence and make the dates understandable. A résumé can help organize the history, but the application’s required verification determines what must be submitted.

How to prepare a certification application

1. Confirm a VCB-accredited CHW training provider.
2. Complete the required education within the current lookback.
3. Document qualifying paid or volunteer experience.
4. Obtain the signed current role description.
5. Gather supervisor evidence for qualifying supervision.
6. Submit the current application, materials and fee.
7. Record the issued credential and expiration.

These steps organize the process. VCB determines whether the evidence meets its requirements. Keep the application status distinct from certification approval.

Training and practical readiness

Ask a training provider about the course’s current approval, format, attendance, assessments, cost and completion evidence. A short specialty workshop is not automatically a substitute for the full approved education requirement. Virginia Certification Board credential

After training, provide organization-specific onboarding. A worker should know local referral partners, documentation expectations, boundaries and escalation contacts. Practice a realistic participant scenario and review the resulting note rather than relying only on attendance.

Experience and supervision

The current VCB application calls for 50 hours of supervision related to qualifying CHW experience. It permits more than one supervisor and describes supervision as an ongoing evaluative and supportive process. The application leaves the supervisor selection to the organization and applicable requirements rather than imposing one universal professional credential. VCB application

That certification provision does not resolve every clinical or payer-supervision obligation. Identify which rule or agreement a review process satisfies. Ordinary work hours should not automatically be entered as supervision hours.

Virginia CHW renewal

VCB’s linked application describes a two-year certification cycle beginning at approval. Its current recertification page requires 30 education hours relevant to community health, including three in ethics, and a $75 fee. Those requirements differ from VCB’s recovery-peer and doula credentials. VCB application VCB renewal requirements

Maintain activity dates and completion evidence throughout the period. Track renewal submitted, missing items and renewed status separately. Do not apply another credential’s CE schedule just because the same board administers it.

Proposed regulations and policy monitoring

Virginia Code §32.1-15.1 already restricts use of the certified community health worker title and requires approval of organizations holding themselves out as providing the qualifying education. The statute directs the Board of Health to adopt regulations. The 12VAC5-402 docket lists the certification regulation as proposed and under Secretary of Health and Human Resources review. The word “proposed” refers to that regulatory action. It does not suspend the existing title statute. Virginia Code §32.1-15.1 Virginia regulatory docket

For a job advertisement, describe the qualification actually held. For a training brochure, verify the approval status of the program offering the qualifying curriculum. For program planning, revisit the docket before assigning a new form, fee or start date based on the proposed text. Virginia Code §32.1-15.1 Virginia regulatory docket

Does CCHW certification authorize Medicaid payment?

The credential and training sources reviewed do not establish a universal Medicaid CHW claim route. Verify the actual program, provider arrangement and payer instructions before forecasting reimbursement.

VDH’s maternal-health page discusses both doulas and CHWs, but its statement that state-certified doula services may be covered does not establish the same benefit for CHW services. Similar roles and a shared resource page do not make the payment rules interchangeable. VDH maternal health guide

Funding and local program partnerships

VDH describes CHW support for families seeking health information, services and community resources. Virginia Medicaid separately publishes a member benefit for community doula services. A worker who is a CHW may have another qualification, but the organization should identify which role, enrollment and service its particular agreement pays for. Ask the member’s plan or the program funder for instructions for the CHW service you intend to provide. VDH maternal health guide Virginia Medicaid doula program

Where can a Blue Ridge resident meet a CHW?

The Blue Ridge Health District publishes walk-in community health hours. Its August 2026 schedule lists the Yancey Community Center in Esmont on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the Dunbar Rosenwald School in Palmyra on the third Thursday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The district lists health education and local referrals, plus portable cribs and car or booster seats for people meeting the item’s eligibility requirements. Recheck the district page or call the listed contact before traveling. Blue Ridge Health District

For someone outside that district, use their own local health department’s referral information. A walk-in program can provide a real way to reach a worker even when the person has no information about a payer contract. An allowed item, appointment or delivery still depends on the receiving program. VDH maternal health guide Blue Ridge Health District

Before advertising a Virginia CCHW position

1. Decide whether the job requires the protected certified title and verify the worker’s issued credential before using it. Virginia Code §32.1-15.1

2. Check VCB training dates, recent experience, supervision records and any prior employer verification. Virginia Certification Board credential VCB application

3. Use the statutory title requirements and the current credential terms. Check the proposed regulatory action separately for later changes. Virginia Code §32.1-15.1 Virginia regulatory docket

4. For perinatal outreach, show the distinct contacts for local CHW support and the Medicaid community doula program. Verify the service and payer before representing it as covered. VDH maternal health guide Blue Ridge Health District Virginia Medicaid doula program

Document the participant’s need and follow-up

A useful contact record connects the participant’s priorities with the action taken, response and next step. Identify the worker and date. Keep referral history together so another staff member can continue the work.

For example, a participant may need help finding a clinic and addressing a barrier to attending. The CHW identifies options and agrees on follow-up. If the first resource is unavailable, preserve the result and the alternative considered. A referral sent should not automatically close the need.

Two Virginia hires with different supporting documents

One applicant has a course completion certificate. A second has that certificate, qualifying work records, a current signed role description and forms documenting supervision. The second applicant can assemble a VCB application if the underlying hours, dates and other conditions fit. Neither applicant should advertise the Virginia certified title before the applicable education and certification requirements are met. Virginia Certification Board credential VCB application Virginia Code §32.1-15.1

Suppose the organization also supports a pregnant resident who requests a safe sleeping space and prenatal support. With her agreement, a CHW could discuss the Blue Ridge resource if she is in that district. If she requests a covered Medicaid doula, use the separate DMAS service route. Confirm the actual outcome of each referral separately. VDH maternal health guide Blue Ridge Health District Virginia Medicaid doula program

For a community health team walkthrough, use a fictional resident and test whether the receiving worker and referral purpose are clear without copying sensitive household detail.

Frequently asked questions

Is a course completion certificate a VCB CCHW credential?

No. The application and credential approval are separate steps. Virginia Certification Board credential VCB application

Can volunteer work count toward experience?

VCB includes qualifying volunteer and paid work, subject to the duration, role and lookback requirements. Virginia Certification Board credential

Are the proposed certification regulations final?

The official record reviewed lists the chapter as under development. Check current status before applying proposed text as an operative rule. Virginia regulatory docket

Does doula Medicaid coverage establish CHW coverage?

No. Verify the benefit for the actual role and service rather than transferring the doula provision to CHWs. VDH maternal health guide

Can a Blue Ridge family get a crib simply by attending office hours?

The district says some portable cribs and safety seats are available subject to eligibility. Ask the program about the specific item and its current availability. Its page also lists education and local referrals. Blue Ridge Health District

Sources

• Virginia Certification Board credential
• VCB application
• Virginia Code §32.1-15.1
• Virginia regulatory docket
• VCB renewal requirements
• VDH maternal health guide
• Virginia Medicaid doula program
• Blue Ridge Health District