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Specialty pathways

Where community health work can take you

Each pathway answers the same questions: what is this work, where do CHWs do it, what are the job titles, what skills matter, and what training helps.

Chronic Disease

  • Asthma

    Support children, adults and families managing asthma through education, home and community triggers, and connection to care.

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  • Diabetes

    Help people living with or at risk of diabetes understand their care, build routines and get to the resources they need.

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  • Hypertension & Cardiovascular Health

    Support blood pressure control, heart health education and self-measured blood pressure monitoring in the community.

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  • Cancer Prevention & Screening Navigation

    Increase screening access and reduce barriers to prevention, diagnosis and follow-up care.

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Behavioral Health

  • Behavioral Health Foundations

    Work alongside behavioral health teams supporting people living with mental health and substance use conditions.

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  • CHW & Peer Support

    Understand how the CHW role and the Peer Support Specialist role overlap, differ and work together.

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  • Trauma-Informed CHW Practice

    Practice in a way that recognizes trauma, avoids re-traumatizing people and protects your own wellbeing.

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Maternal & Family Health

  • Maternal Health

    Support pregnant and postpartum people with education, navigation and connection to equitable care.

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  • Explore the Doula Pathway

    Understand how the CHW role and the Doula role complement each other — and how they differ.

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Care Coordination

  • CalAIM, ECM & Community Supports

    Deliver whole-person care through Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports under CalAIM.

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  • Resource Navigation & SDOH

    Address the social drivers of health that shape whether care plans actually work.

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Housing & Homelessness

  • Housing Navigation

    Support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness through outreach, documents, housing search and retention.

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Reentry / Justice-Involved

  • Reentry Navigation

    Support people returning to the community from jail or prison with health, housing and stability.

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Violence Prevention

  • Violence Prevention

    Approach community violence as a public health issue through intervention, outreach and survivor support.

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Community Outreach & Engagement

  • Community Outreach & Engagement

    Reach people where they are through events, canvassing, partnerships and trusted messenger work.

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Public Health

  • Public Health

    Work on population health: prevention, emergency response, health education and community data.

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Older Adult Services

  • Older Adult Services

    Support older adults with independence, caregiving, benefits and connection.

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Youth & Family Services

  • Youth & Family Services

    Support young people and families through school, health and community systems.

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Professional Practice

  • Professional Practice

    The practice fundamentals every CHW role depends on: privacy, documentation, boundaries and communication.

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Leadership

  • CHW Leadership

    Move into supervision, program coordination, workforce development, policy and advocacy.

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