When people have access to health care that respects their cultural values and behaviors, delivered in language they can understand, they are more likely to have positive health outcomes. As trusted community members with lived experience, community health workers and promotores (CHW/Ps) have a long history of connecting those not well served by the traditional health care system with culturally competent health and social services.

To help California’s Medi-Cal managed care plans and their partners deploy effective, evidence-based CHW/P programs, the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) launched Community Health Workers & Promotores in the Future of Medi-Cal. Through this project, CHCF is partnering with the Center for Health Care Strategies, In-Sight Associates, Health Management Associates, Le Chevallier Strategies, and Schoen Consulting to develop a set of tools to support the effective integration of CHW/Ps into Medi-Cal managed care programs and services.

Working within the context of the ​California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal initiative, the project the project engaged interested stakeholder organizations to serve as project contributors and help inform a practical set of project deliverables aimed at integrating CHW/Ps into managed care programs.

The Advancing Community Health Worker & Promotor Workforce in the Future of Medi-Cal Resource Center is a compilation of all information and resources gathered and developed during the project. It provides practical information to help managed care plans consider the activities involved in establishing CHW/P programs, including a design checklist, a step-by-step description of key activities, along with sample tools.