For Immediate Release
IDPH Announces Grant Opportunity to Promote the Community Health Worker Profession in Illinois
Lead organization sought for multi-year campaign to advance the CHW workforce to help achieve health equity and better outcomes
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that will award grant money to a lead organization to develop a multi-year campaign supporting and promoting the inclusion of community health workers (CHWs) in health teams.
Community health workers are trusted members of their communities, who serve as a bridge between health care and social services and the community. IDPH supports CHWs in many ways, including its ongoing work to develop and establish a certification program that will improve the quality and availability of CHW training programs and will open the door for reimbursement of CHW services through the Medicaid program.
The grant funding opportunity further supports CHW programs around the state by creating a campaign to improve awareness and understanding of what CHWs do and support the effective integration of CHWs into public health, health care, and human services organizations. The campaign will also increase the supply of a diverse and highly qualified CHW workforce in the state.
“Illinois’s public health depends on building trust in our communities,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “Community health workers are critical frontline workers who have a closer understanding of the communities they serve. We encourage organizations to apply for this meaningful opportunity to raise awareness of community health workers and support the integration of their work into our health system.”
The initial grant will award up to $25,000 to an organization to develop a multi-year plan to promote and advance the CHW workforce in the state. Upon development of the plan, the grantee will be eligible for further, non-competitive annual “continuation grants” to implement the plan, for a period up to three years and a maximum award, depending on availability of funding, of approximately $2 million.
Further details on the grant requirements and the grant application process can be found at http://www.idphgrants.com. Please select “Health Promotion” from the list of IDPH offices to get to the NOFO. Applications must be submitted no later than March 17, 2025, at 5 p.m. Central time. IDPH will hold an informational session on the funding opportunity on Friday, February 14, 2025, at 1 p.m. Central time at this link: https://illinois.webex.com/meet/CHW.Review.Board.
