Community Health Workers Workforce and Impact

Community Health Workers (CHWs) have been working in Minnesota for decades. With CHWs leading the way, measurement is key to strengthening and expanding the CHW workforce in Minnesota. 

We need to know more about where CHWs are working, the roles and services CHWs are providing, and how CHWs do their work. We also need to know ways CHWs are successfully integrated and what support is needed to sustain the workforce.

In 2024, MDH and partners conducted a statewide environmental scan to learn as much as possible about the current status of CHWs in Minnesota and the infrastructure that was in place or growing to build the field. Learn more:

• Environmental Scan Findings Summary (PDF)
• Community Health Worker Initiatives in Minnesota (PDF)

Partnerships are crucial to successful and complete data collection to measure the CHW field. Partners include Minnesota CHW Alliance, healthcare systems and clinics, Tribal Nations, local public health, and community-based organizations.

To show the impact of CHWs on statewide health outcomes, we use a clear, multi-layered approach that connects CHW activities to measurable changes in population health.

Evaluation at a glance: Data collection

Centering community voices

It is important to advance the CHW profession and workforce with direct input and voices of CHW themselves. Several statewide data collection methods are available on the Minnesota CHW Alliance website including:

• 763 CHWs listed in the Minnesota CHW Alliance voluntary CHW Registry (2026)
• 101 CHWs responded to the Statewide CHW Survey (2025)
• 100 key informant interviews of CHWs and CHW employers were conducted to inform the MDH Environmental Scan of the CHW Field (PDF) (2024)
• 35 CHW employers responded to the Statewide CHW Employer Survey (2025)

Statewide data sources

Statewide data is collected through partnerships with a variety of statewide organizations and agencies. Existing data sources are available through partnerships with Minnesota Office of Higher Education, Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), Department of Human Services (DHS), and the Minnesota Hospital Association and Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers (MNACHC). Metrics include:

• Number of people enrolled in and completed the CHW Certificate Program
• Estimates of CHW employment
• CHW services Medicaid claims data
• Number of CHWs with a provider billing number 
• Number of CHW positions and presence of CHWs on a team within various organization types

CHW measurement

Existing state agency data sources describe several areas of CHW infrastructure that are essential to the field: CHW Certificate Program graduates, employment and financial sustainability. Future data will include health outcomes related to CHW initiatives.

Key evaluation findings

• Current statewide data sets are only able to describe part of the story of the CHW workforce.
• CHW certificate holders come from many parts of the state and the number is growing annually.
• CHW employment estimates cover the state and show the majority of the CHWs employed are in the metro area.
• Primary places where CHWs work include local public health, Federally Qualified Health Centers, hospitals/clinics, community-based organizations, Tribal nations, pharmacies and dental clinics.
• Billing structures exist; however. few organizations provide billable CHW services due to barriers.

Recommendations

Ongoing data collection is happening to better understand the CHW workforce and the geographic reach in Minnesota. Recommendations below highlight learnings from community partners and Measurement and Evaluation workgroup members.

1. Descriptive data will set the baseline for ongoing workforce monitoring and support the development of a system to measure the impact of CHW services related to determinants of health and disparities in chronic disease, injury, violence, and substance use disorder.
2. Refinement is needed in the data collected to gain specificity in geography and job title reporting. 
3. The limitation of the data is low response rates and completeness of data for organizational setting and geography.
4. MDH and partners will continue to develop the structure and capacity of the measurement systems to track and evaluate the impact of CHW models in Minnesota.
5. Utilize collaborative data collection methods and systems.
6. Invest in the creation of a statewide CHW data dashboard and reporting system.
7. Conduct regular, comprehensive workforce assessments.