Registered Apprenticeships for Community Health Workers and Dually Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Community Health Workers

Community health workers (CHWs) and peer recovery specialists (PRSs) can play an important role in meeting the health care needs of people with opioid use disorder. Registered apprenticeship programs, an “earn while you learn” approach, can help build a certified workforce of CHWs and PRSs by providing classroom and on-the-job training. This strategy spotlight highlights an innovative effort, funded through a National Health Emergency (NHE) Dislocated Worker Demonstration Grant to Address the Opioid Crisis to the state of Rhode Island, to develop registered apprenticeships for CHWs and dually certified PRS–CHWs.