Indiana is in the midst of an opioid crisis,
Emergency room visits for non-fatal drug overdoses in Indiana increased by nearly 60 percent in a recent five-year period, during which time deadly overdoses rose by an average 3.5 percent each year.

The ASPIN Opioid Workforce Expansion Program (AOWEP) will expand the core CCHW training to address the opioid crisis in 10 Indiana rural counties: Huntington, Kosciusko, Marshall, Marion, Putnam, Sullivan, Decatur, Henry, Jefferson, and Howard.

Students seeking to enter the program from other Indiana counties are also welcome to apply.

What is a Certified Community Health Worker (CCHW)?

A CCHW is a front-line public health worker who is a trusted member of and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served. This trusting  relationship enables the CCHW to serve as a   liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence or  service delivery.  They assist with care coordination and work with case managers in developing life skills in consumers. This CCHW training qualifies the individual to bill for CHW services, for IHCP programs subject to the  limitations established for certain benefit packages, for dates of service  on or after July 1, 2018, as outlined in the IHCP Bulletin BT201826, dated May 31, 2018.

“This project: ‘the ASPIN Opioid Workforce Expansion Program – Paraprofessional (AOWEP) is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $900,000.00 with 0% percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.”