Innovative Wellness Consulting
Collective Care in Action® Capacity Building Institute
Learn. Implement. Lead.
Build skills. Apply learning. Strengthen your workforce and community.
Who We Are
About the Institute
Aworkforce-development and capacity-building ecosystem
A collaborative initiative of The Therapeutic Play Foundation (TPF) and Innovative Wellness Consulting (IWC), the Institute prepares individuals, care teams, organizations, and provider partners to deliver culturally responsive, relationship-centered community care.
The Collective Care in Action® Capacity Building Institute equips individuals and organizations with practical knowledge, implementation tools, and workforce development opportunities that strengthen community-based care.
Our learning pathways combine self-paced education, implementation resources, applied learning opportunities, and ongoing professional development to help participants move beyond theory into practice.
Whether you are beginning your career, strengthening your workforce, or building sustainable community programs, our Institute provides flexible learning experiences designed to meet you where you are.
Every Learning Pathway Includes
- 12 months of access through our secure online learning platform (Tovuti)
- Self-paced online learning
- Downloadable implementation resources
- Knowledge checks and reflection activities
- Certificate of Completion
- Access to future updates during the enrollment period
- Optional applied learning opportunities (when available)
What Makes The Institute Different
| Differentiator | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Brain Well-Being Model® | Participants learn to recognize and respond to Somatic, Perceptual, Relational, and Aspirational needs. |
| F.L.O.W.S. Framework™ | Feel, Listen, Observe, Wonder, and Shift turns brain well-being concepts into practical engagement and care strategies. |
| Collective Care in Action® | Learning extends beyond the individual to families, care teams, organizations, and communities. |
| Verified applied learning | Instruction is reinforced through supervised, documented practice in real community and workforce settings. |
| Cohort-based learning | Cohorts of Belonging and community wellness experiences strengthen connection, accountability, and sustained practice. |
Who We Serve
- Individuals entering or advancing in community health, behavioral health, maternal wellness, care navigation, outreach, and social-service careers
- Organizations training staff, supervisors, leaders, volunteers, interns, or multidisciplinary care teams
- Provider partners strengthening CalAIM, ECM, CHW, Community Supports, documentation, compliance, and implementation readiness
- Workforce agencies, funders, health plans, schools, employers, and community partners building access, placements, and employment pipelines
Training and Capacity-Building Pathways
The Institute offers stackable pathways that can be delivered independently or combined into a customized learning and implementation plan.
Community Health Workforce
CHWs, Lead Care Managers, care navigators, peer and lived-experience professionals, Community Wellness Leaders, outreach specialists, and care-coordination staff.
Maternal and Family Wellness
Doulas, maternal CHWs, Maternal Health Advocates, parent leaders, Family Ambassadors, and birth-equity workforce participants.
Youth and Emerging Leaders
Youth Community Wellness Leaders, ARTGard® leadership, service learning, career exploration, internships, and applied-learning experiences.
Leadership and Organizational Development
Supervisor development, workforce well-being, program strategy, quality improvement, data and outcomes, grant readiness, and sustainable workforce systems.
CalAIM and Partner Provider Readiness
ECM, CHW services, Community Supports, engagement, enrollment, documentation, compliance, workflows, quality assurance, and operational readiness.
Model Training, Licensing, and Implementation
Brain Well-Being Model®, F.L.O.W.S. Framework™, Collective Care in Action®, customized training, coaching, consulting, technical assistance, and licensed-site development.
Five-Stage Learning Model
| Stage | Learning focus |
|---|---|
| 1. Foundations & Orientation | Values, equity, trauma-responsive practice, Brain Well-Being Model®, F.L.O.W.S., and Collective Care in Action®. |
| 2. Knowledge Building | Role-specific knowledge across community health, CalAIM, behavioral health, maternal/family wellness, navigation, and documentation. |
| 3. Skills Development | Communication, motivational engagement, outreach, assessment, care coordination, facilitation, advocacy, and partnership development. |
| 4. Applied Learning & Community Practice | Supervised practice, activity logs, competency documentation, and community-based learning experiences. |
| 5. Completion & Workforce Advancement | Assessment, certificate, mentorship, leadership development, continuing learning, and employment or placement consideration when available. |
Cohorts of Belonging
Organizations may receive training and implementation support for structured cohort models such as Mommy Matters, Daddy Counts, Creating Happy Futures, Empowering Wellness, and Minding Our Village Elders. Cohorts combine connection, health education, facilitated reflection, navigation, community resources, and applied practice.
Featured Offering
CHW & Care Team Workforce Accelerator
Training + verified practice + workforce relevance
Designed for individual learners and organizations that want a practical, community-centered pathway with documented instruction and field experience.
| Component | Included |
|---|---|
| Guided instruction | Approximately 25 hours of live, virtual, self-paced, in-person, or hybrid learning, depending on cohort design. |
| Verified applied learning | At least 80 hours completed through an employer, TPF community activities, or an approved workforce or partner placement. |
| Documentation | Learning plan, attendance records, activity log, competency documentation, and supervisor verification, as applicable. |
| Completion | Certificate documenting successful completion of the selected curriculum and verified applied-learning requirements. |
| Workforce connection | Employment, placement, internship, OJT, or WEX consideration with TPF or participating partners when opportunities and eligibility align. |
Core Curriculum
- Brain Well-Being Model®, F.L.O.W.S. Framework™, Collective Care in Action®, cultural responsiveness, and trauma-responsive practice
- Communication, interpersonal skills, relationship building, motivational engagement, and professional boundaries
- Care navigation, service coordination, advocacy, education, facilitation, outreach, and community engagement
- Individual and community assessment, social drivers of health, goal setting, referrals, warm handoffs, and follow-up
- Documentation, confidentiality, consent, professional conduct, quality, evaluation, research awareness, and public-health foundations
- Workforce well-being, teamwork, supervision, accountability, and community partnership development
Applied-Learning Settings
Approved experiences may include Community Wellness Labs®, Community Play Dates®, ARTGard®, Community Resilience Studios™, outreach events, resource fairs, CalAIM outreach, maternal and family initiatives, care-navigation activities, current job duties, and approved partner placements.
Workforce, service-learning, and volunteer hours
TPF/IWC may document eligible instruction and supervised activities through attendance records, activity logs, learning plans, and supervisor verification. Participants must obtain approval from the agency, school, employer, benefits program, workforce partner, court program, or other authorizing entity that will accept the hours. Acceptance is not guaranteed by TPF/IWC.
Enrollment option
Tuition and Enrollment Options
| Enrollment option | Rate | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Standard individual seat | $1,500 | Self-funded participants able to pay full tuition and seats funded by employers, organizations, grants, scholarship funds, sponsors, health plans, OJT, WEX, or other third parties. |
| Community Access Rate | $900 | Eligible individuals paying personally who would otherwise experience a financial barrier. Screening and cohort-capacity approval are required. |
| Organization: 1–4 | $1,500/person | Organizations enrolling fewer than five participants. |
| Organization: 5–9 | $1,350/person | Team-based enrollment; starting investment is $6,750 for five participants. |
| Organization: 10–19 | $1,200/person | Larger team enrollment; starting investment is $12,000 for ten participants. |
| Organization: 20+ | Custom proposal | Volume enrollment, private cohorts, or broader implementation needs. |
Pricing above applies to the standard CHW & Care Team Workforce Accelerator. Private cohorts, customized curriculum, on-site delivery, licensing, technical assistance, travel, executive consultation, and enhanced applied-learning support may be priced separately.
Access pathways for individuals
- Self-funding at the Standard Tuition or approved Community Access Rate
- Employer-sponsored professional development
- Grant-funded, scholarship-funded, health-plan-funded, or sponsored seats budgeted at the $1,500 Standard Tuition value
- On-the-Job Training (OJT) or Work Experience (WEX) partnerships when eligibility and allowable funding align
- Internships, stipends, volunteer/service learning, or paid applied-learning opportunities when available
Preliminary screening required
OJT, WEX, Community Access, scholarship, sponsored-seat, placement, and employment pathways are subject to eligibility, partner authorization, available funding, cohort capacity, and opportunity availability. Screening or referral does not guarantee approval, payment, placement, wages, or employment.
Organizational and partnership options
- Open-cohort seats, team enrollment, private cohorts, or customized learning programs
- Applied-learning site development and workforce-hour documentation systems
- Participant referrals, scholarships, sponsored seats, OJT/WEX, internships, placements, and employment pipelines
- Technical assistance, program implementation, site readiness, quality assurance, and data/outcomes support
- Brain Well-Being Model® or Collective Care in Action® training, licensing, and implementation
- Community Wellness Labs®, Community Play Dates®, ARTGard®, Cohorts of Belonging, and grant-funded initiatives
Certificates, DHCS Alignment, and Continuing Learning
Certificate of Completion
Participants who satisfy the attendance, curriculum, assignment, assessment, and applied-learning requirements of their selected pathway receive a TPF/IWC certificate identifying the pathway and documented training and applied-learning hours.
CHW Certificate Pathway alignment
The CHW & Care Team Workforce Accelerator is designed to document skills and practical training across the core competency areas identified in California Medi-Cal policy and includes field experience through verified applied learning. Under current DHCS policy, California does not maintain a list of state-approved CHW certificate issuers. The supervising provider is responsible for determining and documenting whether a certificate and curriculum satisfy Medi-Cal CHW requirements for the worker it supervises.
Employment relevance
The certificate and applied-learning record can support employment consideration with TPF and participating partner providers. Employment and assignment to Medi-Cal-billable CHW services also depend on role fit, aligned lived experience, supervising-provider validation, organizational requirements, available positions, and all applicable onboarding and compliance requirements.
Does the certificate expire?
The TPF/IWC certificate of completion does not automatically expire, and participants are not required to repeat the original course solely to keep the certificate. However, Medi-Cal CHWs must complete at least six hours of additional training annually. Supervising providers may also require role-specific updates, competency reviews, or organizational training.
Continuing-learning options
- Six-hour annual CHW continuing-learning update
- Regulatory, documentation, workflow, and practice updates
- Specialty learning in maternal health, behavioral health, community engagement, leadership, or other priority areas
- Supervisor competency review, coaching, office hours, and implementation support
Annual learning and organizational renewal services are priced based on format, scope, and participant volume.
Delivery and Duration
| Option | Available formats |
|---|---|
| Delivery | Live virtual, self-paced online, in person, or hybrid |
| Schedule | Single-session, multi-day intensive, evenings/weekends, or a multiweek cohort |
| Support | Office hours, coaching, case consultation, supervision, technical assistance, and implementation support when included |
| Full Academy | Up to 160 hours combining instruction, applied learning, coaching, competency review, leadership development, and workforce advancement; custom proposal |
DHCS references: Medi-Cal CHW Provider Requirements FAQ and CHW Annual Continuing Training guidance (dhcs.ca.gov).
How Engagement Works
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Discovery | TPF/IWC reviews the learner or organization's goals, workforce, service model, contracts, readiness, funding pathway, and priority challenges. |
| 2. Recommendation | We identify the best-fit pathway, cohort, participant mix, delivery format, applied-learning structure, and optional supports. |
| 3. Proposal or Enrollment | Individuals receive enrollment and access guidance. Organizations receive a written scope, deliverables, timeline, capacity, and investment. |
| 4. Training & Applied Learning | Participants complete the approved learning experience, practice activities, documentation, and completion requirements. |
| 5. Completion & Advancement | TPF/IWC issues completion documentation and, when applicable, supports continuing learning, implementation, placement, or workforce advancement. |
DHCS references: Medi-Cal CHW Provider Requirements FAQ and CHW Annual Continuing Training guidance (dhcs.ca.gov).
Recommended starting point
CHW & Care Team Workforce Accelerator
For most individuals and organizations, this pathway offers the strongest balance of practical instruction, verified applied learning, affordability, DHCS alignment, and immediate workforce relevance. Organizations needing broader readiness, leadership, licensing, or implementation support can add customized services or progress into the Full Collective Care in Action® Academy.
Take the next step
Complete the Interest & Pathway Discovery Form. TPF/IWC will use your responses to recommend the training, applied-learning, tuition, workforce-access, organizational, or partnership pathway that best fits your goals.
