ParaProfessionals in the Social Service Workforce: Guiding Principles, Functions and Competencies - 2nd Edition

This document emerges from work by members of the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance Interest Group on Para Professionals in the Social Service Workforce. In September 2015 our first report, Para Professionals in the Social Service Workforce: Guiding Principles, Functions and Competencies, was released detailing guiding principles and a set of generic/core functions and competencies for para professionals that could be applied to various groups as well as in settings where sub-fields of the social service workforce have not yet emerged. 

Since releasing the initial report, the principles, generic/core functions and competencies have been used in a variety of countries for program design and assessment and have undergone revisions. The IGPP has presented these frameworks at several international meetings; attention also has been given to developing functions and competencies specific to Para Professional Social Workers (Para Social Workers or PSWs) and Para Professional Community Development Workers (CDWs). These functions and competencies have received several levels of review to date and have been validated by para professionals and their supervisors through validation exercises held in four countries.

Therefore, this second edition document contains the following sections:

• Guiding Principles for the Development of Para Professional Social Service Workers
• Generic/Core Functions and Competencies for Para Professional Social Service Workers
• Functions and Competencies for Para Professional Child and Youth Care Workers
• Functions and Competencies for Para Professional Social Workers
• Functions and Competencies for Para Professional Community Development Workers