Para Professionals in the Social Service Workforce: Guiding Principles, Functions and Competencies - 1st edition

This document from 2015 represents the initial work of the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance Interest Group on Para Professionals in the Social Service Workforce (IGPP). Please note that an updated second edition includes competencies for two new sets of workers - Para Professional Social Workers (PSWs) and Para Professional Community Development Workers -  and updates other elements of the document.

The group developed a set of guiding principles for working with para professionals to form a base from which to develop programs and activities related to how these workers can be trained, developed, deployed and supported. The group also decided that an important contribution to this area of work would be the development of a competency framework for para professionals that would outline the functions and competencies of para professionals and could be used to provide program guidance, accountability and ultimately inform both training and supervision. 

This document presents those two tools, which have evolved out of much discussion and input from the many members of the IGPP and others engaged in pilot studies between 2013 - 2015.

The updated version from 2017 can be found here.