Alaska Core Competencies for Direct Care Workers released

The Alaskan Core Competencies for Direct Care Workers in Health & Human Services has been released and can be downloaded at www.annapoliscoalition.org (click on the report at the bottom of the webpage).  The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, in collaboration with the University of Alaska and the State of Alaska Department of Health & Social Services sponsored the development process, which was which managed by the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) Mental Health Program and the Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce.  The Trust’s Credentialing & Quality Standards Subcommittee (CQSS) provided direction and oversight of the project.
                                                                                                           
The competencies are designed to guide skill development with direct care workers, who are also referred to as direct support workers, direct support professionals, para-professionals, or technicians.  These individuals provide a large portion of the health and human services delivered in the United States, but too seldom receive training that is competency-based.  The Alaskan Core Competencies are designed to guide the initial training and the continuing education of direct care workers, shaping both the selection of educational topics and the development of training content.  The competencies can also serve as the basis for assessing the performance of direct care workers or individuals being trained for direct care positions.  Tools for assessing trainee and worker performance on these competencies are under development and will be released in 2010.

These competencies are “core” in the sense that they include the basic skills that are necessary to work in most areas of health and human services including, but not limited to: mental health, addictions, developmental disabilities, child development, long-term care, traumatic brain injury, and community based juvenile justice.  While they are relevant to providing services in all geographic regions of the country, these core competencies explicitly incorporate skills that are essential in the rural and frontier areas of states such as Alaska where direct care workers may function with limited support or supervision and face unique challenges.

While there was broad input into the development of the Alaskan Core Competencies, it is anticipated that they will be updated periodically based on feedback from individuals and organizations that utilize them.  You can provide your comments or suggested changes by using the feedback form found at the web link listed above. 

Please share the competencies with others that may find them of value and let me know how you use them.  Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Kathy Craft, Workforce Development Coordinator
Department of Health & Social Services,
The Trust, and the University of Alaska
kathryn.craft@alaska.gov
Direct line: 907-450-8048