Chapter 4, Section 5. Comprehensive Staff Development

It is beyond the scope of this work to list all areas of staff development that are pertinent to working with adolescents. The specific training staff need will depend on the specific tasks they will be performing. One tool managers can use to determine these specific training needs is a task analysis. A task analysis involves looking at the specific tasks staff perform, and determining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to complete those tasks. By completing a task analysis, you can determine:

• Whether or not current staff can provide the services;
• Which current staff need increased training to provide the services;
• Whether or not new staff will need to be hired to provide the services; and
• What services you will need to make referrals for.

To complete a task analysis:

• Determine and list the major tasks that staff perform in each area of client services;
• List the information needed to perform each of these tasks;
• List skills needed to perform each task; and
• List the attitudes or personal qualities needed to complete each task

Once you have completed the task analysis, analyze the information and compare it to the knowledge, skills and attitudes staff currently have. Then, determine what additional training staff need to competently provide services to adolescents. The task analysis can be completed whenever new staff are hired, when staff take on new responsibilities, when new services are planned, or at other times, to assure that staff have the competencies needed to effectively provide services.