These web sites offer additional information about the human service profession and related topics. NOHS is providing these links for reference purposes and does not necessarily endorse the organizations or information contained in these web sites.

• Council for Standards in Human Service Education
• Human Services Graduate Distance Learning Programs

Creating Pathways to Careers in Human Services

Framing Competencies for Direct Service Workers

What are they?

The Community Skill Standards define the competencies used by direct service workers in a wide variety of service contexts in community settings across the nation. Designed to be relevant to diverse direct service roles (residential, vocational, therapeutic, etc.), the standards are based upon a nationally validated job analysis involving a wide variety of human service workers, consumers, providers and educators.

What will they do?

The Community Support Skill Standards provide comprehensive descriptions of worker roles and responsibilities in twelve critical areas of competence such as Participant Empowerment, Community Networking and Advocacy.

Accreditation of human service education programs is done through the Council for Standards in Human Service Education. The Council is a national board committed to improving the quality, consistency, and relevance of human service education programs through national standards and accreditation of human service degree programs, research, and publications.

Read more about accreditation and other CSHSE activities on their web site at www.cshse.org.

National Organization for Human Services
Council for Standards in Human Service Education

Adopted 1996

A joint publication of NOHS & CSHSE

Human Services as a Profession | Origin of Human Service Education | Content of Human Service Training and Education | Types of Human Service Education Programs | Finding a Human Service Education Program | Types of Jobs Available after Completing a HUS Degree | Council for Standards in Human Services Education | NOHS

A Generic Job Description

A joint publication of NOHS & CSHSE

Human Services: Making a Difference in People's Lives | Human Service Workers | Generic Human Service Worker Competencies | Where Human Services Workers Work | Job Outlook | Examples of Occupational Titles | NOHS | Council for Standards in Human Services Education

Human Services
Making a Difference in People's Lives

The field of Human Services is a broadly defined one, uniquely approaching the objective of meeting human needs through an interdisciplinary knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of service populations. The Human Services profession is one which promotes improved service delivery systems by addressing not only the quality of direct services, but by also seeking to improve accessibility, accountability, and coordination among professionals and agencies in service delivery.