Competency Observation Assessment Tool

This assessment tool accompanies the 10 competencies for front-line youth workers adopted by members of the National Collaboration for Youth (available at http://www.nydic.org/nydic/documents/Competencies.pdf). The tool can be used by front-line youth workers, peers, mentors and coaches to provide examples of what each competency looks like and by supervisors to assess the level to which a youth worker has developed the competencies needed to work effectively with youth. It can also be used as a training outline to assist trainers in describing an organization’s expectations for youth worker behavior and attitudes. Assessment tools are designed to be coaching tools, not performance reviews, so that individual staff member’s competencies can be gauged and plans made to ensure progress toward skills development.

Adapt, adapt, adapt…the tool is flexible. Use all or parts of this tool as relevant to your own organization. Some providers may choose to shorten or condense this tool to make it more practical for a quick assessment for a short-term employee (see short observation cards–available on nydic.com). Others may decide to focus on only one competency at a time so as to not overwhelm the youth worker.