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NSDTA provides a variety of mecha- nisms to disseminate knowledge about the field. Since 1993, it has organized an annual national confer- ence attended by 300–600 human service professionals with an interest in training, staff development, and organizational effectiveness. Training and Development in Human Services, the NSDTA journal, is published bi- annually and structured in a way that encourages conceptual articles that contribute to the advancement of the field, practical information about training activities, as well as informa- tion concerning instrumentation and methodology. For example, a special issue on organizational develop- ment provided information and case studies on the impact of organiza- tional effectiveness tools and methods on improving agency performance. More information on NSDTA and its resources is available on the NSDTA web site (NSDTA.org) . Health and human services throughout the nation are rapidly moving toward data analysis by defining what outcomes they want to achieve and evaluative measurement of the effectiveness of their organiza- tions. NSDTA has been contributing to that effort for many years through their research and evidence-based publications and efforts to influence the value of workforce development in organizational effectiveness. Our highest-level leaders in the health and human services need to examine and understand that the investment they make in their employees’ learning will be returned by a more skilled, engaged, and effective workforce, positively impacting the organiza- tions where they work. This, in turn, increases retention and reduces turnover. Learning and development solutions need to be aligned to the specific business protocols, processes, and goals of each organization. If we value our staff, we need to value those who train and develop them and support these individuals in their own professional development. NSDTA is a key resource in this endeavor.

NSDTA has also developed guidelines for staffing a training and development program. These include a series of com- petency models that define 10 roles and functions. For example, competencies for the workforce planner role include the ability to predict future staffing needs (using environmental scanning and supply, demand, and gap analysis) and ways to enhance performance of human service programs by recruiting

and other barriers to make training accessible to a much wider audience; reflective practice to help create learning organizations; performance support systems to provide just-in-time knowledge and skills; and organiza- tional improvement interventions to address culture and climate issues that impact the workforce and its ability to achieve outcomes. These new modali- ties require new skills and knowledge

and retaining qualified staff. These 10 major roles with their related compe- tency models and outputs provide the basis for devel- oping staffing patterns, hiring, and selection; competency-based certification; and

on the part of training and development staff. Over the years, NSDTA has developed a body of knowledge to support the field of human service training and development and increase the professionalism of

The mission of the NSDTA is to build professional and organizational capacity in human services through a national network of members who share ideas and resources on organizational development, staff development, and training.

performance management within the training and development program and a model for using competency- based approaches for the workforce as a whole. Many human service training and development professionals have come to their positions from human service program areas and lack profes- sional education in the performance improvement field. To assist them, NSDTA has developed a code of ethics and examples of specific issues and dilemmas that they may encounter in their new role. Recognizing the important role of evaluation, NSDTA also sponsored an evaluation handbook intended to demystify the process of planning and conducting a training evaluation and to provide practical information for training managers, agency administra- tors, and others who need to evaluate training programs. In addition, the annual National Human Service Training Evaluation Symposium provides a forum for evaluators to get input from their peers and share findings and results in the publication of proceedings that contribute to the body of knowledge.

those who work in it. In 1993, the asso- ciation published guidelines to provide information about the essential com- ponents for effective training and development programs. This document played a central role in setting stan- dards for the field and was used by several agencies (including Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Maine) to design their own training system. In 2013, NSDTA updated the document to provide a blueprint for supporting a modernized and outcome-focused human service work- force and included: „ „ Core values or characteristics that cut across all components of a training program (strategic align- ment, leadership commitment and communication, stakeholder involvement, accountability and rec- ognition, ethical practice); „ „ Major components of the training and development process (planning, design and development, imple- mentation, research and evaluation, operations); „ „ Relationship of components to training and development roles; and „ „ Criteria for effectiveness, organized according to the components.

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