Supervisors are a key lever for improving quality of care and supporting the professional development of frontline staff, many of whom are new to the field with relatively little experience. The Continuum Supervisor Toolkit includes guidance and tools for implementing three field-tested supervisory strategies: self-assessment, behavioral rehearsal, and field observation. These strategies are intended to assist supervisors with the implementation of the Continuum Practice Profile.

Self-assessment - Supervision meetings that are guided by the Continuum Practice Profile self-assessment are intended to be discussions about the quality and consistency of Continuum staff’s practice across cases, within and across Practice Profile elements. A supervisor and supervisee might select just one core element as the focus for the supervisees professional development or choose to focus on the entire profile.

• Implementation guidance

• Self-assessment tool

• Skill development plan template

Behavioral rehearsal - Behavioral rehearsals are opportunities to practice skills using realistic scenarios while in a safe and supportive environment. Behavioral rehearsal differs from “role play” in that the focus is on rehearsal of skills rather than on emotional enactment or being “in role”.

• Implementation guidance

• Behavioral rehearsal observation form

Field observation - A field observation is a direct observation by the Supervisor of staff outside of the office in order to directly assess their practice skills. Direct observation ensures that supervisors are not relying solely on staff self-reports or case documentation to understand a staff’s practice skills and knowledge.

• Implementation guidance

• Field observation form