The reasons for, and the difficulties brought about by the use of support personnel in rehabilitation services are discussed. Background on the involvement of support personnel is given and the use of such paraprofessional types in other related professions is discussed. (Author)

Several questions raised by the research on the use of aides are: (1) would adequately trained nonprofessionals be accepted by clients and/or employers? (2) what implications does the use of aides hold for professional training? and (3) is a composite, applied theory of nonprofessional practice possible? (Author/CJ)

This project was a three-year study to demonstrate an effective way of providing rehabilitation services to deprived and disabled people living in the Model Cities area of Baltimore. Results of analysis of the data lent support to the perceived roles of the rehabilitation aides in terms of their effectiveness in the rehabilitation process.…

Clients (N=408) reported receiving the most help on medical and vocational problems from doctors and rehabilitation counselors respectively, and the most help with personal, social, and family problems from family and friends. These results and the potential use of nonprofessionals or lay persons in the rehabilitation process are discussed.…

It is believed that more and better use of support personnel will improve services to clients and relieve the manpower shortage for professionally trained counselors. Implications for recruitment, training, job classification, job assignment, role relationships with other personnel, and supervision are considered. (Author)