The report addresses the need for retraining direct service personnel in community based programs as a result of deinstitutionalization. The state of the art regarding state practices in job descriptions and classifications for paraprofessionals indicated the existence of few systematic attempts to retrain current instituional staff. Few examples of cooperation between states, municipalities, and institutions of higher education (IHE) were found. The remainder of the document presents information on training models, career development models, and other cooperative actions between agencies, IHEs, unions, and professional organizations. Career development is examined in terms of using task analysis to design career programs, developing job descriptions, and designing career ladders. Sample job descriptions are given for such community based positions as group home managers, production supervisors, and teacher assistants. The focus of the final section is designing inservice and college level training to insure career mobility. A sample curriculum outline includes training information on five topic areas: legal and human rights, orientation to disabling conditions, paraprofessionals as members of service delivery teams, task analysis, and safety. Appended are descriptions of selected states' training models and program descriptions. (CL)