One of the first efforts of the National Intervener Task Force was to establish a set of national competencies for interveners who work with children and youth who are deafblind. These competencies define the knowledge and skills required to become an Intervener.

This was accomplished as follows:

In 2004, the National Intervener Task Force developed and vetted the original Competencies for Training Interveners to Work with Children and Students with Deafblindness. Competency levels of mastery were defined by both knowledge and implementation, and organized under eight standards.

In 2009, these competencies were approved by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and combined with competencies for paraeducators as the Specialization Knowledge and Skill Set for Paraeducators Who Are Interveners for Individuals With Deaf-Blindness.

In 2017, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) revised the Specialty Set: Special Education Paraeducator Intervener for Individuals With Deafblindness as shown in this link.

In 2022, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) approved the Initial Specialty Set: Deafblind Intervener and are aligned to the 2020 Initial Practice-Based Professional Preparation Standards for Special Educators.