Organization: COUNCIL ON ACCREDITATION FOR
Mission: SEE SCHEDULE O
Activities: COA'S MAIN PROGRAM IS THE ACCREDITATION OF HUMAN AND SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCIES. ALTHOUGH THE NATURE OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY THESE AGENCIES MAY VARY, EACH IS REQUIRED TO DEMONSTRATE IMPLEMENTATION OF A SERIES OF ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT AND SERVICE DELIVERY STANDARDS. COA ACCREDITS NEARLY 1,600 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AGENCIES AND ESTIMATES THAT THESE AGENCIES IN TURN SERVE OVER 8 MILLION INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES EACH YEAR. THE IMPACT OF THE ACCREDITATION PROCESS CAN BE DEMONSTRATED IN THE HEIGHTENED QUALITY OF THE SERVICES THESE AGENCIES PROVIDE AS WELL AS IN THEIR ABILITY TO IMPLEMENT AND CONSISTENTLY ADHERE TO SOUND GOVERNANCE, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, RISK PREVENTION MANAGEMENT, PERFORMANCE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCE PROCESSES. [SEE CONTINUATION ON SCHEDULE O]COA ACCREDITED 297 ORGANIZATIONS UNDER ITS 8TH EDITION STANDARDS, 15 ORGANIZATIONS UNDER ITS PUBLIC STANDARDS AND 92 ORGANIZATIONS UNDER ITS CHILD AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. COA CONDUCTED 442 SITE VISITS INCLUDING 302 8TH EDITION REVIEWS, 18 PUBLIC REVIEWS, 111 CHILD AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT REVIEWS AND 11 MILITARY REVIEWS. IN 2019 COA MADE 145 UPDATES TO EXISTING STANDARD SECTIONS.
STANDARD DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH - COA MAKES ITS STANDARDS OF BEST PRACTICE AVAILABLE AT NO COST TO ANY ORGANIZATION. THESE STANDARDS REFLECT EVOLVING PRACTICES AND TRENDS AND SERVE AS A ROADMAP FOR ORGANIZATIONS TO USE TO BUILD CAPACITY. IN 2019, WE UPDATED 145 STANDARDS SECTIONS. SUBSTANTIAL UPDATES WERE MADE TO CLARIFY AND STRENGTHEN THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT STANDARDS AND EFFECTIVE, MISSION-DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONS ENHANCING THE FOCUS ON THOSE THAT HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE CLIENTS. THESE UPDATES WERE MADE TO ENABLE COA TO REVIEW, ANALYZE, AND IMPROVE ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS.
TRAINING - THE COA TRAINING PROGRAM SUPPORTS AGENCIES SEEKING PRIVATE, PUBLIC, CANADIAN, MILITARY FAMILY READINESS PROGRAM AND CHILD YOUTH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ACCREDITATION. COA'S QUALITY AND TRAINING DIVISION WITHIN THE EXTERNAL RELATIONS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT PROVIDES AN ARRAY OF TRAINING COURSES ACCESSIBLE THROUGH A VARIETY OF FORMATS (FACE-TO-FACE, WEBINAR, AND SELF-PACED), TO STAFF FROM ORGANIZATIONS SEEKING ACCREDITATION AND HUMAN SERVICE PROFESSIONALS WHO SERVE AS PEER REVIEWERS. NEARLY ALL OF OUR TRAINING OFFERINGS ARE AVAILABLE FOR FREE. ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVE TRAINING TO ASSIST THEM WITH GAINING CORE COMPETENCIES, SKILLS, AND KNOWLEDGE BENEFICIAL TO COMPLETING COA'S ACCREDITATION PROCESS AND IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF THEIR ORGANIZATIONS. [SEE CONTINUATION ON SCHEDULE O]PEER REVIEWERS RECEIVE TRAINING ON HOW TO REVIEW AND ASSESS AN ORGANIZATION'S DOCUMENTATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COA'S STANDARDS. TRAININGS ON UPDATES AND SIGNIFICANT REVISIONS TO COA STANDARD SECTIONS ARE ALSO PROVIDED TO ORGANIZATIONS AND VOLUNTEERS. IN 2019, COA OFFERED 46 SELF-PACED TRAININGS AND 61 WEBINARS TO ORGANIZATIONS, WHICH WERE ALL FREE. COA FACILITATED 11 FACE-TO-FACE TRAININGS FOR A FEE IN NEW YORK, FLORIDA AND NORTH DAKOTA; AND 3 PEER REVIEWER TRAININGS. ALL TRAININGS PROVIDED TO PEER REVIEWERS, (SELF-PACED MODULES ACCOMPANIED BY LEARNING ASSESSMENTS, LIVE WEBINARS AND TWO FACE-TO-FACE TRAININGS), WERE PROVIDED AT NO COST.
NTEE category: Community Improvement & Capacity Building
Secondary category: Human Services