COA Accreditation
COA Accreditation Volunteer Spotlight: Thayer L. Johnson
Social CurrentThrough COA Accreditation, a service of Social Current, we seek to empower organizations to implement best practice standards to improve service delivery and achieve better outcomes for individuals and communities. COA Accreditation provides a framework to help organizations manage resources, incorporate best practices, and strive for continuous improvement.
We believe there is rich expertise in our field, so we ground the COA Accreditation process in our human and social services community. Our volunteer peer reviewers conduct our site visits and finalize accreditation decisions.
We are proud to spotlight the latest Volunteer of the Quarter: Thayer L. Johnson, MSW, LSW.
About Thayer L. Johnson
Thayer received his undergraduate degree in education from Norfolk State University in 1987. In 1995, he graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with his master’s in social work. While he earned this degree, he began his long social work career at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. During his tenure, he served in several capacities, including several years as the regional administer of child protection. During the agency’s public accreditation, he discovered an interest in the process. As time went on, he became a cheerleader for accreditation so that his agency could achieve greatness through best practice standards. In 2006, he became trained as a COA Accreditation peer reviewer. He has since completed many reviews and began his service as a Team Leader this year.
Q&A
What three traits define you?
Diligence in task completion; commitment toward goals; and honor for all leaders in child welfare.
What are your strongest beliefs about the value of COA Accreditation?
It is always great to hear how someone outside your agency recognizes and celebrates your hard work. It is even greater, however, when you can see areas of improvement verbalized by a peer from the field, and then to make changes which will further benefit clients.
What advice would you give someone interested in being a COA Accreditation volunteer?
I would recommend that anyone in this field become a COA Accreditation volunteer. It is a great experience for me, and now that I am retired, I have more time to volunteer. I’m having a blast!
What excites, surprises, and/or challenges you the most about the work you do as a COA Accreditation volunteer?
I am excited when I see a strong team leader lead a group of peers from other states, sometimes with varying ideas of how to process evidence presented by an organization. Challenging conversations lead to an agreement of what success looks like or an identified challenge to be presented back to an organization. I am also very happy to see what an agency has put in place that may mirror strategies my own agency had put in place.
What led you to become a COA Accreditation volunteer?
The attention to detail and quality of information gathered in evidence during my agency’s COA accreditation and reaccreditation processes. I wanted to do what I saw the volunteers do in my agency for other organizations.
Learn more about how to become a peer review volunteer and apply online.
About Social Current
Social Current is the premier partner and solutions provider to a diverse network of more than 1,800 human and social service organizations. Together with our network, we are activating the power of the social sector to effect broader systemic change that is needed to achieve our vision of an equitable society where all people can thrive. We support, strengthen, and amplify the work of the social sector in six core integrated areas including brain science and trauma-informed approaches; COA Accreditation; child, family, and community well-being; equity, diversity, and inclusion; government affairs and advocacy; and leadership and organizational development.