In my last post, I shared information about the most recent update to our COA Accreditation standards. We made improvements to help them better reflect principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion. I also shared how the process for updating our standards is very inclusive, incorporating both research and insight from leaders and practitioners at community-based organizations.

In addition, the way we review organizations is driven by the field. Site visits are conducted by our volunteer peer reviewers who come from other accredited organizations. We believe accreditation should lead to meaningful growth and improvement. And by using peer reviewers—people who understand your day to day—we seek to foster a collaborative environment.

We embed field experience throughout the accreditation process to ensure it is relevant, applicable, and impactful. COA Accreditation, a service of Social Current, is designed to be supportive and transformational for organizations. Your impact is our impact in seeking a stronger social sector and a society where all people can thrive.

In this video, Roy Leitstein of Legacy Treatment Services shares why it is powerful.

To learn more about COA Accreditation and Social Current, register for an upcoming Introduction to COA webinar.

Each year, the COA Accreditation standards team at Social Current reviews and updates our standards manual to ensure that it is consistent with evolving practices, relevant literature, and the continuous feedback we receive from our network. We recently released our 2023 edition of updates, the culmination of our yearlong collaborative process.

In our work to update the standards we strive to live our values of inclusivity and engaging all voices. In addition to reviewing published literature, we prioritize feedback from those with field experience. Specifically, our process for updating the standards involved:

• Collecting, reviewing, and synthesizing prominent published research and professional literature in key areas
• Examining the proposed revisions and discussing trends in the field with our standards advisory panels comprised of subject matter experts, leaders of human services organizations, and staff from human services organizations
• Soliciting and incorporating feedback from our network of accredited and engaged organizations and the broader social sector

A significant motive behind our most recent update was to better reflect principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). We released these enhancements to our standards to promote EDI through organizations’ practices, policies, and services.

To learn more about COA Accreditation, a service of Social Current, register for an upcoming Introduction to COA webinar.