News Archives - Page 5 of 8

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA) announced the recent addition of five new staff members in the focus areas of practice excellence in accreditation; equity, diversity and inclusion; safety and resilience; and brain science and trauma-informed care.

Diane Barnes, Ellie Walborn, and Keesha Souvenir joined Alliance-COA as accreditation coordinators to oversee and coordinate accreditation services for a variety of human and social service organizations. Alliance-COA offers full-organization accreditation, including phased approaches for Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs) under the Family First Prevention Services Act, for nonprofit, for-profit, and government programs in the U.S. and Canada. Alliance-COA also offers accreditation for military family readiness and child and youth development programs. They bring extensive experience in the sector to the accreditation team.

Diane Barnes joins the Alliance-COA having worked to support a wide range of accredited organizations with varying budgets, sizes, and areas of focus. Previously, Barnes worked for Catholic Charities of Venice to develop and implement the first federal grant to address human trafficking in partnership with the University of South Florida and Lee County Sheriff’s office. She has a decades-long career supporting those who have experienced domestic violence, homelessness, and mental illness.

Ellie Walborn joins Alliance-COA with a background in social services in the areas of foster care and elementary education. Most recently, she was a care coordinator at West Michigan Partnership for Children (WMPC), a private foster care oversight entity where she worked closely with the performance and quality improvement coordinators to improve outcomes for children in the child welfare system. She also served as the co-chair of WMPC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. She was a member of the subcommittee to address permanency for LGBTQ+ youth at risk for homelessness and chaired the Employee Advisory council which helps to drive development of organizational culture and wellness initiatives.

Keesha Souvenir joins Alliance-COA with varied experience. Most recently, she worked for the NYC Department of Corrections as an investigator. Prior to her work there, she worked in child welfare using the Sanctuary Model as well as utilizing her certification in Solution-Based Casework. She has developed effective crisis management skills throughout her work in social services including in her work as a crisis counselor for a visiting nurse service following Hurricane Sandy.

Romero Davis has joined Alliance-COA as part of the Safety and Resilience Impact Area. Romero is a mentor; an award-winning leadership, professional development, and life coach; published author; and an advocate of safe communities and families. He has been active nationally working with agencies in areas such as poly-victimization; trauma in families; equity, diversity, and inclusion; juvenile justice; and domestic violence. Romero previously served as program manager for agencies focused on sexual assault and domestic violence. Davis will co-lead the technical assistance for the DOJ-funded Child Safety Forward initiative and will also support the Alliance-COA’s equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) portfolio.

Karen Johnson has joined the organization as Director of the Change in Mind Institute. Johnson is a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in individual and organizational resilience, brain science, toxic stress, trauma, and trauma-informed approaches. She has over 25 years of experience working in behavioral health, community services and child welfare. She led the National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s trauma-informed services team and more recently served as an independent consultant working to advance trauma-informed, resilience-oriented approaches. She also led and developed community-based programs during her 19 years at SaintA in Milwaukee. Johnson will oversee a cohort of 10 Texas-based organizations in a collaborative learning model funded by the Powell Foundation and the Episcopal Health Foundation to strengthen their ability to translate brain science concepts into programs, practice, and policy change.

According to Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of the Alliance-COA, “Barnes, Walborn, and Souvenir bring extensive expertise in quality improvement and accreditation, an important focus and critical service offering from the Alliance-COA. Davis brings tremendous depth of experience to our Child Safety Forward work to build the body of knowledge about strengthening child and family wellbeing to prevent crises. Johnson’s efforts will combine the newest science around brain research, trauma-informed care, adversity, and resilience to strengthen these crucial areas in organizations across the social sector. The addition of these five staff represent our continued growth and commitment to the areas of quality improvement, equity diversity and inclusion, and brain science as critical areas to propel our field forward and improve outcomes for all people.”

About the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA)
The Alliance-COA and resulting new organization will convene and catalyze a dynamic, inclusive, multifaceted network of human/social services organizations that leverages the collective experience of the field and research to spark a current in the sector and drive continuous evolution and improvement. Our goal is to activate the power of the social sector and create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network that propels our field forward so all people can thrive. The new organization will provide a range of offerings and learnings to actively shape the sector through policy, advocacy, knowledge exchange, certification, accreditation, connection, and ongoing iterative and reflective interactions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly changed the eating habits of many families. It’s also changed how many community-based organizations are helping residents with food access and education in healthy eating.

Over the last year, Episcopal Community Services in Philadelphia has pivoted its health and wellness programming to a virtual model.

As video conferencing and virtual activities have become the norm over the last year, community-based organizations are maximizing the opportunities to help families build their knowledge and skills around healthy eating. In its move to virtual programming, Episcopal Community Services is creating a customized, nutrition-focused version of the Food Network with cooking demos, salad competition, and more.

Healthy For Life® , an online portal from the American Heart Association, developed in partnership with Aramark, makes it easy for community-based organizations to offer health and wellness programming. This full suite of resources, including a complete curriculum, facilitator guides, videos, icebreakers, and more, comes ready to share.

Q&A with Episcopal Community Services

We connected with Pamela Egleston, Director of Health and Wellness Programming at Episcopal Community Services, to learn more about how they’ve adapted over the last year and their program’s successes.

What is your community’s favorite Healthy for Life Educational Experience and/or recipe and why?

The introductory session, “Feed Your Potential ” is usually a fan favorite. Participants are pleasantly surprised at the recommended servings per day of fruits and vegetables to have a healthy diet. The apple nachos recipe is the recipe most remember and say they will definitely try at home with their family. Senior club members often comment that they will use this recipe for a healthy snack. You can’t go wrong with staples like apples and peanut butter.

What is something you have done over the last year to ensure your community members have access to fresh food/groceries?

After hearing from others in the Healthy For Life Group calls regarding the success they have had incorporating Healthy For Life educational experiences with Food Pantry participants, Episcopal Community Services is looking to expand our food pantry to an open market/food choice model. We are excited to offer and include the educational component to this service. Our target to begin is this spring and it may be a hybrid experience with the pantry pick-up in-person and the educational experience virtual pending safety guidelines around social distancing and number of participants who can gather in a designated indoor space.

What is one thing you have learned regarding offering virtual programming to the community?

The virtual experience offers convenience and potentially could reach a broader audience as the participant would not have to leave their home. Although we tried encouraging participants to prepare the recipe along with the facilitator by sending the recipe in advance, it did not work out that way. Nevertheless, our facilitator is very engaging and makes the educational piece of the experience interactive with pop quizzes in the chat etc. The last half can be liken to a cooking show on TV. The participants watch as the facilitator demonstrates how to prepare the recipe. There is always banter back and forth as participants muse if only they could smell and taste the recipe. So what we have learned is that if the facilitator is engaging the program works.

If you could do it all over again, what’s one thing you would do differently when implementing a virtual/remote program?

I would find a practical way to get the ingredients for the recipes to participants in advance so that they can prepare it, if not during the session, afterward to share with their families. We did build in credits for attending each session in the form of grocery store gift cards as an incentive. We are planning a “Salad Competition ” at the end the series with prizes like an air fryer, blender or slow cooker. Another lesson learned is to give participants choice around prizes as some established household may have some of those essential items.Do you think you will continue with any of the changes you made once people are able to gather again and why?

We will continue to have the “competitions”. It is a fun way to engage participants and let them show off their culinary skills. Who doesn’t like winning a prize? We are definitely looking forward to engaging new participants from our newly expanded food pantry.

Access Healthy for Life Resources

Visit Healthy for Life® portal to get started. Complete the facilitator orientation, access the welcome toolkit and curriculum, and join the online community.

Looking for guidance on how to start a Healthy for Life program in your community? Register now for the webinar Healthy for Life – Steps for Success , to be held June 17 at 1 p.m. CT. It will provide information on your role as facilitator and resources available.

Jody Levison-Johnson Named President and CEO of New Organization

Washington D.C. (Jan. 6, 2021) – The merger of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and the Council on Accreditation has been approved by the boards of both organizations and by a majority of voting members of the Alliance. The vote capped a year-long exploration and four-month due diligence process overseen by both organizations, which share a long history and vision, with the Alliance serving as one of the original founders of COA in 1977.

Until the merger is approved by the state, Jody Levison-Johnson, currently the president and CEO of the Council on Accreditation, will serve as president and CEO of both organizations. She will serve as the inaugural president and CEO of the new organization, which will be headquartered in Washington, D.C., once state approval is granted. Susan Dreyfus, will serve as senior advisor to the CEO.

“The merging of our two organizations will bring together a vast range of knowledge, assets, and resources that allow us to more meaningfully support the human and social services sector,” commented Jody Levison-Johnson. “Through a shared set of values and a lens of equity, our new organization will spark a current of integrated and iterative approaches that connect the research and literature, field-experience, practice and policy in a way that catalyzes the voices of the social sector. This is a tremendous opportunity to leverage the collective intelligence of the Alliance, COA, and all of our organizations and partners to spur new thinking that advances our field and sector. It’s an honor and privilege to be entrusted with leading the Alliance and COA into its next chapter and creating this new organization.”

“This merger accelerates us forward at a critical time in our country,” noted Susan Dreyfus. “As our nation responds to the demands of a nationwide pandemic and economic challenges, we have the opportunity and the imperative to lead on behalf of the field and sector, as we have done throughout our history, to respond to the challenges of today and be prepared for those of tomorrow. I am honored to pass the mantle of leadership to Jody, whose expertise, experience and passion are uniquely poised to strengthen the reach and influence of our respective fields and the social, health and human services sector as a whole.”

Jody is a licensed clinical social worker with nearly 30 years of experience in the field of human services. A longstanding champion for systems change, Jody is deeply committed to advancing policy that equips communities to thrive and ensures equitable access to quality services and supports. Prior to joining COA, Jody served as the assistant vice president of Practice Improvement at the National Council for Behavioral Health, where she oversaw the organization’s consulting portfolio and a large, privately funded adolescent mental health initiative. She has also served as the chief clinical officer for a multi-state children’s care management organization, as the deputy assistant secretary of the Louisiana Office of Behavioral Health, and as the vice president of Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI), a non-profit management and consulting services organization. Jody holds a Master of Social Work degree from Syracuse University and a Master of Arts and PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.

The new organization will engage a multifaceted and larger cross-sector network of partners (beyond existing COA-accredited organizations and current Alliance members) with a diversified range of offerings that contribute to the reach and influence of the human and social services sector. These will include peer exchange groups, learning networks and collaboratives, accreditation, certification, policy support across key focus areas and ongoing development of solutions and opportunities for addressing systemic racism and promoting equity, diversity and inclusion so that all people can thrive.

More details will be forthcoming about the offerings and pathways to engagement the new organization will provide for human and social sector community-based organizations, foundations, state associations, government entities, and all of those who make up the human and social sector ecosystem.

Media notes: To schedule an interview with Jody Levison-Johnson, please contact Jennifer Devlin at 703-966-3241 or jennifer.devlin@cox.net.

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About the Newly Merged Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation
The new organization will convene and catalyze a dynamic inclusive multifaceted network of human and social services organizations and passionate allies who are committed to creating a just and equitable society where all people and communities flourish. Using the collective experience of the field coupled with research, we will offer a range of assets and opportunities that support the health and human services sector in their quest for continuous evolution and improvement and equip them to solve for the social problems that plague our communities and undermine the fabric of our nation. The new organization will provide a range of offerings informed by the field, learnings, and literature to actively shape the future of the sector through policy, advocacy, knowledge exchange, certification, accreditation, connection, and ongoing iterative and reflective interactions.

On Wednesday, March 10, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act and it is expected to be signed by President Joe Biden this week. The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (COA) has been advocating for key policies for numerous months, and we were pleased to see many of our priorities have been included in this bill.

This new $1.9 trillion legislation includes many important provisions for our sector and the communities we serve. These include (but are not limited to):

Nonprofits with more than 500 employees will now have access to the Paycheck Protection Program after being shut out of earlier relief funding and lacking access to critical support.
The $350 billion in state and local funding will enable our sector to continue critical partnerships with government to respond to the changing needs of communities.
The child care sector, which has experienced tremendous disruption, enrollment drops, and added costs, will see nearly $40 billion in child care stabilization funding.
The $350 million infusion into the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), which is a significant and historic investment in front-end prevention and support for families, will help keep children out of the foster care system and at home with their families.
Direct payments to working class Americans, supplemental unemployment benefits, and the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit will provide relief for individuals and families who are working hard to weather this storm and continuing to give back to our economy.
A newly expanded Child Tax Credit that will significantly increase resources for families with children under the age of 6. The families with the least financial resources will get the full amount. This funding will be distributed monthly, so families have a regular flow of dollars coming in to cover basic needs. This policy is expected to cut America’s child poverty rate in half.
Additional investments, like expanded health coverage, nutrition programs, and new dollars for rent and utility assistance will give individuals and families the support to move toward full recovery.

There are many other important provisions included in the bill, which are outlined below.

For the Alliance and COA’s response to this legislation, read our statement.

State/Local Aid

State & Local Budgets

$350 billion in emergency funding for state, local, tribal and territorial governments to ensure that they can keep front line public workers on the job and paid, while also effectively distributing the vaccine, scaling testing, reopening schools, and maintaining other vital services.
Establishes that states will receive, at minimum, the amount of funds they received under the CARES Act and specifies the funds can be used for:
- Small businesses and nonprofits;
- Tourism, travel, and hospitality industries;
- Investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure; and
- “Premium Pay” for essential workers, defined as workers needed to maintain continuity of operations in protecting the health and well-being of residents.
  - Up to $13 dollars per hour, capped at $25,000 per worker.
$195.3 billion for states and Washington, D.C.:
- $25.5 billion equally divided among states.
- $169 billion distributed based on the amount of unemployed in each state.
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has the authority to withhold 50% up front depending on the state’s unemployment rate.
$130.2 billion for cities and counties:
- $65.1 billion for municipalities.
- $65.1 billion for counties.
$10 billion for the Treasury Department to distribute to states for capital projects.

Financial Relief for Nonprofit Organizations

Paycheck Protection Program for Larger Nonprofits

$7.25 billion for nonprofits and small businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program, with eligibility expansion to mid-size nonprofits with less than 500 employees per physical location. Now midsize nonprofits who have multiple sites and more than 500 employees will be eligible, so long as no one physical location exceeds 500 employees.
- This increases the total program level to $813.7 billion.
Establishes a new eligibility category for “additional covered nonprofit entity” which includes nonprofits not listed as 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(6), or 501(c)(19), receives and spends less than 15% of its receipts and expenses on lobbying, spends less than $1 million on lobbying, and employs no more than 300 employees.

Unemployment Insurance Reimbursement for Nonprofits

Extends the subsidy for costs incurred by nonprofit employers who provide unemployment benefits on a reimbursable basis, rather via tax contributions (self-insured). Increases the subsidy from the CARES Act level of 50% to 75%, for weeks beginning after March 31 and continuing through Sept. 6.

Employee Retention Tax Credit

Extends the employee retention tax credit through Dec. 31, 2021. Allows hardest hit organizations to count all wages paid on qualifying wages, not just those wages paid to employees that are not providing services.

Targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance

Provides an additional $15 billion for the Targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance program and directs the Small Business Administration to make $5 billion of any remaining funding available for supplemental grants for severely impacted organizations that have suffered an economic loss of 50% or more and have ten employees or less. Exempts EIDL grants from taxes.

Paid Leave

Extends the paid sick time and paid family leave credits created by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act from March 31, 2021 through Sept. 30, 2021.
Increases the amount of wages for which an employer may claim the paid family credit in a year from $10,000 to $12,000 per employee and increases the number of days for which self-employed individuals can claim the credit from 50 to 60.
Expands eligible leave to include time taken to receive or recover from a COVID-19 vaccine.

Child & Family Well-Being

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)

Funds the CAPTA program at historic levels, for a total of $350 million.
Title 1 Grants to states are funded at $100 million.
$250 million for Title II community based (CBCAP) grants, which will be available through Sep. 30, 2023.
- 100% of dollars will be divided by using a population formula of children under the age of 18.
- The state match is fully waived.
- Dollars will be subject to existing rules under current law (aside from the formula and state match provisions).

Home Visiting

$150 million for the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program.

Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA)

$450 million for the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) for formula grants, the national domestic violence hotline, and support for survivors of sexual assault.

Health & Behavioral Health

Health Care Coverage

Increases coverage in the federal COBRA health insurance program from 85% to 100% to help workers who lost their jobs retain health insurance; available through Sept. 30, 2021.
$35 billion to make health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace more affordable.
- For 2021 and 2022, premiums would be eliminated for individuals below 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL), and cap premium costs at 8.5% of income for all other households (including households above 400% of the FPL, which were previously ineligible).
- Premiums would be eliminated for individuals living below the poverty line and receiving unemployment benefits in 2021.
Provides incentives to states to expand Medicaid by increasing the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) by five percentage points for two years.
Includes one-year FMAP increase from 7.35% to 10% for home- and community-based services.
Provides the option for states, for five years, to expand Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program eligibility to pregnant women for 12 months postpartum.

Public Health Workforce

$9.1 billion in public health workforce-related support:
- $7.66 billion for establishing, expanding, and sustaining the public health workforce.
- $100 million for the Medical Reserve Corps.
- $800 million for the National Health Service Corps.
- $200 million for the Nurse Corps.
- $330 million for teaching health centers that operate graduate medical education.

Behavioral Health

$3.5 billion for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment and the Community Mental Health Block Grants.
$100 million for behavioral health workforce education and training.

Child Care & Education

Child Care

$24 billion emergency stabilization fund to help hard-hit child care providers, including family child care homes, to cover costs and operate safely.
$15 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program for child care subsidies to families.
$1 billion for Head Start.

K-12 School Funding

$123 billion for K-12 schools to help upgrade ventilation systems, reduce class sizes, purchase personal protective equipment, and hire additional staff.
- 20% must be used for summer enrichment, after-school programs or extended-day or extended-year programs.
- Two $1.25 billion set asides for evidence-based summer instruction and afterschool programs.
$3 billion for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, with $550 million set aside for programs for preschools and infants and toddlers.
$800 million for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund to identify and support homeless children and help them participate in school.
$7.2 billion for E-Rate program to make telecommunications and information services more affordable for schools and libraries.
$2.75 billion for the Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools program.

Higher Education Funding

$39.6 billion for colleges and universities, at least half of which is for emergency financial aid grants to students to help with college costs and basic needs, like housing, food, and health care.

Student Loan Relief

All COVID-19-related student loan relief, discharged December 2020 through January 2026, will be tax-free.

Food Assistance

Nutrition Assistance

Extends the 15% Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit increase through Sept. 30, 2021.
$490 million to increase Supplemental Assistance for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits by $35 per month for four months.
Increases the age limit for meals at home shelters from 18 to 25.
$37 million for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program to provide food for seniors.

Emergency Food and Shelter

$510 million for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program under the Federal Emergency Management Administration. These funds will deliver services to the homeless; support food banks; and provide rental, mortgage, and utility assistance.

Rental and Housing Assistance

Extends the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums and continues applications for forbearance on federally-guaranteed mortgages until Sept. 30, 2021.
$21.6 billion for emergency rental assistance for renters and small landlords.
- Eligible for households that qualified for unemployment benefits, received an eviction notice, or whose household income doesn’t exceed 80% of area median income.
$9.96 billion for homeowners to pay for mortgage payments and utilities.
$5 billion for emergency Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers to shelter the homeless.
$5 billion for provide non-congregate shelter, like motels, to the homeless.
$4.5 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, plus $500 million for low-income water assistance.

Economic Mobility & Supports

Direct Payments (Stimulus Checks)

Gives families a $1,400 per-person check (including both full-time students younger than 24 and adult dependents), in addition to the $600 stimulus checks provided to families in December, for a total of $2,000.
Individuals and couples earning up to $75,000 and $150,000, respectively, will earn the full rebate.

Unemployment Benefits

Extends $300 weekly federal unemployment insurance benefits until Sept. 6.
Extends emergency unemployment insurance programs through September 2021, easing access for workers who are not traditionally included in the unemployment insurance program or who have exhausted regular benefits.
The first $10,200 in 2020 benefits is non-taxable for households making less than $150,000.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

$1 billion for states to cover additional cash assistance that Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients needed as a result of the pandemic crisis.

Tax Credit Assistance

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

Raises the maximum Earned Income Tax Credit for childless adults from roughly $540 to close to $1,500, by increases the credit percentage from 7.65% to 15.3% and raising the income level at which the credit begins to phase out.
Reduces the age minimum to receive benefits from 25 to 19 and eliminates the age cap so that older workers can claim the credit.

Child Tax Credit

Expands the child tax credit to $3,000, from $2,000, for each child 17 and younger. Children under age six would be eligible for $3,600.
Makes the tax credit fully refundable for 2021 and eliminates the existing $2,500 minimum earnings requirement.
Individuals earning less than $75,000 and couples earning less than $150,000 will be receive the full credit amount.
Half of the credit will be distributed periodically throughout 2021, while the other half will be available through 2021 tax returns.

Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC)

Expands the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) to cover 50% of care costs up to $8,000 for one child and $16,000 for two or more children.
Families earning up to $125,000 are eligible for the full credit and phases out for higher incomes.
The credit would make the CDCTC fully refundable so that the lowest-income families can benefit.

View more public policy news and sign up for the weekly Policy Radar e-newsletter online.

Support This Work: Donate now to help us continue voicing sector concerns.

The following is a statement from Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities/Council on Accreditation (Alliance/COA) on the Derek Chauvin trial verdict of guilty on all three counts:

“The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation stand with our colleagues in Minneapolis and in communities across the country.

This verdict reflects the fact that our national reckoning on systemic racism in America is long overdue. Watching the Derek Chauvin trial unfold has been difficult for all Americans, and for people of color who have lost another father, mother, son, or daughter at the hands of law enforcement, this tragedy, played out daily on our television screens, has been especially hard to bear. Systemic racism and implicit bias are infused across too many of the systems that should support people, resulting too often in harm to those they are meant to protect. While we recognize the work that has taken place thus far to expand equity, diversity and inclusion, we must continue to build on it, and acknowledge that the road ahead of us is long, and that true systemic change is needed and required. We hope this verdict puts us on a path toward bringing about that needed change and healing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made all of us aware of the fact that no one is fully immune to adversity or struggle. We know that people are resilient and by enabling all Americans to access supports, including the opportunity to earn a livable wage, live in safe, secure neighborhoods, have access to food security and health care; we can give everyone the opportunity to thrive and achieve well-being.

Let’s strengthen our commitment as a nation to realign our systems to better reflect the social determinants of health that create the context in which we live our daily lives and pledge to do better to ensure everyone can reach their full potential, regardless of where they live, the color of their skin, or their socioeconomic standing.”

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About the Newly Merged Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (COA)
The merged Alliance and COA and resulting new organization will convene and catalyze a dynamic, inclusive, multifaceted network of human/social services organizations that leverages the collective experience of the field and research to spark a current in the sector and drive continuous evolution and improvement. Our goal is to activate the power of the social sector and create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network that propels our field forward so all people can thrive. The new organization will provide a range of offerings and learnings to actively shape the future of the sector through policy, advocacy, knowledge exchange, certification, accreditation, connection, and ongoing iterative and reflective interactions.

We are excited to announce that our COA Measures benchmarking reports are now available for our accredited private and Canadian organizations. COA Measures is the first of its kind human services benchmarking program grounded in years of research.

We began this journey in 2016 with COA’s 2020 strategic planning process. We talked with and surveyed our network regarding their reasons for seeking COA accreditation and how we could provide even more value to their experience. One theme which was raised over and over was the need for data.

This result is the product of years’ worth of work including research, pilots, surveys, and focus groups, that we couldn’t have accomplished without the incredible network of organizations that are part of our accreditation family. The findings cover a wide array of measures of organizational health and sustainability, including finances, workforce, governance, and many more. Accredited private and Canadian organizations can access their benchmarking report via their MyCOA portal.

Thank you to the hundreds of participants in our first ever endeavor, we couldn’t have done this without the generosity and time of our partners. You can learn more about COA Measures here.

By Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation

It’s hard to believe it has been one year since the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic and our world, as we knew it, changed.

There have been many heroes of this pandemic—the health care workers who persevere through long hours, personal protective equipment shortages, and unimaginable tragedy; the teachers who transitioned to virtual learning and continue to inspire their students; and the many essential workers who went about their daily jobs delivering packages, serving meals, and fighting fires despite the pandemic raging around them.

There is also another category of unsung essential workers that deserve our recognition and our accolades—our nation’s social workers. March is designated as National Social Work Month and this year’s theme from the National Association of Social Workers is Social Workers Are Essential.

Social workers are social heroes. They play a vital role in our communities—ensuring food availability, securing adoptions and forever homes, providing medical and behavioral health services, and helping ensure that all individuals and families have the opportunity to feel happy, healthy, and a sense of belonging.

Social workers connect communities to vital resources and in many cases, sit in roles where they address ongoing systemic and policy needs. They have had to adapt throughout this pandemic to continue to provide these services both virtually and in-person. And, with the spread of the pandemic, the need for social workers has grown even greater.

Across our nation, social workers have met these challenges in unique, creative, and heart-warming ways. At times putting aside their own needs and those of their families, social workers have offered essential care to people in need, whether dropping off food donations to families on fixed incomes, securing laptops and tablets to allow communications between seniors and their families, or advocating for state and federal policy to ensure people were cared for during this most critical time.

The demand for social services has dramatically increased while initially resources available to provide their services plummeted. Thankfully, with passage of the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act where social workers were active advocates, many of these challenges will be met. Midsize and larger social sector organizations who had been shut out of earlier relief funding will have access to critical support. The $350 billion in state and local funding will enable social sector organizations to continue critical partnerships with government to respond to the changing needs of communities. The child care sector, which has experienced tremendous disruption, enrollment drops, and extra costs, will see $40 billion in childcare stabilization funding. A new Child Tax Credit Expansion that economists predict will cut childhood poverty in half is included that will provide for the basic needs that enable all families to thrive.

These measures will have a tremendous impact on shoring up support for social workers who have done so much for our communities over the past year. These measures were also advanced by social workers, amidst all else required of them this past year.

This March, let’s all celebrate the essential work of social workers who support individuals and families and answer their needs, not just in times of crisis, but every day.

Bridging Micro and Macro Social Work

Families and communities are stronger when they have access to the vital building blocks of health and well-being. Social work as a discipline and a methodology has been essential to the development and delivery of those building blocks and is most effective when grounded in the intersectionality of research, practice, and policy at individual, community, and systems levels. This bridging of micro and macro is what actualizes whole-person, whole-community aspirations into genuine and measurable impact.

Learn more about these approaches in Families in Society, the Alliance and Council on Accreditation (COA) social work research journal. The articles featured below for this month’s observance demonstrate the essentialness of micro and macro social work. Alliance and COA network partners can access all 100+ years of journal content in the online library as part of their network benefits, while others can select access options on the journal website.

Seeking Champions for Change: A Positive Deviance Approach for Social Work
Given growing interest in and need for social innovation, social workers will benefit from knowing about positive deviance (PD), an approach that capitalizes on community creativity and individuals’ strengths in solving intractable problems in local neighborhoods.
Revisiting the Relationship between Micro and Macro Social Work Practice
Within the context of the shared mission of social work, there is a need for common ground that identifies the different ways that the two forms of practice can inform each other. Of particular importance are the core competencies relevant to intersectional interventions, collaborations, and partnerships.
The Life Course Perspective for Social Work: Bridging the Micro and Macro Worlds for Social Workers
This empirical perspective looks at how biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors act independently, cumulatively, and interactively to produce great diversity in life course journeys and shape people’s lives across family generations. This understanding can lead to more effective practice interventions and policy solutions.
Re-Envisioning Macro Social Work Practice
To counter a generational trend of disinvestment in macro social work practice, 21st century strategies can support the historic vision of the social work profession as equally responsive to the needs of at-risk and disenfranchised populations and the organizational, community, and policy roots of social injustice.

About the Author

Jody Levison-Johnson, PhD, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker with nearly 30 years of experience in the field of human services. She currently serves as president and CEO of the newly merged Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation.

The Council on Accreditation (COA) is proud to announce the publication of our 2021 Private Standards!

The new standards will affect private organizations seeking accreditation.

In response to feedback from accredited organizations, COA revised the standards update process in 2020 from ongoing/monthly updates to annual updates. The 2021 updates reflect that annual process and include changes that were made based on ongoing collection and analysis of feedback received from our organizations and volunteer reviewers, collaboration with diverse groups of subject matter experts, and a review of research and professional literature on identified trends and evolving practices.

The 2021 updates include:

New Standards for Office-Based Opioid Treatment (MHSU)
Updated Standards for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Programs (MHSU)
Updated Standards for Child and Family Development and Support (CFD)
Updated Standards for Family Preservation and Stabilization (FPS)
Updated Standards for Treatment Foster Care (FKC)
Updated Standards for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Additional updates and revisions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

You can download the detailed changes for each of the updated sections in our 2021 Update document available here or in your MyCOA portal.

Note: The 2021 Edition will not impact organizations that are currently pursuing accreditation or re-accreditation and have already been assigned standards in the MyCOA portal. If you are an in-process organization and have questions about the updates, please contact your Accreditation Coordinator.

Community-based organizations need to be innovative to identify models and approaches that can create sustainable change. By actively listening and recognizing their community’s needs, organizations can advance their missions more effectively through equitable solutions.

The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (COA)’s Commitments of High-Impact Nonprofit Organizations is a strategy framework that guides organizations in building key competencies that will position them to accomplish greater outcomes. BakerRipley in Houston, and Holy Family Institute in Pittsburgh are two organizations that have been able to authentically engage children and families to help them achieve their full potential.

Learn more about how these organizations leveraged the Commitments to further their missions by reading the case study or watching the video of their story.

BakerRipley Uses Appreciative Community Building to Understand Community Needs

BakerRipley has been committed to creating solutions with their neighbors for 113 years. Today, they serve more than half-a-million people across 60 locations in Houston. By connecting with their community members firsthand, BakerRipley has been able to better understand their strengths and aspirations in order to build upon what’s working. The organization uses a unique model called Appreciative Community Building (ACB).

After embedding ACB into the Gulfton community in Southwest Houston, BakerRipley moved forward with building a new community center in 2010. Boliver “Bo” M. Fraga, senior community engagement developer, explained, “Our approach in working with the Gulfton community was not that we need to help these people with needs and gaps, it was we want to partner with this great community that has so much potential.”

By co-creating with their communities, BakerRipley can better approach the inequities the people of Houston are facing.

“When we invest in people, no matter where they are in their journey, that’s an investment in the community,” said Claudia Aguirre, president and CEO. earn more by viewing this video case study about BakerRipley’s commitment to Co-Creating with Community.

Learn more by viewing this video case study about BakerRipley’s commitment to Co-Creating with Community.

Holy Family Institute Advances Equity through Nazareth Prep

student smiling and holding diplona in cap and gown

Through its variety of services, Holy Family Institute (HFI) positively impacts the lives of over 35,000 children and families a year. The heart of its mission is education and community building. When HFI recognized that access to high-quality education was not available to all students in Pittsburgh, it worked toward an equitable solution. In 2014, HFI opened Nazareth Prep, an affordable and innovative Catholic School based on the belief that every student, regardless of race, religion, or economic status, should be able to reach their full potential through high-quality education.

This includes offering multiple pathways for students after graduation, understanding that not all students fit into one mold. Nazareth Prep’s career preparedness internship program allows students to be exposed to a variety of career opportunities after graduation.

“We are really focused on allowing students to pursue a pathway that makes sense for their interests,” said Michael Sexauer, executive vice president and COO of HFI. “We strive to provide a rigorous education that will allow them to pursue any path after graduation.”

At Nazareth Prep, students are given the building blocks to realize their potential and contribute to a stronger community.

Learn more by reading this case study about Holy Family Institute’s commitment to Advancing Equity.

About the Commitments in Action Celebration

In celebration of the release of the Commitments framework more than five years ago, the Alliance and COA are showcasing 14 community-based human serving organizations, including BakerRipley and Holy Family Institute, that have embraced this proven strategy playbook for success and influence. The Commitments celebration recognizes and elevates the powerful stories of the organizations whose ingenuity, innovation, and vision, as part of the Alliance’s Strategy Counts initiative, helped establish the Commitments framework.

Thank you to the Commitment in Action Celebration sponsors.