How to Engage
Our accreditation process is an independent, objective, and reliable verification that organizations and programs qualify for the confidence and support of their stakeholders. It involves a detailed review and analysis of an organization’s or program’s administrative functions and service delivery practices. All are measured against international standards of best practice.
These standards emphasize services that are appropriate, coordinated, culturally competent, evidence-based, and that are provided by a skilled and supported workforce. As a result, consumers, board members, funders, regulators, and staff can have confidence in the credibility, integrity, and achievement of the organization or program.
We view accreditation as a partnership and our approach to accreditation is facilitative and strengths-based. Our primary goal is to assist organizations and programs to implement best practice standards which results in improved service delivery and better outcomes for their clients. This philosophy is demonstrated throughout the accreditation process where the focus is on each organization’s unique mission, resources and culture, as well as the unique needs of the people it serves. Our approach results in a customized process that reflects the capacity of each organization or program and establishes realistic timetables, identifies areas for technical assistance and appropriate staffing of the onsite review team.
In partnership with the human service field, we utilize professional volunteers in each of the most significant activities of the accreditation process. Whether it is serving as a standards review panelist, onsite reviewer or final decision maker, this collaboration ensures that COA accreditation remains relevant and field-driven.
Organizations come to us for accreditation because becoming accredited benefits everyone who is engaged in or involved with their organization.
Accreditation provides a framework to manage resources, offer best practices, and strive for continuous improvement. This supports an organization’s sustainability, encourages its growth, and helps it to achieve measurable results.
Note: Funders can use accreditation as a tool to determine grant recipients.
COA Accreditation is currently recognized by oversight entities in 50 U.S. States and in Canadian territories. Human services organizations can realize additional benefits of COA Accreditation by taking advantage of applicable recognitions, including deemed statuses, mandates, and quality rating improvement systems/tiered reimbursement systems.
We accredit the full continuum of social and human services.
These include:
Social Current seeks to promote quality, whole-person care through it’s Health Home/Integrated Care Standards of COA Accreditation.
All our accreditation programs offer:
*Except for opioid treatment programs, which are mandated by SAMHSA to be accredited for 3 years
Read on to find out how the accreditation programs differ and which might be applicable to you.
Most of the organizations that COA accredits fall under the private organization umbrella. These organizations can expect:
Full-Organization Accreditation
We will conduct an in-depth review of all of your services that we have standards for, as well as your administration and management practices. Learn about the benefits of that approach here.
The process to take 12–18 months, with some flexibility for organizations impacted by the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA)
Costs vary based on your organization’s size and services. Please contact us for more detailed information. We recommend amortizing the fees over the four-year award when comparing costs to other accreditors.
We are proud to accredit county, local, municipality, and state-administered human service agencies, as well as programs that are mandated to become accredited within or by such entities. These agencies can expect:
Comprehensive Accreditation Tracks
We offer three accreditation tracks that allow an agency to pace when parts of its system engage in the accreditation process. We also provide accreditation options for an agency when some, but not all, of its services are mandated to become accredited or when an agency seeking accreditation is a division of a larger agency. Each accreditation track includes an in-depth review of all applicable services for which COA Accreditation has accreditation standards, as well as an agency’s administration and management and service delivery administration practices. Learn about public agency accreditation here.
The timeline of the process to vary between 18–48 months, depending on agency size and chosen accreditation track.
Costs vary based on your agency’s size and services. Please contact us for more detailed information.
COA is happy to accredit nonprofit, for-profit, and government agency social and human service organizations based in Canada. As with our private organizations, these entities can expect:
Full-organization accreditation
We will conduct an in-depth review of all of your services that we have standards for, as well as your administration and management practices. Learn about the benefits of that approach here.
The process to take 12–18 months
Costs vary based on your organization’s size and services. Please contact us for more detailed information. We recommend amortizing the fees over the four-year award when comparing costs to other accreditors.
Those that offer only early childhood education, out of school time, or youth development services can expect:
A choice between program-specific or full-organization accreditation
If you want full-organization accreditation, you can choose between a standard or extended review. View or download more information on our child and youth development accreditation options here.
The process to take 9–12 months for individual programs, or 12–18 months for organizations
We want you to put in the time to do things right and make your accreditation a success.
Click here for child and youth development fee information (applicable to both program-specific and organizational accreditation).
COA is proud to have been designated by the Department of Defense (DoD) to accredit programs that offer military family readiness services. We created this accreditation program in collaboration with the DoD, as well as military and other national human service experts. Programs can expect:
Program-specific accreditation
We will conduct an in-depth review of all of your services that we have standards for, as well as your administration and management practices. Learn about the benefits of that approach here.
The process to take 9–12 months
We want you to put in the time to do things right and make your accreditation a success.
Our in-depth accreditation process is a strengths-based review and accreditation of (in most cases) an entire organization.
Accrediting an entire organization/agency means that we apply not only Service standards (where applicable), but also Administration and Management and Service Delivery Administration standards. Learn about why we take that approach—and how it can benefit everyone involved with your organization—here.
The whole process typically takes 12-18 months for our private and Canadian accreditation programs. Organizations impacted by the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) may qualify for a phased accreditation approach that helps them to meet their mandated deadline. If you are a child and youth development organization seeking to have your program sites accredited individually, expect the process to take 9-12 months for each site. Agencies in our public accreditation process can expect the process to take 18 – 48 months, dependent on the agency’s size and the accreditation process option it chooses.
Accreditation may seem overwhelming, but we help you take things one step at a time. Your dedicated Accreditation Coordinator will be there throughout to answer any questions and to collaborate with you to tackle the process at a pace that works for your organization. We also offer an array of free, user-friendly trainings, tools, and resources here on our site to set you up for success.
COA reviews your application to confirm that you are eligible to pursue accreditation. We send your organization’s primary contact an agreement to sign and return to us along with your accreditation fee.
COA works with you to help you understand the process, what is involved, what standards are applicable for your organization, your current accreditation readiness, and any specific needs you might have. We assign you your dedicated Accreditation Coordinator to help you every step of the way.
This self-evaluation provides your organization with an opportunity to look at the current policies, procedures, and practices you have in place and see how they align with the standards. You collect narratives and documents that show your implementation of the standards and electronically submit them to COA.
A team of COA volunteer Peer Reviewers runs an on-site review. Our volunteers have many years of experience in the field and have been trained by COA to effectively review your organization.
When the Site Visit is complete, we send your organization a report summarizing the Peer Reviewers’ findings (this is called the Pre-Commission Review (PCR) Report). In the report, we include recommendations about how your organization can demonstrate more effective standards implementation and, if needed, offer you another opportunity to show us how you have.
The PCR Report is reviewed by our Accreditation Commission, a group made up of our most experienced Peer Review volunteers, which will look at the evidence you provided (as well as your updated evidence) and either approve your accreditation or request more information. Once a decision is reached, we send your organization a Final Accreditation Report (FAR) with a complete set of ratings for all assigned standards.
COA accreditation is valid for four years from the date of achievement. Remaining accredited requires you to maintain the implementation of standards with an annual report.
We strongly believe in grounding our process in our human and social services community. That is why we conduct our Site Visits and finalize accreditation decisions not with our staff, but with peer review volunteers. Our volunteers receive no compensation; they generously donate their time and talent and represent a pool of seasoned, skilled professionals in the field.
Our peer review volunteers are:
The reviewers that make up the Accreditation Commission (which looks at the evidence presented by an organization to make an approval decision) are our most experienced volunteers, dedicated to ensuring that organizations consistently strive to improve the quality and effectiveness of the services they offer in order to deliver the best possible care to their clients.
We pride ourselves on the caliber of our volunteer team and have stringent eligibility criteria to determine who can join it. Specific criterion vary depending on the accreditation line a volunteer will cover, but generally include:
Training begins with 3 self-paced modules and 2 days of face-to-face training, followed by regular updates throughout a reviewer’s tenure with us to ensure that they remain informed and equipped to conduct quality Site Visits.
Peer reviewer volunteers have the privilege of:
COA accepts Peer Reviewer application submissions on a rolling basis. You must meet the general criteria as well as the specified eligibility criteria for each role to apply. Review the criteria here before applying.
NOTE: This is only an application request. If you meet the general criteria, a full application will be sent to you in approximately 5-10 business days.
If you are currently a COA volunteer reviewer, please log into the VIP and make a request for an additional role.
Once trained, COA volunteer reviewers are expected to adhere to COA’s policies and procedures and:
Please indicate the role(s) for which you are interested in applying and answer yes/no regarding each of the applicable qualifications.
COA Accreditation standards are grounded in the belief that when organizations invest in strong management practices and understand and monitor the impact of their services, people benefit. As such, our standards are designed to help organizations:
COA’s accreditation standards are field-informed and sit upon a foundation of research and professional literature. This ensures that our standards remain rigorous yet practical, reflecting current trends and best practices in the social sector.
Steps of the process include:
View our most recent standards updates (2023).
Standards for nonprofit and for-profit organizations that provide human and social services in the United States
Standards for government agencies (federal, state, and county) that provide human and social services in the United States.
Standards for both private and public organizations that provide human and social services in Canada.
Standards for early childhood education and out-of-school time programs in the United States.
We understand that there is a lot of jargon in accreditation and that some terms can be difficult to understand. That’s why we created our accreditation and standards glossary!
We have compiled a wealth of resources and tools to help you spread the word about your achievement. Our curated promotional toolkits contain everything you’ll need to get started.
We have few resources to help you along the road to accreditation.
Our measures speak to the basic health and sustainability of any human and social service provider.
The timeline for achieving full-organization accreditation takes on average 12-18 months. There are multiple variables that affect this timeline depending on the type of organization and existing resources and processes currently in place. To get an idea of the various milestones and timing for first-time accreditees, check out our Site Visit Date Calculator.
There are only two fees – the accreditation fee and site visit fee. The accreditation fee depends on the type and size of the organization. If you are a member of one of our Network Champions, you are eligible for a 25% discount off your accreditation fee.
As always, our standards remain free and are openly available to review at any time.
Contact us directly if you are looking for accreditation fee information.
While there is overlap, accreditation, licensing, and certification are not interchangeable terms – they each have a unique meaning and implication.
Accreditation
Licensing
Individuals are often licensed by their respective state to practice counseling, social work, psychology, or nursing. Organizations may need to be licensed in order to provide a specific service such as services for substance use disorders or residential treatment. Practitioners and programs are required to be licensed or face penalties, including suspension or closing of the agency.
Certification
Certifications at the organizational level can definitely vary, including the terminology. Some structured evidence-based models require certification. In these cases, the certification can be called “authorized provider” or “approved site.”
We accredit the full continuum of child welfare, behavioral health, and community-based social and human services. We currently accredit more than 1,700 organizations and programs serving more than 11 million individuals and families.
We have separate accreditation programs for private organizations, public agencies, Canadian organizations, child and youth development programs, and adoption home study programs.
Regulators, such as funders, insurance providers, contract administrators, and legislative bodies, use COA Accreditation to set the bar for quality service delivery.
A recognition is created when an oversight entity, such as a regulator, funder, insurance provider, contract administrator, or legislative body, acknowledges, accepts, or requires the accreditation of an organization or program. The regulator may use accreditation to determine licensing, certification, contracting, or funding, among other things.
Human services organizations can realize additional benefits of COA Accreditation by taking advantage of applicable recognitions, including deemed statuses, mandates, and quality rating improvement systems/tiered reimbursement systems. COA Accreditation is currently recognized by oversight entities in 50 U.S. States and in Canadian territories.
Yes! COA Accreditation is an approved accrediting body for QRTPs under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA).
We’ve had a number of organizations report that they find the Performance and Quality Improvement (PQI) process challenging. Not to worry–we have a robust cache trainings available to help guide you through the process.
We are glad you asked. Finding the right fit for your organization is paramount. We’ve created this handy comparison guide to help better inform your decision.
It all starts with a conversation about what accreditation takes and which accreditation program will be right for you. Simply fill out our contact form and we’ll be in touch.
You can view a full overview of the accreditation process here.
This varies significantly by agency, and is impacted by the agency’s readiness for accreditation, including the capacity that it can devote to the accreditation process and the degree of alignment that it has to COA Accreditation’s standards. Because these factors can vary, COA Accreditation works collaboratively with each agency’s point-of-contact to establish an achievable accreditation timeline, including the due date for its submission of the Self-Study.
Some agencies choose to use COA Accreditation’s Readiness Assessment (ARA) to gauge readiness for and identify critical investments that can support the accreditation process. Find more information about the readiness assessment here.
The decision about whether additional staff is necessary is specific to each agency. COA Accreditation does not require that additional staff be hired for the accreditation process. However, COA Accreditation asks that each agency designate a point of contact. In many instances, current staff from various departments lead the accreditation process. Frequently, the responsibility to lead this process falls to staff in an agency’s quality assurance department, if one exists.
While your agency may or may not choose to hire staff, high-quality engagement in the accreditation process can facilitate other agency goals. Accreditation reviews an agency’s administration and management, service delivery administration, and service delivery practices, and, as result, prompts an agency to engage staff at all levels and across functions. Working in this way can help an agency to facilitate interagency dialogue and serve as a basis for continuous improvement arising from the accreditation process.
COA Accreditation standards, as a reflection of research-informed best practices within their related field of service, often overlap with the practices that are assessed in external reviews. However, given important differences in the scope of practices reviewed and the length and frequency of both types of reviews, COA Accreditation and external reviews serve different, but complementary purposes. Accreditation provides an agency with a comprehensive review of its operations that can help the agency to better align its policies, procedures, and practices and fuel systemic change across an agency’s administrative and service delivery practices. This approach can complement the sole focus on service-level practices that are often the target of external reviews.
Agencies that are mandated to become accredited have the option to a) have the entire agency (including all programs for which COA Accreditation has service standards) participate in the accreditation process or b) only have those programs that are required to be reviewed by the mandate participate in the accreditation process. In either instance, the agency will respond to all applicable administration and management, service delivery administration, and service standards.
Are you part of a governmental agency or insurance company looking to verify the accreditation status of an organization?
Please visit our contact form and select Inquiry from Insurance or Licensing Agent as the subject.
To report a concern with an accredited organization, please click here.