WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR FOCUSED REACCREDITATION?

COA is launching a new initiative called Focused Reaccreditation that will streamline the process for organizations undergoing reaccreditation. Organizations that were previously accredited using COA’s 8th Edition Standards and whose accreditation status is currently in good standing may be eligible to undergo reaccreditation using this new streamlined process.

Key Characteristics of Focused Reaccreditation:

1. Focused Reaccreditation will be available to eligible organizations on alternating accreditation cycles.
   
   This means that if the organization uses the Focused Reaccreditation process in 2010, it will complete a Full Accreditation process the next time it is due for reaccreditation in 2014. Four years later it may be eligible to undergo a Focused Reaccreditation process again.
   
2. At the heart of the Focused Reaccreditation Review is an approximately 40% reduction in the number of Administration and Management, and Service Delivery Administration standards. Due to the nature of their critical subject areas, we have not removed or modified any standards within the Service Sections.
   
   Organizations undergoing Focused Reaccreditation will need to demonstrate that they have implemented a core set of COA's 8th Edition standards. Standards that will not be directly reviewed as part of the Focused Reaccreditation process include standards that:
   
   
   1. Are unlikely to have changed since the last accreditation;
   2. Do not address health and safety or client rights; and
   3. Do not pertain to quality improvement which is essential to maintaining a high functioning, high performance organization and which is central to COA accreditation.
   Accordingly, all of the standards in the Client Rights (CR), Behavior Support and Management (BSM), and Performance and Quality Improvement (PQI) sections will be included in the Focused Reaccreditation review.


3. The new process is designed to maintain the integrity and rigor that is characteristic of COA's accreditation process.
   
   The reduction in the number of standards that will be reviewed in the Focused Reaccreditation process is possible due a few key factors including:
   
   
   1. A continuing emphasis on building organizational capacity through the setting of long-term strategic goals and objectives.
   2. The expectation that each organization will continue to measure its operational and management performance as well as program and client outcomes.
   3. Submission of a signed Executive Verification that certifies that standards that are excluded from the Focused Reaccreditation review continue to be effectively implemented.
   4. If the peer review team determines that standards not included in the Focused Review are out of compliance, they will review and rate these standards. These ratings will then be included in the organization’s Pre-Commission Report or Final Accreditation Report.
   5. As part of the Focused Review, peer reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the organization has addressed any areas that were identified as needing to be strengthened in its last Final Accreditation Report (FAR). All organizations submit their last FAR, as well as their last three Maintenance of Accreditation (MOA) reports, in the Self-Study document as evidence for PQI 1.

Eligibility Criteria:

All organizations in good standing will be eligible, starting in 2010, to participate in the Focused Reaccreditation Process every eight years. An organization may be deemed ineligible to participate in the Focused Reaccreditation Process if it:

1. Has undergone a merger since its last accreditation, or is in the process of merging or being acquired;
2. Has been previously deferred;
3. Has not undergone (re)accreditation with the 8th Edition Standards;
4. Experienced major changes in its senior management, e.g. Executive Director, Chief Operating Office, or Chief Financial Officer, within the last 12 months;
5. Has received sanctions from a licensing/regulatory body;
6. Has not submitted all required annual MOA Reports;
7. Failed to self-report an occurrence and/or incident as required by COA’s Accreditation Policies and Procedures Manual;
8. Is contracting some or all of its administration functions such as human resources or financial management; or
9. Is currently being reviewed or investigated by any regulatory/governmental authority regarding its non-profit status or an equivalent status in another country, or its financial practices as a for-profit organization.

Process:

Organizations pursuing Focused Reaccreditation process should read the entire set of Accreditation Guidelines for instructions and tools for the questionnaires, self-study, narrative templates, and other aspects of the process. It will be important to review the Accreditation Guidelines in order to understand what will be required by Focused Reaccreditation.

Organizations pursuing Focused Reaccreditation will only provide self-study and on-site evidence for the Core Concept standards with an asterisk. The Core Concept standards that do not have an asterisk will not be included within the Focused Reaccreditation process. The applicable Focused Reaccreditation standards can also be viewed within the My COA account. Organizations should carefully review all of the Administration and Management, and Service Delivery Administration standards to determine which Core Concept standards are applicable.

The following documents, which can be found in the Related Files, are associated with the Focused Reaccreditation process:

1. List of Focused Reaccreditation Process Standards: Comprehensive list of the 8th Edition Standards included within the Focused Reaccreditation process.
2. Executive Verification: Organizations will utilize the Executive Verification document to certify that specific standards which have been excluded from the Focused Reaccreditation Process are being effectively implemented.
3. NA List - Focused: The NA List can be used in your organization's self-study to show which NAs are applicable to your organization.
4. Table of Contents for Electronic Self Study: Organizations will submit a self-study based on the identified focused standards. The table of contents for the electronic self-study has been modified to reflect the appropriate core standards.

For More Information:

For further information about COA Focused Reaccreditation Review, please contact your organization’s Accreditation Coordinator or Tobi Murch, Accreditation Project Manager, at (207) 361-4031 or tmurch@coanet.org.