WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SITE VISITS?

The site visit is perhaps the most important step in the COA accreditation process because this is when your peers from other agencies visit your program sites to assess your implementation of the COA standards.

Like the earlier steps, the site visit is a facilitative experience. Depending on the specific needs of your agency, there are several different types of site visits that your agency can pursue.

Traditional Site Visit
Most agencies pursuing COA accreditation complete a Traditional Site Visit. The Traditional Site Visit provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate implementation of all applicable management and service delivery standards to your Peer Team. COA assigns a minimum of two Peers for a minimum of two business days to conduct this review.

On occasion, COA may recommend or determine the need for an alternative type of site visit. These include:

Interim Review
The Interim Review is required for an accredited agency that has requested an extension of its expiration date due to major organizational change. Some examples of major organizational change are a change in the agency's chief administrator, a natural disaster, a merger, or relocation. COA will assign one of its experienced Peers to conduct the interim review during one business day.

Single Service Site Visit
This type of site visit occurs at the request of an accredited agency that has added a new service to its service delivery system and would like that service to be recognized as accredited. An agency also has the option of including that new service during its next accreditation cycle. COA will assign one of its experienced Peers to conduct the Single Service site visit during one business day.

Remedial Site Visit
Occasionally, an agency may be required to undergo a Remedial Site Visit within 3-6 months following the Accreditation Commission meeting. A Remedial Site Visit may occur when the commission is unable to render a decision unless another on-site assessment is conducted. The Remedial Site Visit often includes substantial review of case records and/or facility observations. This visit normally requires one of the previous team members to visit the agency again over one or two business days.