WHAT ACCREDITATION DECISIONS ARE POSSIBLE?

Following are the different accreditation decisions that can be awarded to your agency. For complete information about any of these decisions, please reference COA's Policies and Procedures Manual.

Accreditation or Reaccreditation: The Accreditation Commission awards accreditation or reaccreditation to an agency for a period of three or four years, depending on the cycle length selected by the agency. The beginning of an agency's cycle length following a reaccreditation decision dates back to the previous accreditation cycle expiration date.

Expedited: COA's President/CEO can expedite an agency's accreditation without presenting an agency to the Accreditation Commission for review when the agency:

• meets all of the requirements of COA's Rating System following a site visit; and
• there is no cause for concern about implementation of/continuing performance with COA's standards.

Pending: When the Accreditation Commission has questions about an agency's implementation of/continuing performance with a few standards that only require documentation for approval, they have the discretion to place the agency on pending status and to request this documentation.

Deferral: When the Accreditation Commission has questions about an agency's implementation of/continuing performance with any standards, they have the discretion to defer reaching an accreditation decision and to request further information and/or an additional site visit.

Probation: The Accreditation Commission has the discretion to place an accredited agency on probation for a period not to exceed one year if it is aware of reliable information that raises a serious concern about stakeholder health or safety or the credibility of COA's accreditation process. An agency's probationary status is public information.

Suspension: The Accreditation Commission has the discretion to suspend an accredited agency's accreditation for a period not to exceed three months if it is aware of reliable information that raises a serious concern about stakeholder health or safety or the credibility of COA's accreditation process. COA requires a site visit within the suspension period for an agency whose accreditation is suspended. An agency whose accreditation is suspended is not considered accredited during the suspension period and, while on suspension, is prohibited from holding itself out as accredited.

Revocation: The Accreditation Commission reserves the right to revoke an agency's accreditation based on defined criteria that are outlined in COA's Policies and Procedures Manual. An agency may appeal a revocation decision.

Denial or Withdrawal: The Accreditation Commission reserves the right to deny accreditation to an agency based on defined criteria that are outlined in COA's Policies and Procedures Manual. An agency may appeal a denial decision. Additionally, an agency may voluntarily withdraw from the accreditation process at any time prior to the commission's decision.