COA - Council On Accreditation

COA’s Governance standards address several developments related to the concept of leadership: public sector discussion influencing accountability in the nonprofit sector; evidence found in the mental health literature of an association between the leadership and culture of a human service organization and the achievement of positive outcomes; and efforts to strengthen the theoretical and practice connection between governance and leadership. Current trends and knowledge, in addition to broad-based expert consensus and common understanding, point to the importance of these standards. The governing body's influence also is reflected in core concepts found in the five other Administration and Management Standards sections.

The standards draw upon results of recent studies that examine how excellence develops over time in non-profit organizations. Other recent scholarship underscores the role of leadership in governance and promotes consideration of consistency between type of organization and type of governing/advisory function, and a “good fit” between advisory approach, member composition, and an organization’s governance demands. Community responsiveness is considered to be as important as meeting oversight responsibilities.

Interpretation: In the context of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services, the community, as used in these standards, is defined more specifically as the host or customer organization, subcontracting organizations, and the covered individuals eligible to receive services from the EAP.

Note: Please see Tip_Sheet:_EAP_Parent_Companies and Self_Paced_Training:_Governance_(GOV) in the Tools Index for additional assistance with this standard.


	PURPOSE: Sound governance increases the organization’s viability and sustainability.

RELATED FILES

NA Request.doc
Community Demographic Profile.doc
GOV_Private Template.doc
GOV Reference List.pdf


	LEADERSHIP A nonprofit organization's leadership consists of its governing body, chief executive officer, and may also include its senior management. In a public agency the term refers to the agency head and administration team. The term "leadership" is not generally applied to for-profit organizations. With respect to COA standards, in for-profit organizations the term leadership applies to the owner and board of directors if one exists.


	ACCOUNTABILITY The extent to which an organization is answerable for its processes and outcomes to a variety of relevant stakeholders including: consumers, community representatives, governing bodies, and governmental regulators.


	CULTURE The customs, habits, values, skills, technology, beliefs, and religious, social, and political behaviors of a group of people in a specific period of time.


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	GOVERNING BODY A person or persons with the legal authority and responsibility to set policy and oversee the operations of an organization. Generally, the governing body is a group, such as a board of directors or board of trustees. While the exact responsibilities of the governing body depend on the nature and character of the organization, the governing body has minimum fiduciary responsibilities to the organization set by statute, regulation, and case law, and typically assume responsibilities for long term planning, risk management, and evaluation and effectiveness of management.


	ADMINISTRATION The personnel responsible for management functions of the organization, including fiscal management, human resources, and service delivery. Such personnel determine organizational goals, acquire and allocate resources to carry out a program, coordinate activities toward goal achievement, and monitor, evaluate, and make needed changes in processes and procedures to improve the likelihood of goal achievement. The term is synonymously used with MANAGEMENT.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	EMPLOYEE Paid member of an organization. Foster parents are not considered employees and are specifically referenced in relevant standards.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	MANAGEMENT See ADMINISTRATION


	CUSTOMER ORGANIZATION An employer, organization, union, or association who signs a contract with an EAP organization to pay all or part of the costs for the employee assistance program.