ABOUT COA'S AFTER SCHOOL RECOGNITION

COA's after school recognition is designed to help enhance and improve the outcome delivery of your after school program. Whether you are seeking accreditation, certification or registration, the process will help strengthen the service delivery of your after school program so that the children, youth and families you serve will benefit from enhanced services in the most professional setting.

COA is recognized internationally for the accreditation of human service programs and agencies. After school recognition was developed in partnership with the National After School Association and in consultation with national educational experts and after school professionals who provided extensive comments and input. These standards are field tested and revised based on information learned and feedback provided.

In considering the decision to pursue COA After School Recognition you may wish to:

• Educate your staff about the many benefits COA recognition offers that will support their commitment to quality practice and the program's dedication to excellence.
• Discuss with your stakeholders the process, standards and commitment that is required to achieve COA recognition.
• Assess your ability to implement the standards, including those standards that are fundamental to becoming COA-accredited.
• Let your children, youth and families know that COA recognition affirms your commitment to providing them with the very best services. Tell them that when it comes to their needs, "Good enough is not good enough!"

A copy of COA’s After School brochure can be downloaded from the Related Files. In addition, please visit our list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) in the Related Files.

As part of an ongoing effort to add practical value to accreditation and thus encourage programs to meet standards for efficient management and high-quality service, COA continues to pursue recognition of after school accreditation from entities that fund and/or license after school programs. Currently, COA is recognized in over one hundred distinct instances in forty-three different states, the District of Columbia, and one Canadian province. This number continues to grow based on state inquiries regarding the use of accreditation and as COA increases its efforts to build relationships with state and county departments. For a list of state Quality Rating Systems (QRS) and Tiered Reimbursement systems that currently provide recognition of COA's After School Accreditation, please visit http://www.coanet.org/Files/RR.pdf.