WHAT ACCREDITATION DECISIONS ARE POSSIBLE?

Following are the different Accreditation decisions that can be awarded to your program.

Accreditation or Reaccreditation: The After School Commission awards accreditation or reaccreditation to a program for a period of four (4) years.

Expedited: COA's President/CEO can expedite a program's Accreditation without presenting a program to the Commission for review when the program:

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

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

Probation: The Commission has the discretion to place an accredited program on probation for a period not to exceed one (1) year if it is aware of reliable information that raises a serious concern about stakeholder health or safety or the credibility of COA's recognition process. A program's probationary status is public information.

Suspension: The Commission has the discretion to suspend an accredited program's recognition for a period not to exceed three (3) months if it is aware of reliable information that raises a serious concern about stakeholder health or safety or the credibility of COA's recognition process. COA requires a site visit within the suspension period for a program whose recognition is suspended. A program whose recognition is suspended is not considered accredited during the suspension period and, while on suspension, is prohibited from holding itself out as accredited.

Revocation: The Commission reserves the right to revoke a program's recognition based on defined criteria that are outlined in COA's Policies and Procedures Manual. A program may appeal a revocation decision.

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