HOW DO WE SUSTAIN ACCREDITATION?

Accreditation is key to sustaining a culture of quality within an After School program. COA's maintenance of accreditation processes enhances the value of accreditation in the post-accreditation years by promoting continuous implementation of/performance with COA's standards throughout an organization's accreditation cycle. These mechanisms ultimately increase the value of COA After School Accreditation to the program's internal and external stakeholders.

COA's maintenance of accreditation process is composed of three components:

• Self-reporting of critical incidents and significant occurrences (see Related Files).
• Participation in the review of third-party concerns or complaints.
• Completion of an Annual Maintenance of Accreditation Report (MOA).

The MOA Report:

• Demonstrates your program's commitment to the pursuit of excellence and quality service delivery for the children, youth and families served.
• Affirms your program's ongoing implementation of/performance with COA's standards.

Through these processes, COA and the After School programs it accredits are able to evaluate significant programmatic changes, events and critical occurrences within the context of the programs continuous performance improvement activities.

During the time a program is not pursuing COA accreditation, it is welcome to contact COA's Client Relations Division regarding all accreditation-related questions. Additionally, it can access standards updates by visiting the Updates page.