QUALITY

The extent to which contemporary and generally recognized standards are met and exceeded, and desirable outcomes achieved.		  
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  ACCOUNTABILITY

The extent to which a program is answerable to a variety of relevant stakeholders including: children and youth, families, community representatives, people or entities providing oversight, and governmental regulators.		  
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  LIABILITY

An obligation, responsibility, or debt.		  
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  PRACTICE

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

Actions taken to minimize and/or eliminate social, psychological, or other conditions. Prevention can occur at the individual, group, community, and societal levels and enhances opportunities to achieve positive fulfillment.		  
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  CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

A comprehensive, ongoing system that incorporates intensive stakeholder involvement, data collection and analysis, information sharing, and corrective action in order to improve the functioning of a program.		  
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  PROCEDURES

Written instructions that outline the steps for performing a task or operationalizing a process. A procedure can be written as a step-by-step set of instructions or as a narrative description of a process. A procedure tells someone how to do something, not just what to do.

Unlike policies, procedures do not need to be reviewed or approved by the person or entity providing oversight. They also do not need to be associated with a specific policy. For example, whereas a broad anti-discrimination policy requires grievance or other procedures in order to be operationalized, facility maintenance procedures do not require an approved facility maintenance policy.

If the program implements procedures that have been developed by another body (e.g., the school board, or the management of the organization of which the program is a part), the program does not need to develop its own separate procedures. Instead, it should provide evidence of the procedures it has been given to implement.

  
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  CONFLICT OF INTEREST

A conflict between an individual self-interest and the public good. Example: a program awards a food services contract to a local restaurant that is owned by a governing body or advisory group member. From a legal standpoint, “conflict of interest” is a term used in connection with fiduciaries and their relationship to matters of private interest or gain to them. When used to suggest disqualification of a fiduciary from performing his or her sworn duty, the term refers to a clash between public interest and private pecuniary interest of the concerned individual.		  
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  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 assumes responsibilities for long term planning, risk management, and evaluation and effectiveness of management.		  
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After School Program Administration
  
Afterschool Guides  
Registration
Certification
Introduction
  

COA’s After School Program Administration Standards address several areas relevant to effective program management and administration, including leadership; oversight; ethical practice; financial management; risk prevention and management; and continuous quality improvement. Implementing these standards supports a program’s ability to provide quality programming for children and youth.

Note: When another person, department, or entity (e.g., a school district) is responsible for implementing some of the practices addressed in these standards, the program should be prepared to provide evidence that this is the case. For example, if the school principal or superintendent is responsible for the quarterly risk review addressed in ASP-AM 6.02, the program should provide documentation to demonstrate this. If the program implements policies or procedures (e.g., conflict of interest policies and procedures) that have been developed and adopted by another body (e.g., the school board, or the governing body of the organization of which the program is a part), the program does not need to develop its own separate policies and procedures. Instead, it should provide evidence of the policies and procedures it has been given to enforce.

When Standards Interpretations include lists of examples, every example will not necessarily be relevant and appropriate for every program. Rather, the examples are intended to provide guidance about factors and issues to consider when implementing the standard.

For more information about the structure and features of the standards, and requesting an NA when a standard is not applicable, please see the After School Guidelines. For more information about the evidence needed to demonstrate standards implementation, please see the Table of Evidence.
 
PURPOSE: Sound administration and management increase program quality and sustainability; promote financial accountability and viability; support transparency and openness; and reduce risk, loss, and liability exposure.
 
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