Donate Now
Accreditation
TriCity Family Services has been accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) since 1998. We most recently received re-accreditation in November 2014.
COA is an international, independent, nonprofit, human service accrediting organization. Founded in 1977 by the Child Welfare League of America and Family Service America (now the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities), its mission is to partner with human service organizations worldwide to improve service delivery outcomes by developing, applying, and promoting accreditation standards. It envisions excellence in the delivery of human services globally, resulting in the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.
Accrediting the full continuum of child welfare, behavioral health, and community-based social services, COA currently accredits more than 2,200 organizations and programs serving more than 7 million individuals and families.
The Standards for Private Organizations were developed in support of enhanced organizational growth and stability, an unwavering commitment to the health, safety, and rights of clients, and producing high quality, measurable results.
Because the Private Organization Accreditation process involves the review and accreditation of the entire organization, the standards focus on both its administrative operations and all of its service delivery practices for which COA has applicable standards.
Accreditation signifies that an organization or program is effectively managing its resources and providing the best possible services to all of its stakeholders.
Consumers
- Services meet best practice standards
- Services are delivered by appropriately trained staff
- Clients participate in the decision-making process of service delivery
- Services are provided in a safe and respectful environment
- Privacy is protected
- Services support positive outcomes
- Services are culturally competent
Staff
- Health and safety are protected
- Risk and liability are minimized
- Service environments are efficient, effective, and supported by a quality improvement-oriented culture
- Professional staff qualifications are defined
- Whistleblower policy is in place
- Performance evaluation system is in place
Board
- Sound financial management practices are in place
- Practices are ethical
- Strategic plan is current, relevant, and monitored
- Effective performance quality improvement and risk management systems are in place
- Policies and procedures address conflicts of interest, preferential treatment, accountability, and delegation of authority
Donors, Funders, Regulators
- Validation of the delivery of high-quality services
- Sound financial practices are in place
- Performance and quality improvement system is in place
- Organizational operations are efficient
- Risk management policies and mechanisms that prevent fraud are in place
- Can be used as a tool to identify grant recipients
For more information about the Council on Accreditation, visit www.coanet.org.