COA Eighth Edition Standards

Basic information

  • Type: Certification scheme
  • Year established: 1977
  • Status: Active
  • Thematic area: Health, Social care and services
  • Summary: The Eighth Edition Standards target public and private organisations providing child, family, behavioural healthcare, and other social care services. The objective of these Standards is to provide guidance on best practice and certify high quality service providers. The Standards are used in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, England and the Philippines, and accredited organisations cover the costs assosicated with accreditation. The latest edition of the Standards was last updated in April 2009.

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Contact details

  • Host organisation: Council on Accreditation
  • Acronym: COA
  • Website: www.coastandards.org
  • Email: coainfo@coanet.org
  • Phone: +1 (212) 797-3000
  • Address: 120 Wall Street, 11Floor New York, NY 10005 USA

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Areas addressed

  • Principles or standards: Standards-based
  • Communications / advocacy / fundraising:
    • General commitment to transparency
    • Ethical communications
  • Governance and Management:
    • General commitment to good governance
    • Anti-Corruption
    • Auditing
    • Conflict of Interest
    • Financial reporting
  • Human resources:
    • Staff development and training
    • Staff relations
  • Beneficiary / client / supporter participation:
    • General commitment to beneficiary participation
  • Monitoring and Evaluation:
    • General commitment to evaluation
  • Cross-cutting thematic areas:
    • Human rights

Further info: The Standards focus on administration and management, addressing ethical practices, financial management, human resources, network administration, performance and quality improvement, and risk prevention and management; "service delivery administration" including administrative and service environment, behaviour support and management, client rights, and training and supervision; and "service standards", a set of recommended practices for distinct service areas (eg. foster care, domestic violence services, outreach services, etc.).

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Participation

  • Reasons for participation
    • Financial: Government contracts / grants / funding
    • Certificate / seal of approval
  • Further information: The COA Eighth Edition Standards are the sole national independent accreditor for organisations providing inter-country adoption services in the United States that work with sending countries that have ratified the Hague Treaty. In other cases, participation in the initaitive is purely voluntary.

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Compliance

  • Evidence base: Desk & Field/site
  • Description of monitoring mechanism: In order to obtain accrediation, organisations must complete detailed self-reporting forms and then submit to a compliance audit led by peer reviewers from the sector. COA's Accreditation Commission makes final decisions. The entire process normally takes 12-14 months. Accreditation lasts four years (with the exception of opiod treatment programs for which accreditation lasts three years due to US government regulations). To maintain accreditation during that period, participationg organisations must self-report on any critical incidents, participate in reviews of third-party reviews and complaints, and complete an annual report which affirms and demonstrates ongoing commitment to upholding COA's standards.
  • Has sanctioning mechanism: Yes
  • Description of sanctioning mechanism: COA maintains an online submissions form and dedicated email address for processes complaints regarding COA-accredited organisations. COA investigates any complaints and may enforce a variety of sanctions, from including the concern in the next scheduled site visit to removing an organisation from the list of accredited organisations.
  • Can removal be enforced?: Yes

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Assessment

The COA Eighth Edition Standards provide a model of peer review implemented by a third party organisation as a means of self-regulation. Furthermore, the COA Eighth Edition Standards' relationship to government in the United States offers an example of the blurred line between government and self-regulation. In this case, a specialised peer-based accrediation service offers a degree of expertise and understanding of the operational needs and challenges of social care and service organisations that might be difficult to obtain in the government sector. However, there are limits to such a system, due to the labour-intensive nature of such a detailed and lengthy accreditation process.

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Downloads

Copy of Initiative

Administration and Managment Narrative: Ethical Practice

Administration and Managment Narrative: Financial Management

Administration and Management Narrative: Governance

Service Definitions

Standards Development Principles and Process

List of Accredited Organisations

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