This year, during Social Work Month, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) wants to spark a conversation on ways to end social worker pay disparity.
For our first Profiles in Accreditation post, we asked Lad Lake President and CEO Daniel O. Magnuson, MA, MSW to share his thoughts on his organization’s journey through reaccreditation. He emphasized how accreditation provided a framework for operational success, as well as the importance of having the entire organization–including the board–engaged with the process.
Improving service quality is the most important benefit of organizational accreditation. But from our experience, it is not the only benefit! Every time an organization completes the accreditation process, COA asks about its impact. Several themes have come out of our survey responses.
Jill Albanese, Supervisory Regional Coordinator at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), oversees providers of the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program. Jill graciously took time to explain how the VA’s recognition of COA accreditation played a role in them determining funding for these grantees.
COA chatted with Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of the COA accredited organization Family Builders, about the success of their Youth Acceptance Project. The program is designed to keep LGBTQ youth safe in their family homes (family reunification/family preservation) and to advocate for safe and equitable permanency of LGBTQ youth when family reunification is not possible.
Accreditation is a journey. One with a clear destination, but a less defined path. There are mile markers along the way; however, there isn’t necessarily one straight, easy road to the finish line. If you are tasked with leading the accreditation process for your organization, you may not know where to start. This is where COA’s Accreditation Coordinators come in.