Their stories illustrate best practices in “continuous evolution” and “resilience” that help organizations push through difficult times.
NEW YORK (PRWEB) August 20, 2020
The Council on Accreditation (COA), an international nonprofit accreditor of community-based human and social services, published an article today featuring interviews with seven of its Sponsoring Organizations to recognize their work and highlight the innovation and creativity that emerged in support of their members during the COVID-19 pandemic.
COA Sponsoring Organizations are nonprofit membership bodies comprised of organizations that provide human and social services (many of whom are accredited by COA). These Sponsoring Organizations serve as critical advisors to COA, helping it to understand the accreditation needs of provider agencies, industry trends, and environmental challenges within the human and social services landscape. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have played a central role in helping their member agencies figure out how to safely continue operating in unfamiliar terrain.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, behavioral health centers, foster care services, homeless and women’s shelters, and many other human and social services organizations have not shut down. They have been navigating urgent and rapidly changing issues on the fly to keep their essential staff safe as they continue to deliver critical services to vulnerable populations. These services have continued largely uninterrupted over the past several months – despite sparse protective gear for staff, thinly-stretched funds, and minimal to no national guidance about how to safely proceed. COA Sponsoring Organizations had to quickly think outside of the box and take on roles and responsibilities well beyond their normal responsibilities to support their members, and they did so and with great agility and success. Their stories illustrate best practices in “continuous evolution” and “resilience” that help organizations push through difficult times.
Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of COA, recognizes that COVID-19 has been and will continue to be a game changing experience. “The nonprofit sector has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, with many organizations pushed to their financial and operational limits. We are thankful for and inspired by the work our Sponsoring and accredited organizations have undertaken to ensure continuity and quality of service delivery to the most vulnerable of populations during these challenging times.”
About the Council on Accreditation
Founded in 1977, the Council on Accreditation (COA) is an international nonprofit accreditor of community-based behavioral healthcare and social service organizations. COA accredits the full continuum of child welfare, behavioral health, and community-based human and social services for children, youth, adults, and families. COA has developed separate accreditation programs for private organizations, public agencies, Canadian organizations, military programs, and child and youth development programs. Currently, COA accredits or is in the process of accrediting over 1,600 organizations or programs that serve more than 10 million individuals and families each year.