COA Accreditation
Standards
COA Accreditation standards are grounded in the belief that when organizations invest in strong management practices and understand and monitor the impact of their services, people benefit. As such, our standards are designed to help organizations:
- Achieve measurable results
- Promote the health, safety, rights, and inclusion of persons served
- Support and retain staff
- Ensure sustainability and promote growth
How We Develop Our Standards
COA’s accreditation standards are field-informed and sit upon a foundation of research and professional literature. This ensures that our standards remain rigorous yet practical, reflecting current trends and best practices in the social sector.
Steps of the process include:
- Collection, in-depth review, and synthesis of prominent research and professional literature on identified trends and evolving practices
- Collaboration with Standards Advisory Panels comprised of subject matter experts including agency leaders, individuals with lived experience, service providers, and researchers
- Input from hundreds of professionals in Social Current’s network
- Continuous quality improvement through ongoing review of feedback from the field and newly published literature
Standards Development
View our most recent standards updates (2023).
Private Organization Standards
Standards for nonprofit and for-profit organizations that provide human and social services in the United States
Public Agency Standards
Standards for government agencies (federal, state, and county) that provide human and social services in the United States.
Canadian Organization Standards
Standards for both private and public organizations that provide human and social services in Canada.
Child & Youth Development Standards
Standards for early childhood education and out-of-school time programs in the United States.