Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement from Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA) on the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment (CAPTA) Reauthorization Act of 2021 (S.1927).

“The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation thanks Sens. Patty Murray and Richard Burr for their work to advance racial equity and promote primary prevention in the CAPTA reauthorization bill (S.1927), which was marked up yesterday in the Senate HELP Committee. This bill includes important tools for states and communities to help families overcome challenges and offers family strengthening supports that can help prevent maltreatment before it occurs. 

New focuses on trauma-informed approaches, minimizing racial bias and disparities in the child protective services system, alternative pathways to support families outside of child protection systems, data sharing across agencies to improve outcomes, engaging people with lived experience, and improving access for people who have experienced violence and/or trauma are all critical and transformative reforms. Additionally, we were pleased to see the public health approach to address fatalities from child abuse and neglect in the new Title III of this bill. 

This approach aligns with the central recommendation of the bipartisan federal Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities, which stressed that fatalities are not inevitable; they can be prevented with the right resources and knowledge in place. This bill brings needed resources and reforms that have the potential to play a critical role in transforming child welfare systems into child well-being systems. We stand ready to work with members of Congress to support its passage.”

About the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (Alliance-COA)
The Alliance-COA and resulting new organization will convene and catalyze a dynamic, inclusive, multifaceted network of human/social services organizations that leverages the collective experience of the field and research to spark a current in the sector and drive continuous evolution and improvement. Our goal is to activate the power of the social sector and create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network that propels our field forward so all people can thrive. The new organization will provide a range of offerings and learnings to actively shape the sector through policy, advocacy, knowledge exchange, certification, accreditation, connection, and ongoing iterative and reflective interactions. 

The following is a statement from Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities/Council on Accreditation (Alliance/COA) on the Derek Chauvin trial verdict of guilty on all three counts:

“The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation stand with our colleagues in Minneapolis and in communities across the country.

This verdict reflects the fact that our national reckoning on systemic racism in America is long overdue. Watching the Derek Chauvin trial unfold has been difficult for all Americans, and  for people of color who have lost another father, mother, son, or daughter at the hands of law enforcement, this tragedy, played out daily on our television screens, has been especially hard to bear. Systemic racism and implicit bias are infused across too many of the systems that should support people, resulting too often in harm to those they are meant to protect. While we  recognize the work that has taken place thus far to expand equity, diversity and inclusion, we must continue to build on it, and acknowledge that the road ahead of us is long, and that true systemic change is needed and required. We hope this verdict puts us on a path toward bringing about that needed change and healing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made all of us aware of the fact that no one is fully immune to adversity or struggle. We know that people are resilient and by enabling all Americans to access supports, including the opportunity to earn a livable wage, live in safe, secure neighborhoods, have access to food security and health care; we can give everyone the opportunity to thrive and achieve well-being.

Let’s strengthen our commitment as a nation to realign our systems to better reflect the social determinants of health that create the context in which we live our daily lives and pledge to do better to ensure everyone can reach their full potential, regardless of where they live, the color of their skin, or their socioeconomic standing.”

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About the Newly Merged Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation (COA)
The merged Alliance and COA and resulting new organization will convene and catalyze a dynamic, inclusive, multifaceted network of human/social services organizations that leverages the collective experience of the field and research to spark a current in the sector and drive continuous evolution and improvement. Our goal is to activate the power of the social sector and create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network that propels our field forward so all people can thrive. The new organization will provide a range of offerings and learnings to actively shape the future of the sector through policy, advocacy, knowledge exchange, certification, accreditation, connection, and ongoing iterative and reflective interactions.

The 2021 CYD Standards are now live at coanet.org/cyd-standards/.
 
Standards assignments will begin February 2nd. Please reach out to your Accreditation Coordinator with any questions.

Background

The new CYD standards come on the heels of valuable feedback from stakeholders like you. All of our edits were done with a single goal in mind: to increase the value of accreditation by focusing on those practices and activities that will have the greatest impact on the children and youth COA-accredited programs work with. 
 
The 2021 revision focuses on the standards that promote the development of effective, programs and their capacity to provide quality experiences that help children and youth thrive. In service of that, we have refocused the standards to 1) give you more time to devote to those practices that have a more direct impact on children and youth, and 2) allow you to spend less time compiling evidence and more time improving practice. This means a:

A PDF summary of the standards changes can be found here.
 
Thank you for your continued dedication to best practice, and for being a part of the COA community.

Questions? Please contact Tobi Harrington Murch at tmurch -(at)- coanet.org.