What is the process?
Application Phase: The agency completes a working agreement and receives the necessary materials to assist in the next phases.
Self-Assessment Phase: The agency determines its level of compliance with Northwest Accreditation Alliance standards. Files are established where proofs of compliance are compiled. In this phase, all agency policies and procedures undergo a review and are updated/revised as necessary.
Onsite Assessment: One or more Northwest Accreditation Alliance assessor(s) reviews the agency’s policies, procedures, and practices against the standards to ensure necessary compliance is met. A final report is then compiled and forwarded to the Northwest Accreditation Alliance Board for review, and a nomination to award accredited status is made.
Award: The agency may request the Executive Director present their award of accreditation at a City Council, County Commissioners meeting, or agency governing body via video conferencing. Formal presentations of the award are generally held at the respective parent organization’s annual banquet.
Re-Accreditation: In order to maintain accredited status, agencies undergo a reassessment every three years.
Timeframe
Preparing for Onsite Assessment: On average, it takes approximately 6-18 months to prepare an agency for an onsite assessment. Depending on agency staffing or other impacts, the time frame can be shorter or longer.
Accreditation Manager
The Accreditation Manager does not need to be a full-time position in preparing for an onsite assessment. Most agencies do not have sufficient resources to assign someone full-time as an Accreditation Manager. The majority of Accreditation Managers already have other full-time responsibilities.