The Village Network Earns National Accreditation

WOOSTER, Ohio — The Village Network has again achieved national accreditation through the New York-based Council on Accreditation.

Staff of The Village Network, which provides care and services to traumatized children and their families in Ohio and West Virginia, spent about a year on the accreditation process.

“It can be a challenge for an organization of our size to go through this very detailed process, but we believe it is an important one,” CEO and President Rich Graziano said. “We provide very critical services that impact lives, and being accredited by the Council on Accreditation tells our partners, our workers and our supporters we are following and adhering to best practices. This is not us saying, ‘Trust us, we are doing things right.’ An outside, objective third party is the one saying it. I am so proud of our team for achieving this accreditation again.”

Organizations pursue accreditation to demonstrate the implementation of best practice standards in the field of human services, according to the COA. Its representatives evaluated all aspects of The Village Network’s programs, services, management and administration. Then, they compared it against international standards of best practice. The standards driving accreditation ensure that services are well-coordinated, culturally competent, evidence-based, outcomes-oriented, and provided by a skilled and supported workforce. COA accreditation demonstrates accountability in the management of resources, sets standardized best practice thresholds for service and administration, and increases organizational capacity and accountability by creating a framework for ongoing quality improvement.

The first part of the accreditation process involved gathering data demonstrating The Village Network is in compliance with COA standards. For the second part, a group of specially trained volunteer peer reviewers confirmed adherence to these standards during a series of on-site interviews with trustees, staff and clients.
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Founded in 1977, the Council on Accreditation is an independent, not-for-profit accreditor of the full continuum of community-based behavioral health care and social service organizations in the United States and Canada. Over 2,000 organizations — voluntary, public, and proprietary; local and statewide; large and small — have either successfully achieved COA accreditation or are currently engaged in the process. Presently, COA has a total of 47 service standards that are applicable to over 125 different types of programs. To learn more about COA, please visit www.COAnet.org.