Davis Stuart has achieved national accreditation through the New York-based Council on Accreditation (COA). Davis Stuart provides residential treatment services to West Virginia teens.
It took Davis Stuart nine months to achieve this accreditation. Organizations pursue accreditation to demonstrate the implementation of best practice standards in the field of human services. COA evaluated all aspects of Davis Stuart’s programs, services, management, and administration.
COA accreditation is an objective, independent, and reliable validation of an agency’s performance. The COA accreditation process involves a detailed review and analysis of an organization’s administration, management, and service delivery functions 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 on-going quality improvement.
To achieve COA accreditation, Davis Stuart first provided written evidence of compliance with the COA standards. Thereafter, 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.
Based on their findings, COA’s volunteer-based accreditation commission voted that Davis Stuart had successfully met the criteria for accreditation.
An endorsement of COA and the value of its accreditation process is reflected in it being named by the US State Department as the sole national independent accrediting body under the Hague Convention on the Intercountry Adoption to accredit intercountry adoption service providers. In addition, COA is the only national accreditor designated by the U.S. Department of Defense to develop accreditation standards and processes for human service programs provided to military personnel and their families.
Founded in1977, COA 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 services standards that are applicable to over 125 different types of programs.
Davis Stuart is a non-profit that has been serving West Virginia’s youth and their families since 1919. In the last fiscal year, the agency served 178 adolescents both at their main campus in Lewisburg and in their group homes located in Beckley, Bluefield, Maxwelton, and Princeton. Davis Stuart offers equine assisted therapy, spiritual life, employment preparation program, therapeutic recreation program, culinary arts program, and partners with West Virginia Department of Institutional Programs to offer an on-grounds school. To find ways you can help, or to schedule a tour, call 304-647-5577 or visit www.davis-stuart.org.
