Alternative Family Services Officially Reaccredited by Council on Accredidation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2019
Contact | Jennifer Harper |
Phone | 510-759-1271 |
info@afs4kids.org | |
Website | www.afs4kids.org |
Santa Rosa, CA, September 26, 2019 – Alternative Family Services (AFS) is proud to announce that it has been re-accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA). Organizations pursue accreditation to demonstrate the implementation of best practice standards in the field of human services. COA evaluated all aspects of AFS’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 ongoing quality improvement.
“We are very excited and honored to be accredited by COA, and I’m pleased that they have rewarded us very high grades. This is testament to the hard work and dedication shown every day by all of the staff members and associated community members of AFS. In the end though, it’s still and will always be all about the kids,” says Dr. Jay Berlin, Founder and CEO of AFS.
Founded in 1977, 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 service standards that are applicable to over 125 different types of programs. To learn more about COA, please visit www.COAnet.org.
About Alternative Family Services
Founded in 1978, Alternative Family Services (AFS) provides thoughtful, informed care, adoption and mental health services to foster children and youth throughout Northern California. The mission of Alternative Family Services is to support vulnerable children and families in need of stability, safety and wellbeing in their communities. AFS currently serves the diverse and varied needs of 1,500 foster youth, plus their biological and foster families, in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Sacramento Regions. Services provided by AFS include therapeutic foster care, Intensive Services Foster Care, support for foster children with developmental disabilities, therapeutic visitation, community-based mental health services, transitional housing support, independent life skills training, and much more.
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For more information, please contact Jennifer Harper, MA, MBA, Director of Development & Marketing, at 510-759-1271 or jharper@afs4kids.org.