St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, SD, just received notice that it has been reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation.
“COA’s commitment to maintaining the highest level of standards and quality improvement is designed to identify providers that have set high performance standards for themselves and have made a commitment to their constituents to deliver the highest quality services,” wrote COA in its reaccreditation letter. “COA is proud to recognize St. Joseph’s Indian School as one of these outstanding providers.”
COA reaccreditation is considered the gold standard in evaluation of residential schools such as St. Joseph’s, a school that focuses on “at risk” Native American children. “The COA reaccreditation process involves a detailed review and analysis of both an organization’s administrative operations and its service delivery practice,” states COA. In other words, it reviews what the school says that it is going to do and then whether it actually does it. Always, the questions is asked, “How are these children served? Are established standards being met when it comes to the care and education of these children?”
The COA standards, “emphasize services that are accessible, appropriate, culturally responsive, evidence based, and outcomes-oriented, In addition, they confirm that the services are provided by a skilled and supported workforce and that all individuals are treated with dignity and respect,” stated COA in its letter.
“Because COA reviews and reaccredits the entire organization, not just specific programs, you can have confidence in the credibility, integrity and achievement of your entire organization,” continued the letter.
“COA congratulates St. Joseph’s Indian School for their hard work and wonderful achievement and is proud to have it as part of COA’s Community of Excellence.”
To learn more about St. Joseph’s Indian School, click here.
Click here to read Fr. Stephen Huffstetter’s blog.
Founded in 1977, COA is an independent not-for-profit international accreditor of the full continuum of community-based behavioral health care and human service organizations. Today, over 1800 organizations—public and private—are either COA accredited or are in the process of seeking accreditation. These organizations serve over 7 million of our most vulnerable individuals each year!
