Wedgwood Christian Services Achieves National Accrediation

November 21, 2019 | Wedgwood Christian Services has achieved national accreditation through the New York-based Council on Accreditation (COA). Wedgwood provides professional counseling and educational services through residential care and community programs, to youth, adults, and families.

Organizations pursue accreditation to demonstrate the implementation of best-practice standards in the field of human services. COA evaluated all aspects of Wedgwood’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.

“This is beyond a mere ‘seal of approval’,” said David Blakeslee, Wedgwood’s Associate Director of Quality Assurance. “COA accreditation indicates that we have made and kept the commitment to provide services of the highest quality that meet standards of excellence regarding professional ethics, financial stewardship, therapeutic expertise and best practices established in the treatment and prevention programs we offer to recipients in our community.”

To achieve COA accreditation, Wedgwood 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 Wedgwood Christian Services had successfully met the criteria for accreditation and will be accredited through 2023. Wedgwood has consistently held this accreditation since 1990.

“Wedgwood strives to provide distinctively Christian and professionally excellent services, and it is a great blessing and encouragement to have the endorsement of such a highly regarded organization,” said Randy Zylstra, Wedgwood‘s President/CEO. “This exceptional achievement is only possible because of the excellence displayed by our staff, Board of Directors, and supporters.”

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.

Since 1960, Wedgwood Christian Services has been dedicated to aggressively taking on the toughest problems facing children and families through distinctively Christian, professionally excellent residential care, counseling services, and community programs. Our goal is to support and help restore the physical, social, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual well-being of children, adults, and families in our community.