Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes has achieved national accreditation through the New York-based Council on Accreditation.
Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes provides the following services: Residential care for children in crisis at five campuses across Tennessee. These campuses are located in Brentwood, Chattanooga, Memphis, Millington and Oakdale. The organization also leads a state wide Foster Care program named the Denise and George Shinn Foster Care Program.
It took several months to achieve accreditation. Organizations pursue accreditation to demonstrate the implementation of best practice standards in the field of human services. COA evaluated all aspects of the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes’ programs, services, management, and administration.
COA accreditation is an objective, independent, and reliable validation of an agency’s performance, said officials. 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, said officials.
To achieve COA accreditation, Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes 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.