In May 2008 Children's Administration formally ended its pursuit of accreditation through the Council on Accreditation (COA). In an exchange of letters between the Council and the agency, Assistant Secretary Cheryl Stephani concluded that while Children's Administration had benefited greatly from the process, it couldn't commit to the Council's terms and timetable for completing accreditation.

Standards to Achieve Accreditation

By the time it ended pursuit of accreditation, 43 of Children's Administration's 46 field offices and headquarters had passed the various steps for accreditation, and the three remaining field offices had completed site visits and were waiting for the COA response as part of the review process.

Stephani said the agency will continue to work toward meeting key accreditation standards as it improves outcomes for foster children and their families, and prepares for a second federal performance review.

Children's Administration remains committed to the underlying values and principles of COA standards. Its plans to comply with the terms of the Braam Settlement Agreement include improvements in three areas critical to accreditation - lowering social worker caseloads to 18:1, monthly visits to all children in care and timely health and education screening of children in foster care.

To read the exchange of letters between the Council on Accreditation and Assistant Secretary Stephani, please click on the links located on the right side of this page.