Recommendations from the Accreditation and Education Task Force:
- ACA needs an accreditation program seen as relevant to the camp and youth development audience as well as parents, care-givers, and the general public.
- ACA needs an accreditation service that is more accessible and inviting to a wide range of camps and programs, many of whom feel as though they don’t fit by design or scale.
Envisioned future of ACA-Accreditation services
- Camp standards will be focused in the areas of health, safety, and risk management.
- New technology will be used to support camps, volunteers, and association staff working with the program. The primary access to the standards will be through the Web.
- A streamlined program with less repetition and more clarity around the standards that apply.
- Review of the association’s standards that include internal and external subject matter experts (authoritative sources).
- Less reliance on paper.
- An online self-assessment or “in-take” component that prompts and collects detailed information about the programs offered as well as the setting where programs take place.
- Both real and perceived customization about the standards required, based on the type of program offered and disclosed through self-assessment (a camp will only see those standards that apply to their program).
- Online submission of documentation suitable for visitors to review prior to an on-site visit.
- A site visit component granted upon prior successful completion of the self-assessment and “in-take” process (completed on-line).
- Accredited camp status granted upon successful completion of the assessment and on-site visit.
- ACA will be consulting with the Council on Accreditation for a variety of services and components related to this Standards Transition
Timeline
Pilot: Fall 2010
Full implementation: 2012