One step at a time: what's involved in agency accreditation?

This is the second of a series of four articles concerning the agency accreditation process for public recreation and park departments in the U.S. This article explains the process that a department will encounter when trying to become accredited.

Agency accreditation is a four-step process: the agency's application; the agency's self-assessment; the evaluation from the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) visitors; and meeting with the commission for it to confer, deny or defer accreditation. The process is geared toward a positive outcome--once the agency has committed to the process, has gone through the self-assessment and has requested the visit, the visitors and the commission members do everything possible, without compromising the integrity of the process, to help the agency become accredited.

Agency Application

Once an agency has decided to become accredited, the next step is to submit the preliminary application and $100 fee to CAPRA. The application requests the following information: the name of agency, contact information associated with the agency (chief executive, city/county manager and agency administrator) and agency profile information (type of agency, population served, budget and number of full-time staff). The $100 fee covers the cost of materials that will be sent to the agency (Self-Assessment Manual, visitation procedure documents and a computer disk for the self-assessment report). This fee also allows an agency to attend a visitor's training workshop. Agencies also receive information about upcoming training sessions and other necessary information regarding the accreditation process. The workshop is extremely valuable, because it assists the agency in becoming more familiar with the agency accreditation standards and the CAPRA visitation process.

Self-Assessment Report

The second step of the process is the self-assessment report, which must be completed within two years. (The average time to complete the accreditation process is 17 months.) This is the most critical and worthwhile step in the accreditation process, because it helps agencies use national standards to identify strengths and weaknesses of their operations and services. Because of the importance of and difficulty with this Step, CAPRA provides each agency with a Self-Assessment Manual and directions on how to develop the self-assessment report. These resources allow an agency to streamline the documentation process while reducing overlap and mental anguish.

Agencies are required to provide documentation pertaining to the 36 fundamental standards and at least 86 percent of the other 119 compliance standards. Because agencies vary in size and operating budgets, the standards have been created to fairly evaluate all park and recreation agencies. For example, in a study of 25 accredited agencies, 13 served an average population of 45,000 and had an average budget of $6.1 million, while 12 served a population just more than 600,000 with a budget of $26 million.

The standards address 10 major categories, as detailed in the table at the bottom left.

After completing the self-assessment report, agencies submit a formal application and application fee to the commission. The application fee is based on the agency's operating budget. (See the following table.)

A CAPRA visit usually occurs within 60 days of the agency submitting its self-assessment report. If an agency can't complete its tasks within the two-year deadline, a one-year extension may be requested for $50.

Evaluation and CAPILA Visitation

The next step to the process is the evaluation and CAPRA visit to the agency. The number of visitors is based on the size of the agency. The agency is responsible for all expenses of the visit team as well as, if necessary, getting the chair of the team to the commission meeting. (The commission meets twice per year-at the NRPA Congress in the fall and the NRPA Mid-Year Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., in the spring.)

The visit team is responsible for thoroughly reviewing all of the documentation the agency has submitted to meet each of the standards. The team will want to tour the facilities in a particular jurisdiction and talk to staff along the way. Before they leave, a report must be generated and reviewed with agency administrators. This occurs within three to four days.

A typical visit includes some kind of social event to meet with staff, board members, volunteers, or city council or governing board and city or county administrators. Often, the team will want to meet with a police department representative, the risk manager or human resources director to get a feel for the relationship between that department and the parks and recreation agency. This allows the visitor to double check for compliance with various standards related to these internal services.

Communication between staff and visitors is essential for a positive visit. The visit team members are asked to work with the parks and recreation agency. If there's a misinterpretation of particular standard, for example, it can most likely be corrected on site during the visit.

It's important to understand that the visitation team doesn't confer accreditation; it only evaluates the agency based on the standards and reports this information to the commission. After reviewing the visit team report and speaking with the agency and the chair of the visit team, the commission determines whether to confer accreditation.

One of the barriers to undertaking this process cited by many agencies is the cost. In addition to the application fees and the annual fees mentioned above, the visit team's expenses are the greatest planned expense to complete this process. In the survey of 25 accredited agencies mentioned earlier, the average cost to complete the process was $6,800. Those that tracked indirect cost, or staff time to prepare the self-assessment, cited an average outlay of $13,000.

Accreditation Resources

For more information about agency accreditation, see Management of Park and Recreation Agencies, which is available from NRPA's bookstore. It's a textbook intended for college students but full of practical examples of compliance using the same standards as the agency accreditation process. In addition, there are now 35 agencies of all shapes and sizes that have been through the process and are willing to share information, stories and tips that worked for them. A listing of all accredited agencies is available at www.nrpa.org. Select "Education," then "Training," and then "Agency Accreditation."

The Ten Major Categories of Agency Accreditation

Category                    What's Covered by This Category

Agency Authority, Role      Mission statements, goals and objectives,
and Responsibility          policy development, cooperative
                            relationships
Planning                    Community and strategic planning, community
                            involvement, comprehensive planning, master
                            plan for facilities, resource management
                            plan, natural/cultural resources,
                            environmental impact
Organization and            Organization structure, administrative
Administration              manual, public information/marketing,
                            management information system
                            communications
Human Resources             Staffing, job analyses, personnel manual,
                            training, code of comduct/ethics,
                            volunteers
Finance                     Policies, management, auditing/accounting,
                            budgeting
Program and Services        Program/service determinants, nature and
Management                  objectives of services, outreach, scope of
                            program opportunities, program content,
                            types of participation
Facility & Land Use         Land acquisition/development, operation
Management                  management, facility/fleet management,
                            natural resources management
Safety & Security           Law enforcement authority, law enforcement
                            training, security plan
Risk Management             Risk management plan, risk manager, risk
                            analysis, operational procedures
Evaluation and Research     Evaluation plan, research, evaluation of
                            personnel, training

Determining Fee for the Form

Agency's                        Application
Operation Budget                    Fee

under $500,000                    $  150
$500,000-$1 million               $  250
$1 million-$2.5 million           $  500
$2.5 million-$5 million           $1,000
$5 million-$9.9 million           $1,500
$10 million-$14.9 million         $2,000
$15 million-$24.9 million         $2,500
over $25 million                  $3,000

Kevin Riley is an assistant professor in the Department of Health, Leisure and Exercise Science at Appalachian State University, in Boone, N.C. Paul Gaskill is a professor in the same department. Judy Weiss is parks, recreation and facilities manager for Scottsdale, Ariz.