Several New Standards Initiatives Under Way.

For decades, accreditation has been used to evaluate correctional practices. In virtually every profession, standards of practice exist to define operational procedures and establish what is expected of those professions to achieve excellence in their practices. Today, the accreditation process for corrections continues to grow at a rate that indicates an awareness of the importance of continual self-evaluation and accountability to established standards. There are several new initiatives under way by the American Correctional Association (ACA) and the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections that not only demonstrate the diversity of the profession, but also the level of professionalism that exists in each aspect of it. The Standards Committee has held extensive meetings to address the demands of these new initiatives.

All standards manuals are moving toward conversion into what is known as performance-based standards. This has been and continues to be among the most ambitious efforts in the evolution of the accreditation process. Representing a natural progression in the evaluation of operations, performance-based standards complement the current process by providing a measurable method for determining what we are accomplishing, as well as how we are accomplishing it.

The first manual to be converted was the Performance-Based Standards for Adult Community Residential Services, Fourth Edition. With the assistance of the International Community Corrections Association, the standards were evaluated against current practices and meticulously verified to give attention to relevant outcome measures. This process of examination, evaluation and cooperation has become the formula for conversion of the remaining manuals.

Currently, the Standards for Adult Local Detention Facilities, Third Edition, in conjunction with the American Jail Association and the National Sheriff's Association, and the Standards for Adult Probation and Parole Field Services, Third Edition, with assistance from the American Probation and Parole Association, are undergoing this process.

The Standards Committee has authorized field testing of performance-based standards for adult day reporting services, correctional industries and the newly revised correctional health care standards. In the coming months, new standards for therapeutic communities and offender transportation will be introduced to the committee.

More and more, accreditation has become the hallmark for agencies that prioritize excellence, accountability, continual evaluation and improvement. It has become an essential tool, successfully used as justification for additional resource allocation, a layer of protection from frivolous lawsuits and insurance that operations are sound, measurable and complete. Among the many strengths of the accreditation process is the ability to remain stable in its application, while having the vision to evolve to meet the changing needs of the correctional environment.

Michael Shannon is assistant director of the Standards and Accreditation Department for the American Correctional Association.