Advisory Board Minutes from March 2nd Meeting
We have recently continued to have low-turnout for the advisory board conference calls, which are currently held the first Tuesday of the month at 3:00-4:00 p.m. CST. We are asking our advisory board members to submit a new preferred time so as to be able to increase attendance on the calls so that important information can be disseminated.
During the April call, Benjamin Murray from NCA, discussed the accreditation process for full member programs. Please refer to his letter below.
NCA’s full membership process has been universally recognized as a complete and thorough evaluation of CAC operations. As a fair and objective process, it requires communities to demonstrate adherence to a comprehensive set of standards. Over the past year, NCA has compared its full membership to the accreditation process conducted by various national organizations. The findings showed that full membership is comparable to accreditation and that, in fact, the only difference was in the wording.
As a result of these studies, the NCA Board of Directors has implemented policy changes transitioning its top membership category from Full Membership to Accredited Membership. Now CACs will be able to better communicate the true nature of their affiliation and accomplishments. Over the next couple of months, NCA staff will be working with full members to facilitate this transition.
The NCA Standards for Full Member Programs have been adopted as the NCA Standards for Accredited Members. Those centers awarded full membership or completing re-evaluation based on these standards will transition to Accredited Membership. Centers awarded full membership based on NCA’s previous standards will now be recognized as Accreditation Eligible Full Members. Once completing the re-evaluation process, they will be recognized as Accredited Members.
This change represents a significant advance in the CAC movement. Children’s Advocacy Centers will be more clearly recognized for their accomplishments and hopefully the general public will more readily bestow their faith and trust in the capabilities of NCA members.
For more information on NCA accreditation, call Benjamin Murray, NCA’s Director of Member Services, at 800/239-9950 x108.
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