PROGRAM ACCREDITATION GUIDELINES POWERPOINT

1. Program Accreditation
Guidelines
Lesson: Human Growth &
Development
G2-2

2. Objectives
• Describe examples of accreditation, accreditation
agencies, and accredited programs or agencies.
• Explain how accreditation guidelines and
standards are used.

3. Terms:
• accreditation
• accreditation agency
• accredited program or agency
• benchmarking
• consulting
• licensing
• standard

4. What is accreditation, and what are
accreditation agencies and
accredited programs or agencies?
• Accreditation is a process in which a
program or agency meets certain standards
for quality.
• Organizations that complete the accreditation
process have shown that their program
services are meeting the higher quality standards set by
the accreditation agency.
• An accreditation agency is an organization that sets the
quality standards and rules for becoming accredited.
• An accredited program or agency is a program or
organization that has followed and met an accreditation
agency’s quality standards.

5. What is accreditation, and what are
accreditation agencies and
accredited programs or agencies?
• A. Licensing is the process of granting permission to
conduct business.
 Licensing is a required process.
• B. The Joint Commission, formerly the
Joint Commission on Accreditation of
Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), is
made up of health care professionals and
experts who collaborate and develop high-quality
practices and standards.
 Health care organizations wanting to receive accreditation
from The Joint Commission develop their health care
practices to follow the commission’s standards.
 A standard is an accepted principle or model against
which quality can be compared.

6. What is accreditation, and what are
accreditation agencies and
accredited programs or agencies?
• 1. Ambulatory Health Care accreditation is for
organizations that provide outpatient health care services.
 a. Doctors’ offices
 b. Dentists’ offices
• 2. Behavioral Health Care accreditation is for
organizations that provide services to people with special
needs in the areas of behavioral and/or mental health.
 a. Mental health clinics for outpatient services
 b. Psychiatric inpatient clinics
• 3. Critical Access Hospitals accreditation is for hospitals
located in rural areas, no closer than 35 miles to another
hospital, that offer both outpatient and inpatient services.

7. What is accreditation, and what are
accreditation agencies and
accredited programs or agencies?
• 4. Home Care accreditation is for programs
delivering health care in the patient’s home.
 a. Home nursing services
 b. Independent living services
• 5. Hospital accreditation is for hospitals
with a broad range of health care
programs and services.
 a. Emergency rooms
 b. Surgery capabilities
 c. Inpatient and outpatient services

8. What is accreditation, and what are
accreditation agencies and
accredited programs or agencies?
• 6. Laboratory Services accreditation is for services that
handle testing of human specimens.
 a. Blood testing
 b. Urine testing
• 7. Long Term Care accreditation is for services to people
who will live in service facilities for a long time.
 a. Nursing homes
 b. Group living homes for people with
developmental disabilities
• 8. Office-Based Surgery accreditation is
for surgical services provided in a small
office.
 a. LASIK eye surgery
 b. Removal of wisdom teeth

9. What is accreditation, and what are
accreditation agencies and
accredited programs or agencies?
• C. NAEYC (National Association for the Education
of Young Children) is a national organization that
sets standards for programs in early childhood care.
• D. There are many accrediting agencies for colleges,
universities, and specialized professional schools.
• 1. Higher Learning Commission (a commission of the
North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools)
• 2. New England Association of
Colleges and Schools
• 3. American Dental Association
• 4. American Psychological
Association

10. How are accreditation guidelines
and standards used?
• A. Benchmarking is capturing best practices used
by other organizations offering similar services.
Accreditation is benchmarking.
 The accreditation agency identifies best practices and
uses them as benchmark standards for delivering
services.
• B. The accreditation process includes the following
steps.
 1. Step #1: Self-study
 2. Step #2: Application
 3. Step #3: Observation
 4. Step #4: Acceptance (accreditation)
 5. Step #5: Reaccreditation

11. How are accreditation guidelines
and standards used?
• C. Accreditation guidelines are comprehensive
and detailed, meaning they cover a wide range
of areas and set specific standards.
• 1. Some of The Joint Commission’s standards for hospitals:
 a. Best practices for managing patient health
 b. Best practices for managing surgical equipment
 c. Best practices for patient care
• 2. Examples of NAEYC standards for early childhood
programs and early childhood teacher preparation programs
 a. Best practices for evaluating developmental needs and skills
of children
 b. Best practices for offering nutritious lunches and snacks for
children
 c. Best practices for designing learning activities to meet
children’s emotional, social, and intellectual abilities

12. How are accreditation guidelines
and standards used?
• 3. Consulting firms
help with
accreditation.
 Consulting is the
service of helping
applicants
understand and
follow guidelines for
making changes
required to complete
accreditation
application
successfully.

13. Review
• What is accreditation, and what are
accreditation agencies and accredited
programs or agencies?
• How are accreditation guidelines and
standards used?