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Lethbridge Family Services Meets the “Gold Standard” Yet Again

Apr 17, 2016 | 9:12 AM

LETHBRIDGE – A New York based organization has granted Lethbridge Family Service re-accreditation through March 2020.

The Council on Accreditation of Services for Children and Families (COA) is an independent, non-profit group. It evaluates organization’s policies and processes to ensure program delivery and quality client care.

The COA uses thousands of standards, which are strongly grounded in research, to judge service delivery areas, management, administration and governance.

LFS first had to provide written evidence of its compliance, then a group of trained volunteer Peer Reviewers performed a series of on-site interviews and document review to confirm the information.

Family Services CEO, Sandra Mintz, says they made it an easy decision for the council. “It’s a multi-level process, and the decision turn around time was the quickest I have ever seen. The feedback given to us was that our performance and evidence were so strong that therewas just absolutely no question that we met the requirements.”

Over 2,000 organizations across the United States and Canada have successfully achieved accreditation, with less than five in Alberta. However, LFS has been accredited with the CAO since 1980.

“It’s so reassuring for us to know that in every area that we operate, our practices meet the gold standard. To have that independently verified, it’s something we can feel very proud of. It’s very important for us to be able to reassure our clients, stakeholders, funders, donors and members of the public.” Mintz noted.

Family Services’ over 325 staff members help more than 6,800 people improve their quality of life through Counselling, Outreach, Education, Development Disability Assistance, and Home and Immigrant Services.