What to Know About the ACA Accreditation Process
Managing a jail or prison facility like a well-oiled machine isn’t a simple task. Integrating standardization within a facility is crucial to creating a safe and secure environment for staff and inmates. Facilities do this by adopting and applying specific standards, one of which is ACA accreditation standards.
The term “ACA accreditation” is intimidating and sounds like a grueling process of climbing mountains of paperwork. However, that is a common misconception. ACA accreditation is meant to upgrade facility operations through standards specific to all facility functions, including safety, security, order, inmate care, programs, justice, and administration (American Correctional Association, n.d.).
Earning ACA accreditation is a widespread goal for most (if not all) correctional facilities as it benefits the facility operations and the well-being of the staff and inmates. The 900+ international facilities that have achieved this accreditation truly care enough to put in the time and effort to go through a series of reviews, evaluations, audits, and hearings to ensure they have the utmost safe and secure jail or prison possible.
But how does a facility achieve ACA accreditation? What steps need to be taken? This blog dives into what ACA accreditation is, how a facility can achieve it, and the standards associated with ACA accreditation.
What Is ACA Accreditation?
The American Correctional Association (ACA) is a non-profit organization managed by current and former corrections officials who award accreditation to jails and prisons. It’s an internationally known standardization system that keeps correctional facilities operating smoothly by applying corrections-specific standards.
Accreditation is a structure of confirmation that agencies and facilities comply with standards created by the ACA (Friedmann, 2014). Accreditation evaluations include facility services, programs and operations, administrative controls and documentation, staff training and development, safety and emergency procedures, sanitation, food service and meal tracking, and rules and discipline. This ensures standards reflect practical, updated policies and procedures that protect staff and offenders' lives, health, and safety (“Frequently Asked Questions,” n.d.).
Creating the accreditation process for correctional standards was first attempted in 1870 at the Congress on Penitentiary and Reformatory Discipline Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. This conference eventually became the organizing meeting of the National Prison Association. Standards were first developed during the 1940s and 1950s but it wasn’t until the 1960s that court leaders began digging deeper into prison conditions and considering the legitimacy of these issues.
The standards are the foundation of the accreditation process. They define policies and procedures necessary for the operation of correctional programs that safeguard the life, health, and safety of the personnel who work in juvenile and adult facilities and programs; as well as, the offenders who are a part of the correctional system.
The History of Standards & Accreditation,” n.d.
After courts understood the importance of establishing standards for correctional facilities, the ACA began implementing them. The courts and ACA had a common goal: providing attainable practices that could be achieved across various correctional operations, including adult, juvenile, training academies, industry programs, and central administration offices (“The History of Standards & Accreditation,” n.d.).
How Can a Facility Become ACA Accredited?
Gaining accreditation sounds like a beastly task, but the first step is easy. First, it is highly recommended that the facility leadership and staff agree to some extent on accreditation to build a more unified environment. The facility leadership can ultimately decide to implement accreditation with or without the opinions of the staff, however, the process will operate more smoothly when the entire staff believes in the same philosophy of wanting the best for its facility.
If all team members can’t provide the same answer when asked “What makes your facility better than other facilities?”, then the team should reconnect and discuss priorities. Once most, if not all, staff members are on the same page, they should assemble an Accreditation Team with a leader and then contact a Standards & Accreditation Specialist at the ACA office to gather the materials to implement the accreditation process.
Although there are 25 different ACA accreditation manuals, each specialist works specifically with the regulations of the state the facility is based in. The specialist works directly with the facility or agency management to show them the ropes of the accreditation process, provide applicable written documentation and policies, assign and train auditors, and discuss the specific requirements of each standard (“The History of Standards & Accreditation,” n.d.) hence, why all agencies should have the same goal in mind.
The accreditation process from conception to completion usually takes approximately six months to one year. It starts by expressing your interest in pursuing accreditation to the ACA office and then signing a contract based on your facility’s size. Fortunately, facilities can set their own audit deadline so they know how much time they have to prepare and implement all their specific standards. Once the facility feels ready to be put to the test, two to four auditors complete the audit (depending on the size of the facility).
Auditors verify compliance in three ways: written policy, written procedure, and demonstration of the standards in place. They confirm that each standard shows evidence of how they are met by requiring physical verification (for example, security logs or photos pertaining to the standard). The whole audit finalizing process can take three to four days, but it’s required that facilities have check-ups every three years on their standards to ensure their accreditation still stands true.
Top 3 Questions About ACA Accreditation
1. How Many Standards Does a Facility Need to Follow to Earn Accreditation?
There are two different types of standards: mandatory and non-mandatory. To earn accreditation, a facility or agency must comply with 100 percent of the applicable mandatory standards and at least 90 percent of applicable non-mandatory standards.
An example of a mandatory standard would be a facility complying with all applicable laws and regulations of the governing jurisdiction and implementing various inspections. Whereas, an example of a non-mandatory standard would be collecting proper cell checks on a timely basis. The facility would need to have a system in place for physically counting inmates with at least one formal count per shift with no less than three counts per day.
If a facility finds itself out of compliance, it can apply for a waiver granted by the ACA. For example, small cells since the facility was built before new cell size regulations. Each of these standards can differ depending on the accreditation manual a facility follows. The ACA also evaluates the quality of life conditions when deciding on awarding accreditation (“Frequently Asked Questions,” n.d.).
2. Can Standards Be Updated or Omitted?
Revision requests can be made before the annual ACA conference. A majority vote of the ACA must approve all revisions before a final decision. Updated standards are published every two years (“The History of Standards & Accreditation,” n.d.). Since standards are being revised constantly, some require a continuation of new or updated pieces, also known as “reaccreditation.” Every three years, a compliance audit and accreditation hearing takes place to collect the major vote and come to a final decision on a reaccreditation (“Frequently Asked Questions,” n.d.).
3. Who Are The Auditors and What Do They Do?
Auditors are specifically selected by the ACA and typically have had experience in the corrections field for over 18 years (“Frequently Asked Questions,” n.d.). The audit procedure evaluates administration and management, institutional operations and services, and inmate programs. In essence, auditors closely review anything that may impact the safety and health of the facility’s staff and offenders (“Seeking Accreditation,” n.d.).
From an Auditor’s Perspective
Kelly Martin is an ACA auditor and Certified Jail Manager from southern California with roughly 20 years of experience in corrections. He enjoys his profession as an auditor but also understands that some facilities struggle with considering ACA accreditation. From a facility standpoint, the staff can portray the accreditation process negatively because they assume an auditor will barge into their facility and point out all the areas where they are failing. Although Kelly acknowledges this standpoint from a facility, he wants to make it clear that that is not the intention of an ACA auditor.
A large role of an auditor is to be the voice of the facility to the accreditation management and administration. They are there to be a resource for the facility and its staff - they want to award ACA accreditation to as many facilities as possible but only successfully pass those that meet and exceed ACA standards. One of Kelly’s favorite aspects of being an auditor is traveling to different facilities, noting their operation processes, and sharing those concepts with other facilities to enhance as many locations as possible and improve the industry as a whole.
While some facilities are wary of getting the ACA accreditation, there are several more eager to improve their facility. Kelly believes this mindset is crucial to have when entering the accreditation process. However, this particular mindset starts from a culture: a facility needs to want to hold itself to a higher standard to successfully adopt ACA accreditation. Some facilities host internal mock audits before ACA auditors come to the facility for the actual evaluation.
Kelly believes that the popularity of ACA accreditation is growing, especially with government agencies understanding more and more the importance of implementing the standards. He recommends that facilities looking for ACA accreditation should be prepared with questions, be open to constructive criticism, and be willing to change to enhance their operations and build a more quality-run facility.
From an Accreditation Manager’s Perspective
Tracey Case, the accreditation manager of Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Chattanooga, TN, has 22 years of experience in corrections and 10 years of experience working with accreditation procedures. The title “Accreditation Manager” was specifically created for Tracey as the position requires someone to focus solely on accreditation processes. Her responsibilities include policies and procedures, standards compliance, routine inspections, facility operations, daily inspections, and audit files. Essentially, her position is the middleman between officer supervisors and ACA Standards & Accreditation Specialists.
Being the middleman allows Tracey to see both parties’ perspectives. She understands how officers can be hesitant to want accreditation as it seems like someone will always be watching over their every move, while simultaneously understanding that having accreditation holds the facility to the highest level of safety procedures and living conditions.
Tracey believes the largest issue with accreditation isn’t that the officers can’t perform their standards well, but documenting them to prove that it actually happened. The officers know what they are supposed to be doing to comply with the standards, but it’s easy to get away from after years go by. However, audits occur every three years, so it’s important to document their procedures to prove they maintain compliance with their standards.
Before the final decision in a jail or prison facility is made to get accreditation, Tracey believes that it’s important to have the support of the administration staff as the cost and commitment are very high. All officers should have the same positive mentality to make the process significantly smoother. It’s critical to know that the accreditation process is long and tedious as there is a lot of information to learn and implement, which can be overwhelming but worth it.
Benefits of ACA Accreditation
More Money In Your Back Pocket: Facilities and agencies awarded the ACA accreditation have a stronger defense against litigation and lawsuits than agencies that don’t. Written documentation proves the "good faith" efforts behind a facility working on improving its conditions of quality of life and compliance levels. Most insurance companies reward jail or prison facilities with ACA accreditation by reducing their liability insurance costs resulting in savings that more than offset the actual cost of accreditation (“Seeking Accreditation,” n.d.).
Improved Quality of Staff Attitude: Accreditation is only awarded to the "best of the best" in the corrections field, but that can only be achieved when the staff can work in the “best of the best” conditions and mentalities. Not only should the facility’s environment be safe and secure, but also the mental state of each officer. Morale affects everybody in the facility, staff members and inmates alike. Every step of the accreditation process ensures a clear assessment of strengths and weaknesses to pursue an improved environment that everyone can benefit from (“Seeking Accreditation,” n.d.).
Keep Your Facility Ahead of the Game: Earning accreditation sounds like a difficult project until you realize how easy the first step is - the staff must agree that it wants the best for its facility. If everyone can’t provide the same answer when asked “What makes your facility better than other facilities?” the team should reconnect and discuss facility priorities. Accreditation can begin once all members are on the same page and want to benefit from their everyday jobs. Be ahead of the game. For more information on ACA accreditation, please visit the resources below.
References:
Friedmann, Alex (2014). How the Courts View ACA Accreditation
Retrieved from https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2014/oct/10/how-courts-view-aca-accreditation/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20ACA%2C%20%E2%80%9CAccreditation,evaluations%2C%20audits%20and%20hearings.%E2%80%9D
American Correctional Association (n.d.). The History of Standards & Accreditation
Retrieved from https://www.aca.org/ACA_Prod_IMIS/ACA_Member/Standards___Accreditation/About_Us/ACA_Member/Standards_and_Accreditation/SAC_AboutUs.aspx
American Correctional Association (n.d.). Frequently Asked Questions
American Correctional Association (n.d.). Seeking Accreditation
Retrieved from
Kelly Martin | Certified Jail Manager, ACA Auditor & Consultant
Tracey Case | Accreditation Manager of Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office