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DCFS Child Welfare Program Receives National Reaccreditation

LOUISIANA ONE OF ONLY FIVE STATES TO BE NATIONALLY ACCREDITED

December 15, 2015

BATON ROUGE - Today, the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services' Child Welfare Program received national reaccreditation. One of only five states to achieve this accolade, Louisiana's Child Welfare program has been accredited through the Council on Accreditation (COA) since 2004.

"Our child welfare services were measured against the current best practices of the profession," said DCFS Secretary Suzy Sonnier. "Earning reaccreditation and receiving the recognition that our child welfare program meets COA's high standards is truly an honor. Our staff strive daily for continued excellence and positive outcomes for our kids."

The reaccreditation process required detailed reviews of DCFS' performance, management and service delivery functions, which were judged against international best practice standards. Steps included self-study, site visits, a review by the accreditation commission and submission of annual reports.

In a letter notifying DCFS of its reaccreditation, Richard Klarberg - President and CEO of the Council on Accreditation - stated that "reaccreditation is a tremendous achievement that demonstrates that your agency is recognized as a provider that continues to successfully implement high performance standards and, as such, is delivering the highest quality services to all of its stakeholders."

Louisiana is one of only five state human services agencies to be COA accredited. DCFS' accredited services are adoption services, child protective services, foster care, family preservation and stabilization services, and kinship care services.

The Council on Accreditation is an international, independent, not-for-profit, child-and-family-service and behavioral healthcare accrediting organization. It was founded in 1977 by the Child Welfare League of America and Family Service America (now the Alliance for Children and Families).