CHILL Achieves First Accreditation

After countless hours of hard work and dedication, CHILL (Creating Hope, Instilling Life Lessons) recently achieved accreditation through the Council on Accreditation, or COA. Organizations pursue accreditation to demonstrate the implementation of best practice standards in the field of human services. '

“I am very grateful that CHILL has achieved accreditation with COA. This was a team effort that included CHILL’s staff, administration team and the tenants,” said CHILL Program Manager Dr. Endia Cassel. “We honored the process and achieved the results. This accreditation proves that we offer quality services to our tenants. I am very proud of the work that we do.”

The accreditation process is a lengthy one, including an application, intake and assessment, self-study, site visit, ratings report and pre-commission review, and, ultimately, the accreditation decision. In May, a group of COA reviewers evaluated CHILL on 327 rigorous standards. In this evaluation, volunteers noted CHILL’s strong, innovative model, passionate staff, and hands-on administration team.

Founded in 1977, COA is a not-for-profit accreditor of community-based social service organizations in the United States and Canada. An endorsement of COA and the value of its accreditation process is reflected in it being named by the US State Department as the sole national independent accrediting body under the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption to accredit intercountry adoption service providers. In addition, COA is the only national accreditor designated by the U.S. Department of Defense to develop accreditation standards and processes for human service programs provided to military personnel and their families.

This milestone marks CHILL’s first-ever accreditation, which will be in place through 2027. As an external seal of quality, this is a valuable endorsement of CHILL’s services and the impact to the individuals they serve.