Media Room
3/11/2009
March 11, 2009, Fort Worth, TX. - Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth is proud to announce it has achieved a new standard of excellence by receiving international accreditation by the Council on Accreditation (COA), an independent, not-for-profit, child and family service and behavioral healthcare accrediting organization. Catholic Charities is now one of only two COA accredited agencies in Tarrant County, and one of only eight in the DFW area.
The highly regarded COA designation recognizes Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth as an outstanding social service provider that maintains and delivers the highest level of quality services, and is committed to providing accessible, appropriate, culturally responsive, evidence-based and outcomes-oriented programs for the community. To receive accreditation, Catholic Charities underwent a 15-month detailed review and analysis of both its administrative operations and service delivery practices, and was evaluated against 820 quality and service standards.
"Catholic Charities is extremely proud to achieve this mark of excellence in social service," said Heather Reynolds, CEO of the Fort Worth Diocese. "COA accreditation is an indication to our clients, partner agencies, funding sources, donors and supporters at large that we're willing to invest in continually strengthening our services and improving outcomes in this community.
Although Texas does not require COA accreditation, Reynolds said, many states are beginning to demand similar designations of social service organizations. Through the COA process, Catholic Charities has instituted a performance and quality improvement system that involves constant evaluation of services and standards of care at every level of the organization.
"COA accreditation is a significant accomplishment for Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth and it's a testament to their strength of purpose and quality of programs," said Ann Rice, executive vice president for United Way of Tarrant County. "In the future, this sort of accreditation will become more and more important for social service agencies looking for new funding and community support."
Founded in 1977 by the Child Welfare League of America and Family Service America (now the Alliance for Children and Families), COA accredits 38 different service areas and over 60 types of programs; including substance abuse treatment, adult day care, and services for the homeless, foster care and intercountry adoption.
About Catholic Charities
Established in 1910, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Fort Worth provides financial assistance to families in crisis, foster care licensing and training, emergency shelter, child abuse prevention, elderly housing and pharmaceutical assistance, refugee resettlement, and medical intervention efforts aimed at reducing infant mortality and the spread of HIV to newborns. In 2007, the organization provided services to over 112,000 individuals and families.
