Who: The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay has achieved national accreditation through the New York-based Council on Accreditation (COA).
Why this is important: The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay provides vital social services to the Tampa Bay community. The COA accreditation signifies the organization is using best practices to effectively manage its resources and provide the best possible services to all of its stakeholders.
TAMPA, Fla., September 20, 2018 – After a rigorous 18 month evaluation process, the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay has announced it has been accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) through 2022.
Organizations pursue the COA accreditation to demonstrate they have implemented best practice standards in the field of human services. The COA accreditation process involves a detailed review and analysis of an organization’s administration, management, and service delivery functions against international standards of best practice. The standards driving accreditation ensure that services are well-coordinated, culturally competent, evidence-based, outcomes-oriented, and provided by a skilled and supported workforce.
To achieve the COA accreditation, the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay first provided written evidence of compliance with over 300 COA standards. A group of specially trained volunteer Peer Reviewers then confirmed adherence to these standards during a series of on-site interviews with board members, staff, volunteers, clients, and community stakeholders.
“When we made the decision to pursue the COA accreditation over 2 years ago, we knew it would be a thorough process. We also knew we had the right team in place to meet the challenge,” said Clara Reynolds, President & CEO of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. “Not only did we receive the accreditation, COA was so impressed by the Crisis Center, they had no additional recommendations for improvement.”
About the Council on Accreditation (COA)
Founded in 1977, COA is an independent, not-for-profit accreditor of the full continuum of community-based behavioral health care and social service organizations in the United States and Canada. Over 2,000 organizations — voluntary, public, and proprietary; local and statewide; large and small — have either successfully achieved COA accreditation or are currently engaged in the process. To learn more about COA, please visit www.COAnet.org.
About Crisis Center of Tampa Bay
The mission of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay is to ensure that no one in our community has to face crisis alone. The organization is the community’s gateway to help, hope, and healing, and is Tampa Bay’s elite provider of crisis and trauma services. Responding to over 160,000 requests for help each year, the nonprofit agency offers a range of evidence based programs designed to meet community needs:
• Gateway Contact Center (2-1-1: suicide prevention, crisis counseling, and information and referral services)
• Corbett Trauma Center (trauma counseling and sexual assault survivor services)
• TransCare (9-1-1 emergency and mental health ambulance services, medical van transportation)
For more information regarding the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, please visit www.crisiscenter.com.
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