Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

The social work profession has been concerned with standards of practice since the early stages of the profession (Richmond, 1917; Lubove, 1965; Rich, 1956 and Wenocur and Reich, 1989). The Child Welfare League of American and Family Service Association of America were two of the oldest standard-setting organizations and among the first social service organizations to develop a system of accreditation for their member agencies (Nichols, 1980). Together, they established the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services (COA) in 1977 as the first independent accrediting body for social service agencies, which few studies have examined (Nichols, 1980; Nichols and Schilit, 1992). The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the historical processes that led to the development and evolution of COA and its model of social service accreditation. It examines the context in which COA developed, the assumptions behind its practices and its impact on social service agencies. Klaassen (1995) described archival materials as a part of, as well as a record of, a process that often provides an unguarded glimpse of values and intention. An in depth review of archival records and documents from the Child Welfare League of America and Family Services Association of America held by the Social Welfare History Archives as well as material held by the Council on Accreditation was conducted. These primary sources including meeting minutes, board minutes, correspondence, reports and manuals. Thirty-four past and present employees and volunteers who played a significant role in the development of COA were interviewed by telephone or in person, with semi-structured, open-ended questions. In addition to a chronological history of the organization, the data were analyzed for recurring themes and issues. Secondary sources from the literature on evaluation theory, professional regulation, history of accreditation and social service accreditation provided a context for interpretation. Many fields have been strong advocates for accreditation as one way to advance their profession. As the key professional organizations in social work, the National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education were notably absent from the first twenty-five years of COA's history. This finding suggests the possibility that the absence of a formal relationship with the professional social worker organizations may have been a contributing factor to the challenges COA faced in achieving legal recognition of its accreditation process and marketing to social service agencies. Furthermore, this absence of formal relationships may explain why there is a lack of curriculum content, funding, research and general scholarship on social service accreditation. This historical organizational case study provides a detailed explanation of the motivating factors that led to the formation and evolution of COA, major events and milestones, governance and structure, policy development, challenges and barriers, and roles and relationships among stakeholders. It offers new insights into the historical, philosophical and theoretical basis for social service accreditation and applications to current social work practice. The findings from this study present implications for current social work theory, policy, practice and education along with recommendations for future research.