Since 1989, the National Office for Adult & Teen Challenge has provided Accreditation Standards and regular compliance reviews to help guide centers towards one common goal: Excellence! Please review the following information to prepare for the online and on-site Accreditation Review process.
Goals of Accreditation
- To keep ATC unified, dedicated to providing excellent care to all individuals/families seeking help, and to protect the God-given vision, identity, and DNA of the organization.
- To provide a comprehensive review and follow-up process that ensures quality and consistency in all Teen Challenge affiliates with minimal direct oversight from ATCHQ.
Preparing for an Accreditation Review
The Accreditation Certification Categories
- Accredited — Valid for three years. This center meets ATCHQ National Accreditation standards and is considered compliant and in “good standing.”
- Provisional — Valid for one year. A Provisional Certificate is given for one of two reasons:
- Provisional Accreditation is provided to new ATC programs that are working to prepare for their first accreditation review. A provisional certificate is valid for 12-18 months. Following the provisional period, a review resulting in full accreditation must be achieved.
- Provisional Accreditation can be provided at the discretion of ATCHQ if a center falls short of full compliance. A re-inspection must be conducted within six months resulting in the status of PASS. If a center fails to obtain full accreditation, it risks becoming non-accredited. The re-inspection will be done at the full expense (travel, hotel, transportation, meals, and time) of the TC center/corporation that failed.
- Non-accredited – If it becomes apparent that a center is not going to bring itself into compliance with one or more mandatory standards, ATCHQ has been directed to notify the center’s BOD in writing providing the center with a timeframe within which compliance must be achieved. If compliance is not achieved following the aforesaid timeframe, regrettably, a recommendation to pull the center’s affiliation with ATCHQ will be made at the subsequent ATCHQ BOD meeting.
Note: Accreditation Review timeframe (currently every three years) is subject to change.
How Compliance is Verified
The Accreditation Review will be conducted both digitally and on-site.
- Online: Approximately two months before the scheduled on-site visit, ATCHQ will contact the Administrative leadership of the Corporation and their representative to plan details for the on-site review. ATCHQ will communicate with the Administration Office’s representative (and other designated personnel) on how to send the pre-visit documentation for review. The Administrative Office representative will be responsible for indicators traditionally provided to ATCHQ by a central office (governance, Human Resources [HR], BOD, etc.). The Program Director will be responsible for completing the pre-check uploads regarding residential operations and ensuring that all documents have been received at least two weeks before the scheduled on-site visit. Communication between the local program and the Administrative Office will be very important.
- On-Site: After the completion of the precheck upload process, a team of one to two reviewers will arrive on location to conduct the on-site review. The on-site review will begin with the accreditation team briefly meeting with the CEO or Executive Director. The remaining documents and files will then be reviewed. It is strongly encouraged that team leaders participate in this review process. The reviewers will tour the facilities to complete the inspection. The on-site items of interest are located on the “on-site checklist” for review in the appendix of the accreditation manual.
- Observation: When the review team is on-site they will ask to see examples of how the center is practically walking out policies and procedures. Please be prepared to show the accreditation team how your center is meeting the standards in day-to-day operations and interactions with students, staff, volunteers, etc. All items should be easily accessible to the review team. It may be necessary for items typically housed off-site (administrative office, etc.) to be present on-site for observation. The Program Director is responsible for assuring evidence required for on-site review is present at the time of the appointment. Copies are acceptable.
- Interview: The review team may request to interview students, staff, and if necessary, volunteers while on-site. Interviews help to verify compliance to policies and procedures, while also giving the review team an opportunity to assist center leadership in gauging the understanding of the local team regarding center operation and vision. Interviews are confidential.
Important Recommendations
- Read through the Accreditation Standards and Indicators to familiarize yourself and your staff with them.
- Communicate with your administration office if your center needs information from a central location to provide evidence for Indicators regarding HR, BOD, and Fiscal Management. There is required information that may be stored at your administration office.
- Print a copy of the Accreditation Standards and conduct a self-inspection using the checkboxes provided on the document next to each piece of evidence.
For affiliates needing a copy of the accreditation standards, please email a request to accreditation@teenchallengeusa.org.
