Accreditation

One of EASNA’s original charters was to develop an accreditation process for employee assistance programs that promoted compliance with the highest national standards for quality management and service delivery. Upon completion, EASNA investigated transferring this function to an organization that could ensure the  administration of a rigorous accreditation process.

In 2001, COA and EASNA released the EAP Standards and Self-Study Manual, 1st Edition--a resource defining the best practice standards in the employee assistance field.  EAPs accredited under this first edition were awarded EASNA Accreditation as Administered by COA  In 2002, EASNA recognized COA as sole custodian of the accreditation process and standards, while EASNA assumed the role of supporting member organizations seeking accreditation. Later, in 2002, the standards went through another round of field comment, resulting in COA’s release of the EAP Standards and Self-Study Manual, 2nd Edition. The 2nd Edition was a comprehensive blueprint of best practices in the EAP field, and included standards for Administration and Management, Management of EAP Human Resources, Health and Safety, Finance, EAP Legal Liability, Contracts for EAP Services, Quality Improvement, Personnel and Affiliate Competence, Staff Supervision and Training, Professional Practice, Service Delivery and Intake, Assessment and Service Planning.

Thus, while EASNA no longer is a direct provider of accreditation services, EASNA continues to actively support accreditation for providers of employee assistance programs. In support of EAP accreditation, EASNA provides mentoring services to EASNA members seeking COA accreditation.

Why Become Accredited?

The COA accreditation process is open and facilitative and provides an organization with all the tools needed for success. To undergo the accreditation process and ultimately achieve accreditation is a unique distinction among EAP’s and attests that your organization has met the highest possible international standards for quality management and service delivery. For the EAP field as a whole, accreditation helps standardize the practices and services being delivered, reducing risk and ensuring consistent, professional, and high quality service across the industry.  Accreditation also provides objective outcome data that can help guide the field towards new developments and practices.

For more information about accreditation, please contact Joseph Seoane, Director of Client Relations, either by telephone at 866-262-8088, x263 or email at jseoane@coanet.org.

For More Information

For EASNA's statement on accreditation, click here.

For practical information on accreditation, click here.

Why Select an Accredited EAP Provider?

A COA accredited provider has invested significant time and resources to meet or exceed the requirements, so organizations selecting such a provider can be assured that accredited firm demonstrate a high level of professionalism. Accreditation demonstrates a provider’s commitment and ability to deliver consistent quality service. Here’s why.

The COA accreditation program offers participating firms its acclaimed Contextual Accreditation—a strategy to strengthen, measure and validate organizational effectiveness. Contextual Accreditation focuses on each organization’s unique mission, resources and culture, as well as the unique needs and aspirations of the people it serves.

COA’s 8th Edition Standards are at the core of Contextual Accreditation. Recognizing that human service organizations are faced with increasing pressure to document “what works” in terms of meeting the unique needs and aspirations of the people they serve, the 8th Edition Standards promote the principle that increased organizational capacity is linked to improved service delivery and that this, in turn, results in better outcomes.