December 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 68

in

in 1990, the nRpA and AApRA held
a meeting in phoenix, Arizona, and presented a report that outlined objectives, a
schedule, a chapter outline, and a proposal for organization and administration of
a national accreditation program. in 1993,
the commission for Accreditation of park
and Recreation Agencies (cApRA) was established to implement and administer the
accreditation program.

No One to Call
Accreditation involves several phases-a
formal application, a self-assessment, an
on-site visit by a team of trained visitors
which results in a written report, and finally
a semi-annual meeting of the commission to
grant accreditation. Asheville, north carolina, was one of the original six pilot agencies
that served as test cases for both the standards and the accreditation process in 1994.
" We really didn't know what we doing, "
recalls irby brinson, past vice chair. " there
was no one to call or network with. but we
made extensive notes and documentation
so other agencies could call us later. it was
a brand new concept and we didn't know
how many agencies would embrace it. "
" no one knew what they were doing, "
agrees Judy Weiss, former commission
chair and current commissioner, recalling her experience in scottsdale, Arizona,
another pilot agency. " betty did an eighthour session to go over the standards at
congress. now it's a very sophisticated
program. everyone is experienced and
they have the process down.
" the first stint was all about getting
agencies interested and understanding the
benefits-trying to market it, " Weiss continues. " then we tried to hook it up with
other things, like grants and Gold Medals. "

A Twig, Not a Branch
originally cApRA was an independent
commission with its own budget, and dedicated staff from nRpA. cApRA paid for
staff hours and direct expenses through
the sales of the Management book, training sessions, and agency fees. As nRpA
evolved, having independent commissions
became problematic. When nRpA still

62 Parks & Recreation   D E C E M B E R

operated under the branch and section
system of organization, Whitmore said the
cApRA often felt " more like a twig. " the organization, although it had its own budget
and staff, was worried about losing its dedicated funding if it integrated into nRpA.
" We were seeking a way forward-
we needed nRpA and nRpA needed us, "
Whitmore says. Finally, a late-night meeting in 1996 resulted in the first letter of
understanding that finally made cApRA
" part of the main trunk " of nRpA.
Another major development was the
publication of the Management of Park and
Recreation Agencies 1st edition by betty
van der smissen in 1999. the book helped
explained the standards in detail so that
everyone could be successful in providing the highest quality of service to their

TIMElINE
1989 Task force meeting at
Michigan State University
1990 Report outlining
proposal at Phoenix
1993 CAPRA established
1994 First bylaws created
1996 NRPA takes over
CAPRA administration
1998 Work began to adapt
program to military recreation
1999 Management of Park and
Recreation Agencies published
1999 Visitor training
seminars begin
2001 Three new standards
were added
2004 Management of Park
and Recreation Agencies,
Second Edition published
2005 50 agencies accredited
2008 Number of standards
reduced from 155 to 144
2009 Operating code
replaced 1994 bylaws
2010 Management of Park
and Recreation Agencies,
Third Edition published
2011 100+ agencies accredited

2 0 1 1    w w w . N R P A . O R G

agency. the book not only became a major piece of revenue, according to cochran,
but also began to be used across the country as a textbook in university programs.

Stick with it
the slow growth of the number of accredited agencies has sometimes led to questions about whether the process is too
slow, too labor-intensive for agency staff,
and too expensive. " tenacity " is the word
sandra Whitmore, past chair, uses to describe the main lesson of the accreditation
process. " it has been a slow process, but we
now have over 100 accredited agencies. it's
been a constant forward process. We didn't
modify the standards and haven't diluted
them. Agencies have to be patient, just stick
with it, and they will eventually complete
the process. it sometimes takes an agency
more than a couple of years to complete
their self assessment and that's okay. "
Weiss adds, " the commission has been
able to maintain its integrity-we haven't
taken the standards down a notch. it's still
a process you can be proud of because it's
means you're one of the elite agencies. "
" it's been a struggle, and took a while
to get here but this program is here to
stay, " says brinson. " it's the most important thing our profession has ever
done-it's made us equals with other departments and says that this is a legitimate
profession that takes its work seriously. "

A Gift You Give
With more than 100 agencies now accredited, word is spreading about both the obvious and intangible benefits to agencies.
Dianne hoover, member of the cApRA
board for six years and later past nRpA
president, has been through the process
with three different agencies.
" Accreditation is a gift you give your
agency-a gift of well-run agencies, with



December 2011 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2011 - Parks & Recreation

December 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 1
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