COUNCIL ON ACCREDITATION ANNOUNCES THE WINNERS OF THE FIRST INNOVATIVE PRACTICES AWARD

NEW YORK CITY--October 24, 2008-- The Council on Accreditation (COA) congratulates the recipients of its first Innovative Practices Award.

• Lorain County Children's Services; Elyria, OH; School Success Innovative Practice
• National Youth Advocate Program; Columbus, OH; Constant and Never Ending Improvement (CANEI)
• Niles Home for Children; Kansas City, MO; Hip Health: An Integrated, Holistic Delivery System for Health and Wellness Services
• Philadelphia Society for Services to Children; Philadelphia, PA; Expanding the Evidence Based Program FAST (Families and Schools Together) to Schools City-Wide in Philadelphia

The COA Innovative Practices Award was created to acknowledge accredited and first time applicant organizations that implement new and forward thinking practices that enhance the quality of services provided to vulnerable children, youth, adults, and families and are consistent with theory, practice wisdom and expert consensus reflected in current professional literature.  COA's Innovative Practices Award is designed to provide organizations the opportunity to share and be rewarded for uniquely meeting the needs of a service population and/or implementing distinctive methods for improving organizational capacity.

COA is extremely proud to recognize Lorain County Children's Services, National Youth Advocate Program, Niles Home for Children, and Philadelphia Society for Services to Children for their creative work, and innovative use of resources, and is honored that they are part of the COA family.