February 24, 2015 Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM) has achieved national accreditation through the New York-based Council on Accreditation (COA).
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM) has achieved national accreditation through the New York-based Council on Accreditation (COA). LMM empowers people in Greater Cleveland to overcome barriers, obtain job skills, gain employment, locate and maintain stable housing, access counseling and support services, stay out of prison, secure second chances and become self-sufficient, productive members of the community.
COA accreditation ensures that LMM is providing the very best possible services to clients and is a mechanism that enables LMM to continually improve and evaluate the way it delivers services to the community. COA accreditation is an objective, independent, and reliable validation of an agency’s performance. The accreditation process involves a detailed review and analysis of an organization’s administration, management, and service delivery functions against international standards of best practice. The standards driving accreditation ensure that services are well-coordinated, culturally competent, evidence-based, outcomes-oriented, and provided by a skilled and supported workforce. COA accreditation demonstrates accountability in the management of resources and increases organizational capacity and accountability by creating a framework for ongoing quality improvement.
To achieve accreditation, LMM first provided written evidence of compliance with the COA Standards. Thereafter, a group of specially trained volunteer Peer Reviewers confirmed adherence to these standards during a series of on-site interviews with trustees, staff and clients. Based on their findings, COA’s volunteer-based Accreditation Commission voted that LMM had successfully met the criteria for accreditation.
COA Standards reflect current best practices in the field as determined through extensive literature reviews and a rigorous, multi-stage development and vetting process. Over 2,000 organizations — voluntary, public, and proprietary; large and small — have either successfully achieved, or are in the process of, accreditation. Achieving COA accreditation means our organization is among the best in the field. LMM is proud to be a part of this community of excellence.
# # # LMM serves and advocates with people to help them gain employment, secure stable housing, access counseling and support, stay out of prison and become self-sufficient, productive members of our community. Last year alone, LMM served nearly 10,000 people in Northeast Ohio who are oppressed, forgotten and hurting. LMM works with people of all faiths, including hundreds of partners and thousands of volunteers, to provide vital services and impact public policy.