2020 Conference Start Planning to Attend
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The purpose of the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) Accreditation process is to determine the extent to which applicant Information and Referral (I&R) organizations comply with expected practices within the field as defined by the AIRS Standards and Quality Indicators for Professional Information and Referral.
Accreditation is a process that includes: a Remote Database Review to ensure that the resource database meets minimum requirements, a Consultation Component during which the I&R service completes and submits required documentation in consultation with a liaison assigned by AIRS; and the On-Site Review during which a review team is able to see the agency in operation and verify that its practices are consistent with the accreditation criteria. Prior to the site visit, the call handling component of the agency’s service is evaluated through a Secret Shopper process.
All transactions between AIRS (including members of the site visit team and Accreditation contractors) and the applicant agency, and all materials submitted by the agency, are confidential. The only information that will be shared with other organizations and government agencies making an inquiry is information for which the applicant agency has provided written authorization for AIRS to share. The process for re-accreditation is the same as outlined above.
The cost is $6,000 for members and $9,000 for non-members, which includes all of the costs of a site visit. Accreditation awards are made for a period of five years.
AIRS Accreditation provides:
Many organizations in the United States and Canada have successfully attained AIRS Accreditation. It is important to note that some of these agencies are relatively small (e.g. with less than 5 full-time staff). Organizational size is not a barrier!
Whether an I&R program is national or local in scope, comprehensive or specialized in nature, or offered in non-profit, for-profit or government settings, AIRS Accreditation is the best way to demonstrate the overall quality and effectiveness of an I&R service.
AIRS Accreditation involves the following stages:
For more information about the accreditation process contact Amy Fish at amy@airs.org or (916) 945- 6270; or the Accreditation Support Community on the AIRS Networker at http://airsnetworker.airs.org. This Accreditation Support Community is for organizations considering applying for AIRS Accreditation, for those considering renewing their Accreditation and those currently in the process. This is a place to post questions to the group and AIRS staff.