The Presbyterian Home for Children leadership team continues the process toward renewal of the prestigious Educational Assessment Guidelines Leading toward Excellence EAGLE Accreditation in 2025.
Staff started during 2024 and will continue through 2025 putting together the challenging documentation to maintain EAGLE accreditation, which is the highest standard for a faith-based organization serving children, youth, and families to accomplish. We have had the status since 2017.
The accreditation process is a great way to regularly check our systems to ensure we are using the best practices out there to fulfill our mission and enhance our impact for those who need us most.
We do that through a system called the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) process. It is a structured, data-driven approach that enables us to identify opportunities for improvement, implement changes, and assess outcomes. This way, we create a culture of accountability, innovation, and excellence.
CQI includes a regular revisit to our three-year strategic plan to make sure we are on target to meet our goals, and it empowers us to proactively address challenges, optimize processes, and continue to deliver high-quality services to children and families in our programs.
“CQI is part of our organizational DNA,” President and CEO Doug Marshall said. “It documents where we stand on our annual action goals, and it supports the accomplishments of our strategic plan. The CQI process allows us to constantly improve the Home.”
The process has already produced useful insights that are driving positive change within our organization. For example, a recent CQI discussion revealed an opportunity to open one of our renovated cottages on campus to help moms who have lost custody of their children to DHR gain the skills needed to get their children back through the Secure Dwellings program.
Through this new service, the moms will live in the Robinson Cottage Family Unity Center and receive guidance from the Home’s trained Case Workers such as parenting skills and financial literacy as well as what is needed to meet requirements outlined by DHR to regain custody of their children. Then the mom and her children can receive continuous case management service and support for up to two years before exiting the Secure Dwellings Program or receive assistance in obtaining secure and safe housing in the community.
That’s a meaningful addition to the Home’s services that will impact moms and children in need – and it came out of the CQI process.
“The Home wants to help as many children and families in need that we can,” Marshall said. “A structured process like CQI and reaccreditation helps us work together as a team to find gaps in services and determine how we can best fill those gaps and expand our impact to spread hope and healing to those who need us most.”
Also as part of the reaccreditation process, the Home leadership and staff have spent countless time after hours developing updated operating manuals for all programs and departments that serve as a comprehensive guide for our policies, procedures, and best practices. It provides clear instructions and frameworks to ensure continued compliance with legal and ethical standards while promoting efficiency, transparency, and mission-driven decision-making. These manuals are reference tools for our entire staff to ensure consistency, accountability, and alignment with our mission.
All this work leads up to a campus visit by the reaccreditation peer review team in mid-September when leadership, staff and some of our clients will be interviewed by members of the team.
The Home has leaders familiar with this process. President Doug Marshall is a member of the EAGLE Accreditation Commission, and Stephani Burton, Vice President of People, Culture, and Administration, and Carl Martin, Director of Operations and Finance, are all EAGLE Peer Reviewers for other agencies seeking accreditation or re-accreditation.
The accreditation process sounds challenging, but the Home considers this an exciting time when we get to demonstrate through this regimented national process that we are among the country’s top experts providing the best programs and services to at-risk children and families entrusted in our care and deserve the EAGLE Accreditation.
