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CWLA Standards, Accreditation, and State Licensing
CWLA Standards of Excellence
The Child Welfare League of America's Standards of Excellence are intended to be used as goals for practice in the field of child welfare services. They are intended to provide a vision of what is best for children and their families and, as such, encourage the continual strengthening of services. CWLA Standards carry no implication of control or regulation. Rather, by bringing together the collective experience of the field to bear upon the work of each organization, they provide a valuable tool for both public and private agencies.
The Standards present practices considered to be most desirable in providing services, regardless of an organization's auspices or setting. CWLA's Standards are used widely to influence practice throughout North America and internationally.
CWLA Standards of Excellence make it possible to compare what exists with what is considered most desirable for children and their families, and to judge the extent to which current performance approximates or deviates from the most desirable practice. The Standards have an educational purpose as well, disseminating what is accepted to be the best current thinking and practice in each child welfare service area.
Since CWLA initiated its standards-setting function, it has continued to revise established standards and to develop new ones as new services emerge. Setting standards involves consultation with national experts and direct service practitioners, a comprehensive review of the literature, and the achievement of professional consensus based on knowledge, experience, and research.
Standards for Accreditation
Published by accrediting organizations, accreditation standards constitute a set of requirements for current agency administration, management, and service delivery. They are rigorous but realistic descriptions of practice standards that a competent provider organization should be able to meet. They establish an evaluative system based on measurable criteria.
State Licensing
Through the licensing of child placement agencies, residential group care facilities, family foster homes, and child day care facilities, states exercise their police power to protect children from risks against which they would have little or no capacity for self-care and protection. Police power, as defined by Black's Law Dictionary [para. 1401], is "the exercise of the sovereign right of the government to promote order, safety, health, morals, and the general welfare within constitutional limits and is an attribute of government using the power of the state to enforce laws for the well-being of its citizens." It is the basis of licensing laws. Licensing requirements provide basic protections by the state for the well-being of children and their families.
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