[nagdu] Leader dog and NAC Accreditation

[Raven Tolliver]

Sorry to bring this back up, but I wanted to share some information on
this matter.
I recently started working at Leader Dog, and an email was sent to all
employees last week about NAGDU's resolution against Leader dog.
Specifically, LDB's president and CEO wrote a letter responding to
NAGDU's resolution. That letter is pasted below, as we are advised to
share it with clients, Lions Club members, and those who have
questions about the programs offered at Leader Dog and our affiliation
with the NAC. The letter is followed by my opinions and questions
about this issue.
Here's the letter:

July 13, 2015

You may be aware of a National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
resolution that was recently passed against Leader Dogs for the
Blind’s accreditation by the National Accreditation Council for Blind
and Low Vision Services (NAC). Within the resolution, the NFB demanded
that Leader Dog terminate its accreditation by NAC, in part because
NAC has no expertise in the guide dog arena. Leader Dog’s NAC
accreditation is for our Accelerated Orientation & Mobility Training
and our Summer Experience Camp, both of which fall under NAC’s
expertise. Our Guide Dog Training has been accredited by the
International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) since 1999.

We had reached out to the NFB upon learning about its concerns and the
NFB did not respond to our communication. We know that this resolution
may create questions for our constituents and we’d like to address any
and all concerns.

In addition, the NFB asked Lions Clubs International and individual
Lions Clubs to cease funding to Leader Dogs for the Blind until the
NAC accreditation is terminated.  We do not plan on terminating our
accreditation and continue to stand behind our decision to become
accredited by third-party organizations like NAC and the IGDF.

As you know, our goal is to provide consistent, high-quality service
to all of our clients. Over the past decade we have made a significant
effort to become a transparent organization that is receptive to
outside review and input. Accreditation by third-party organizations,
such as the IGDF and NAC, provide objectivity and hold us to industry
standards when reviewing the services we offer.

Accreditation is a common practice in many industries and is used as a
way to assess how quality is maintained. It provides a non-biased
evaluation of the work that an organization does and helps establish
standards to continuously improve the quality of service provided. We
believe these certification processes provide our current and
potential clients with relevant information when deciding who they
trust to deliver high quality, state-of-the-art travel-related
training.

We have fully embraced continuous quality improvement. This includes
increasing client satisfaction by eliciting feedback during training,
exit interviews and post-training surveys. We not only request client
input, we also immediately act upon it to improve our services and to
ensure we are providing our clients with the training they want and
need to become safer, more independent travelers. Participation in
accreditation processes provides additional information and feedback
for us to use in improving the quality of our services. All of these
efforts support our goal of providing the best possible service and
training programs to our clients.

We want to ensure our relationship continues to be as open and
transparent as possible. If you have any questions about this matter
and need clarification, please contact Rachelle Kniffen, Director of
Communications & Marketing at 248-659-5013 or rkniffen at leaderdog.org.

We truly value and appreciate all you do to support Leader Dogs for the Blind.

Sincerely,
Susan M. Daniels
President & CEO

Here are my comments:
It would be great if someone could provide what the NAC's
accreditation standards are. Obviously, they have something to do with
rehab services for the blind, and this is why LDB has accreditation,
while other guide dog programs don't. In addition to its guide dog
programs, LDB offers the accelerated mobility program, GPS training
seminars, and the summer experience for blind youth.
Where did someone get the information that LDB's guide dog programs
are accredited by the NAC? If you look up press releases on LDB's
recent accreditation, they don't concentrate on LDB's guide dog
programs, but their accelerated mobility program and summer
experience.
How is their NAC accreditation relevant to their guide dog programs,
or the funding and volunteer services they receive to aid in the
raising and training of their guide dogs?
Pertaining to the guide dog programs, is there more to this issue than
what LDB and the press releases are leading on?
-- 
Raven
Founder of 1AM Editing & Research
www.1am-editing.com

You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you
have or what you do.

Naturally-reared guide dogs
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs