[nagdu] Leader dog and NAC Accreditation

Thu Jul 23 15:31:28 UTC 2015

Hi,

Sure. The real fact is that much of the "accreditation" comes from the people hired and how they are certified. CARF is there, but I do not know how wide spread its certification is utilized. I am not in the O&A field as such. There are others who have much more expertise on this than I. What I do know is that Nac is not and has never been an answer for any agency.

I lived through and was a part of the Nac battles of the 70s and beyond. I heard first-hand the negative and demeaning remarks of Nac officials and accredited agency personnel concerning blind persons. What I have not heard is any change in Nac's attitude toward blind people. Furthermore, given the state of Nac's web site I do not see any evidence that Nac has changed in any substantive way. 

Best Regards,

Michael Hingson

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Marianne Denning via nagdu
Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2015 8:18 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Marianne Denning; Michael Hingson
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Leader dog and NAC Accreditation

Michael, have you and NAGDU or NFB looked into other accrediting options?  The only 2 I am aware of are NAC and CARF.

On 7/23/15, Michael Hingson via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Marianne,
>
> I must respectively agree. The nature of the accrediting organization 
> is of concern to anyone who knows about standards. Donors who are 
> impressed only by letters and not the organization, while numerous, 
> are not the major donors giving most of the money. Nac has little 
> respect in the world as demonstrated by its small number of "accredited agencies".
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
>
> Michael Hingson
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Marianne 
> Denning via nagdu
> Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2015 7:31 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Cc: Marianne Denning
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Leader dog and NAC Accreditation
>
> Raven, two or three of us brought up this issue at convention.  Leader 
> Dogs is correct.  NAC only accredits the O&M and summer camp program.
> I have looked on NAC's website and cannot find out anything about the 
> accreditation process so can't speak to that.
>
> I belief CARF has a specific way to accredit agencies for the blind 
> but I haven't explored it much either.
>
> I think Leader Dog has one good point.  Today, accreditation or 
> letters behind your name are important.  People don't care who the 
> accrediting agency is or what the letters behind your name are.  I 
> know NFB cares very deeply and that is great but most donors are not concerned about that.
>
> On 7/23/15, Raven Tolliver via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 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
>>
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>
>
> --
> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
> (513) 607-6053
>
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--
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053

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