Corrections_Today_Fall_2025_Vol.87_No.3

STANDARDS & ACCREDITATION

Ohio initiative for American Correctional Association auditors

By David Haasenritter

T he auditing process for cor rectional facilities under the auspices of The Commission on Accreditation for Corrections (CAC) and managed by the Ameri can Correctional Association (ACA) is a through and careful examination of correctional facilities and their operations. The process involves ACA man aging expected practices, standards manuals and the accreditation process. The Performance-Based Standards Committee, with input from practitioners in the field and ACA staff, creates, modifies and deletes expected practices. The audit team conducts audits based on the standards manual (prison, jail, ju venile, community corrections, etc.) that best fits the facility/agency. The Commission on Accreditation for Corrections (CAC) approves or de nies accreditation based on the audit report, with consideration given to CAC questions by facility represen tatives. All play an important role in the process. It is often said that the auditors are the eyes and ears of ACA and the CAC. It has been a challenge to find and train auditors who have the qualifications and professional resume to produce quality audit reports.

Photo courtesy Alvis, Inc.

In June 2025, the Ohio Community Corrections Association and Alvis, Inc. co-sponsored auditor training for staff working in community corrections.

As you may know, auditors are selected from practitioners and retired practitioners from the field. They come from all walks of corrections, working in, or having worked in, accredited facilities. They must have worked in the type of facility/agency or program they are auditing, i.e. must have worked in a community correc tions facility to audit a community corrections facility. Not everyone who applies is selected to be an auditor. They continuously receive train ing. The most important training is new auditor training. The new

auditor training is offered at ACA Conferences and has been offered remotely via zoom as well. One way ACA and the CAC are utilizing to shore up our stable of auditors is to recruit through correctional organizations. Auditors needed Annette Chambers-Smith, Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC), challenged other agencies to provide auditors for ACA to train.

Fall 2025 | Corrections Today

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