WILLINGBORO, N.J., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Literacy Volunteers of America
in Burlington County (LVABC) has been accredited by LVA, Inc., the national
literacy organization.  This new LVA Accreditation initiative is a
certification process that assures students and the general public of the
chapter's high levels of competence and service.
    LVA is the only national literacy organization to mandate accreditation
for its membership.
    LVABC is one of the first affiliates nationally and only the second
affiliate in New Jersey to complete and receive the LVA Accreditation
Initiative.  Once an affiliate is accredited, expectations are that the
national standards of service and operation will be consistently met.
    "In achieving Accreditation, LVABC has demonstrated its ability to meet
the highest standards of excellence in providing literacy services to its
students and volunteers," stated LVA President Marsha L. Tait.  "The
Accreditation Award means that LVABC provides effective nonprofit management,
excellent volunteer tutor training, and quality literacy instruction.  Not
only has this organization distinguished itself as a leader among more that
300 literacy affiliates of Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc., LVABC has
identified itself as an outstanding nonprofit organization in this community."
    "National recognition acknowledges that the LVABC is making a difference
in providing necessary skills to its students so they can achieve productive
roles in their families and communities," noted State Senator Diane Allen.  "A
literate community is a productive community, and LVABC is committed to its
role of creating a strong county and state for the future."
    LVABC began preparing for Accreditation early in 1999.  Barbara Payton,
LVABC board member, Sally Love, Project Director, and Naomi Ossmann,
Administrative Assistant, completed most of the preliminary work.  They began
by studying the standards established by LVA's Accreditation Task Force.  They
assembled two large notebooks, indexed by standard and filled with documents
that show LVABC meets the indicators.
    The field of literacy, not just LVA, needs to be able to show that it
provides quality and measurable outcomes in order to be able to access
government and private funding.
    According to Congressman Thomas C. Sawyer (D-OH), "LVA has demonstrated
leadership in the field of adult literacy by modeling for the field the tool
other fields, such as health care and higher education, have found effective
for ensuring quality and raising resources. Rigorous accreditation, based on
recognized best practices, provides a quality `seal of approval' that funders
will appreciate."
    In order to receive Accreditation, each affiliate must first meet
18 qualifying standards and 10 of 14 scored standards.  The standards range
from the simple, "use the LVA name and logo on all materials," to the complex,
"develop a plan for each student."  Each standard has an interpreter section,
to explain why it is being used, and a list of indicators that prove the
standard is being met.
    "Accreditation has been detailed and intensive.  After months of
documentation of our program and assembling it in the notebooks," said Sally
Love,  "the next step was a survey by a trained LVA surveyor, who came to
LVABC in March for an entire day.  She talked to our leadership and went
through the standards, one by one.  At the end of the day the surveyor was not
able to tell us if we had been accredited.  She had to send her findings back
to LVA and the Accreditation Review Panel, which made the final decision.  We
just received notification this week that we were accredited.  We were
thrilled!"
    Scott Rombach, Chair of the LVABC Public Relations Committee said, "We are
excited about receiving Accreditation.  We are proud of the good work we do at
LVABC and we're pleased to have an unbiased, professional assessment of our
total systems."
    Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. is a national not-for-profit
organization, managed by professionals, which delivers local literacy services
through a network of more than 375 community programs which support more than
50,000 volunteers and more than 70,000 adult literacy students.
    If you have questions about the local literacy program provided by LVABC
or about Accreditation, call the LVABC office at 609-877-5566, or make contact
by e-mail at lvaburl@mail.burlco.lib.nj.us.

Link to this page: