Accrediting the Accreditors: A New Paradigm for Correctional Oversight

Abstract

The article presents the author's insights on the accreditation of correctional institutions by the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections, which works under the protections of the American Correctional Association (ACA). The author relates the conference, which highlights the arrangement of options for opening up the world of prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities. She says that the correctional accreditation process should be the starting for an assessment of the efficacy of prison-oversight systems in the U.S. She suggests that the general framework for the accreditation of institutions of higher education must be introduced to the correctional accreditation.