Ahtanum View Corrections Center on Track for National Accreditation

 

 

Side View of AVCC

Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima scored 100 percent on mandatory standards and 98.2 percent on non-mandatory standards in an American Correctional Association (ACA) accreditation audit that took place June 16-18.

Located in Alexandria, Va., ACA is the only national organization that accredits correctional facilities.  ACA standards are considered the benchmark for the effective operation of professional correctional systems.

“I’m constantly impressed by the work of Ahtanum View staff members who balance the delivery of complex services to offenders with maintaining the security of a prison,” said Prisons Division Director Dick Morgan. “Staff members should feel proud to receive such high marks from ACA.”

Ahtanum View was the first prison in Washington specifically designed to house aged, medically challenged and disabled offenders. Offender education and treatment programs at the facility focus on learning to be independent and self-sufficient after release.

The ACA accreditation process includes a tour by certified auditors who look at the quality and adequacy of the facility’s programs, activities and services. The auditors also interview employees and offenders and inspect the condition and cleanliness of the facility.

A vote by an ACA panel on full accreditation for the prison is expected in August at the Annual Congress of American Corrections conference in New Orleans.

Seven of DOC’s 15 prisons have received ACA accreditation to date.

-30-

Divider image - horizontal green bar