accreditation steve keener, staff attorney [email protected] 1

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Accreditation

Steve Keener, Staff Attorney

[email protected]

Agenda

1. Changes to Accreditation Requirements

2. Online Accreditation System

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AccreditationEnsures: Quality, Growth,

Consistency

Access to: Training, Branding,

Infrastructure, Reputation, Funding

Why: More opportunities for athletes

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Program Quality

Standards

Tools to help Programs

improve and grow

Accreditation

Core requirements to

be a Special Olympics

Program

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Accreditation Update Process

• Task force with representatives from each

Region• Feedback collected from Regional Leadership

Councils and Global Leadership Team• Approved by International Advisory Committee,

Global Leadership Team, and Board Executive Committee

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Substantive Changes: Finance/Business Expert

1. Finance or Business Expert. Programs are required to have a

finance or business expert on their Boards of Directors.

Corresponding with this requirement, the minimum number of Board

members is increased from six to seven.

• Implementation Period. Compliance with the Finance/Business

Expert requirement will be required beginning in November 2016 for

Programs applying for 2017-2018 accreditation.

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Substantive Changes: Unified Sports

2. Unified Sports. Programs are required to provide opportunities for

Unified Sports activities. This requirement is satisfied by Unified

Sports activities at any level.

• Implementation Period. Compliance with the Unified Sports

requirement will be required beginning in November 2016 for


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Substantive Changes: Software3. Software. Programs are required to use certain Special Olympics

software as provided and instructed by SOI.

• Implementation Period. Compliance with the Software

requirement will be required beginning in November 2018 for


• Details. Programs applying for 2016-2017 accreditation should

answer “yes” if they use (1) the online census system and (2) the

online accreditation system. In future years, additional software will

be added to this list as it is developed and rolled out.

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Substantive Changes: Voluntary Questions4. Voluntary Questions. The following two voluntary questions are added to the

accreditation application in order to collect information and emphasize the

importance of certain non-required opportunities. Answers to these questions will

not impact the approval of a Program’s application.

• Program Quality Standards. Has the Program conducted a self-

assessment and identified areas for improvement using the Program Quality

Standards?

• Board Training. During the last two years, have the Board Chair and the

majority of Board members undergone training relevant to their governance

roles?

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Technical and Stylistic Changes1. Accreditation “Requirements” (instead of “Standards”)

2. Instructions and Stylistic Changes. Instructions have been added

and stylistic changes have been made to the application to improve

clarity and user experience.

3. “Board of Directors” References. For simplicity, all governing

bodies are referred to as “Boards of Directors.” Boards of Trustees,

Boards of Governors, and “Program Committees” (as defined by the

General Rules) continue to satisfy General Rules and accreditation

requirements related to board governance.

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Technical and Stylistic Changes4. Board Minutes. One set of board meeting minutes from each of

the previous two years. (Previous application required minutes from

two most recent meetings.)

5. Budgets and Plans. Programs are required to submit budgets and

operational plans every year. (Previous application only required

submission when renewing accreditation.)

6. Contact Information. The accreditation application prompts

Programs to provide updated contact information for the Program’s

office, Board Chair, Executive/National Director, and Sports Director.

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Technical and Stylistic Changes7. Attachments. Programs are required to attach bylaws, registration

forms, and logo samples or note when they were previously

submitted. (Previous application only required attachments when

there were document updates.)

8. Corrective Measures. Language has been added to the

Accreditation License Agreement to clarify SOI’s authority to effect

change in Programs that are being mismanaged without resorting to

revocation of accreditation.

9. Earlier Deadline. Beginning in 2016, accreditation applications will

be due November 15.

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Accreditation Requirements1. Mission

2. Board• Composition

• Board Rotation

• Meetings & Minutes

3. Exec & Sports Directors

4. 2 Sports & Unified

Sports

5. Software

6. Registered Athletes

7. Name & Logo

8. Finance & Planning

9. Fees

10.License

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Submission Deadline: Tuesday, 15 December 2015

2015-2016 Cycle

1. 2014 Financial Statements

2. 2014 AGR Form (990 in US)

3. 2016 Budget

4. 2016 Operational Plan

5. Contact Information

2016-2017 Cycle

6. Renewal Application with all

requested information and

attachments

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Online Accreditation System

Program Users: Applying for 2016-2017

Accreditation

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Logging Onhttp://services.specialolympics.org/Login

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Applications Menu

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2016-2017 Application

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Posting General Comments

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Posting General Comments

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1. Special Olympics Mission

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Response

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Mission Statement

The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round

sports training and athletic competition in a variety of

Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual

disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop

physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and

participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their

families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

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Attaching a document

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Question 1 Complete

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2. Governing Board

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Typing a name

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Questions 2.1-2.5 Complete

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Questions 2.6-2.8 Complete

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Board Composition• Expert in Intellectual Disabilities: Should have a degree or substantial

professional experience in a field related to intellectual disabilities, such as

special education or developmental psychology.

• Sports Expert: Should have a degree or substantial professional experience

in a field related to sports.

• Finance or Business Expert: Should have a degree, certification, or

substantial professional experience in a field related to financial or business

management. **Not required this year.**

• Close Family Relation: Parent, sibling, grandparent, or child of a current or

former Special Olympics athlete.

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Athlete Leadership• Each Board must include at least one current or former Special Olympics

athlete.

• Athlete members must have the same rights and privileges as other

voting Board members, including full voting rights and the same

terms as other members.

• Athletes should play a meaningful and integral role and should not be chosen

only to satisfy this accreditation requirement.

• Programs are encouraged to make use of materials provided through the

Special Olympics Athlete Leadership Program to make the most of athlete

leadership.

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Board Rotation• Board Rotation. The governing documents of each Program are required to limit

the terms of Board members to a maximum of 9 consecutive years. General Rules

Section 5.02(d).

• Board Rotation Waiver. Programs requesting an exception to the nine-year

limitation should submit a written request to their Regional President that includes

1) Name and years of service of the member(s) for whom the exception is

requested,

2) Justification for the extension, and

3) Length of the requested extension.

• Alternatives to Waiver. Programs are encouraged to consider having

exemplary long-term Board members support the Program in other ways or step

off the Board for a one-year period before returning to the Board.

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3. Executive/National Director and Sports Director

4. Special Olympics Sports

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Unified Sports• Unified Sports. The Unified Sports accreditation requirement is

satisfied by a Program providing Unified Sports opportunities at

any level in at least one sport.

• Implementation Period. **Not required this year.**

Compliance with the Unified Sports requirement will be required

beginning in November 2016 for Programs applying for 2017-

2018 accreditation.

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5. Registered Athletes6. Software

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Athlete Registration

• As part of registration, Programs are required to collect forms for each athlete. General Rules Section 2.02.

• For accreditation, Programs are required to attach their current registration forms or note when they were submitted with a previous accreditation application.

• If any revisions to the forms have been made since previously submitted, the current forms must be attached.

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Athlete Registration: Sample Release Form




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Athlete Registration: Sample Information Form




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Athlete Registration: Sample Medical Form




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Software• Software. Programs are required to use certain Special Olympics

software as provided and instructed by SOI.

• Implementation Period. **Not required this year.** Compliance

with the Software requirement will be required beginning in

November 2018 for Programs applying for 2019-2020 accreditation.

• Details. Programs applying for 2016-2017 accreditation should

answer “yes” if they use (1) the online census system and (2) the

online accreditation system. In future years, additional software will

be added to this list as it is developed and rolled out.

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7. Name & Logo

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Letterhead and Business Cards• Programs are required to attach their current letterheads and

business cards or note when they were submitted with a previous

application. If any revisions have been made since previously

submitted, the current materials must be attached.

• If a Program does not use business cards, it is not required to create

them solely for the accreditation application.

• If your Program needs assistance creating or updating branded

materials, please contact your regional Organizational Development

representative.

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8. Finances & Planning

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Financial Statements• Annual financial statements should include:

o Statement of all revenue from the most recently completed fiscal year,

o Statement of all expenses from the most recently completed fiscal year, and

o Balance Sheet showing the Program’s assets and liabilities as of the last day

of the most recently completed fiscal year.

• Financial Audit. Financial statement shall be audited by an independent

auditor. General Rules Section 8.05(a). If obtaining a financial audit will cause a

significant hardship for a Program with a very small budget (for example,

$50,000 USD or less), the Program should contact its regional Organizational

Development representative to discuss a waiver of the audit requirement.

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2014 Adjusted Gross Revenue Form

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2016 Budget and Operational Plan• Annual Budget. An annual budget is a statement of planned revenue and

expenses for an entire fiscal year and is a planning tool that every Program

must have in order to effectively manage its finances and assets.

• Operational Plan. In accordance with General Rules Section 8.03(a),

Programs are required to develop a written operational plan for each fiscal

year, setting forth comprehensive goals for the Program’s sports,

programmatic, administrative and fundraising goals, and its plans for growth.

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9. Accreditation Fees10. License Agreement

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Accreditation Fees• Fees. Programs must be up-to-date in submitting all 2015 and prior

fees, or have an approved payment plan in place, before they will be

accredited for 2016.

• Alternative Payment Arrangements. If a Program is unable to

pay its fee in full when due, it may request that SOI accept a payment

plan. To request a payment plan, send a written request to your

regional Organizational Development representative that includes

specific dates by which payments will be made.

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License Agreement

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11. Contact Information

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Profile Page

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Editing or Adding Contacts

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Selecting Contact Type

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Voluntary Questions

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Voluntary Questions• Program Quality Standards. Answer “yes” to this question if the Program’s

Board of Directors and/or staff has done a self-assessment and identified areas

for improvement using the Program Quality Standards. For more information

on how to do an assessment, please contact your regional Organizational

Development representative.

• Board Training. To answer “yes” to this question, training can be done as a

group or separately with trainings tailored to specific members’ training needs

(for example, finance training for the Board’s treasurer, athlete leadership

training for athletes on the Board). For assistance in identifying Board training

opportunities and resources, please contact your regional Organizational

Development representative.

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Application Submitted

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Download Certificate

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Documents Needed For Accreditation Renewal1. Current bylaws with SO Mission & Board Rotation provisions

2. Board minutes from 1 meeting in 2014 and 1 meeting in

2015

3. Current athlete registration forms

4. Current letterhead & business cards

5. 2014 financial statements

6. 2014 AGR form

7. 2016 budget

8. 2016 operational plan

9. Signed accreditation license agreement

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Online Accreditation System

Program Users: Mid-Cycle Submission for Programs

Accredited for 2015-2016

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Accreditation Portal – Logging Onhttp://services.specialolympics.org/Login

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Portal Home Screen

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Current 2015-2016 Application

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Mid-Cycle Tab: 2016

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Implementing New Requirements• Finance or Business Expert on Board by November

2016

• Minimum 7 Board members by November 2016

• Unified Sports in at least 1 sport by November

2016

• Keep up to date with SOI software, using

accreditation and census systems and other

systems as they are added, required beginning

November 2018

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Questions?

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Thank you

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