Performance Based Standards for Correctional Health Care
ACA evaluates and accredits correctional health care programs in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization, ACA is the nation's predominant standards-setting and accrediting body for correctional facilities and health care. Since 1989, ACA has developed health care standards for corrections but in 1999, it began on providing state-of-the-art professional performance-based standards, an initiative that focuses accreditation on outcome measures that are critical to the consequences of programs. Prior efforts only measured the presence or absence of an operation, condition or situation.
In 2001, ACA began evaluating compliance of health care against these benchmarks. Our mission is to continuously improve practices in correctional facilities by helping agencies provide incarcerated populations with safe and effective health care.