The American Correctional Association and the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections are private, non-profit organizations which administer the only national accreditation program for all components of adult and juvenile corrections. The purpose of these organizations is to promote improvement in the management of a voluntary accreditation program and the ongoing development and revision of relevant, useful standards.

More than 1,500 correctional facilities and programs are involved in accreditation, a process that began in 1978. Approximately 80 percent of all state departments of corrections and youth services are active participants. Also included are programs and facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the US Parole Commission, the District of Columbia, and the private sector.

For these agencies, the accreditation program offers the opportunity to evaluate their operations against national standards, to remedy deficiencies and to upgrade the quality of correctional programs and services. The recognized benefits from such a process include improved management, a defense against lawsuits through documentation and the demonstration of a "good faith" effort to improve conditions of confinement, increased accountability and enhanced public credibility for administrative and line staff, a safer and more humane environment for personnel and offenders, and the establishment of measurable criteria for upgrading programs, personnel practices, and physical plant on a continuous basis.

The Florida Department of Corrections' involvement in the accreditation process began in 1968 when it was the first state to complete a preliminary self-evaluation of standards. This became the basis for the Manual of Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions, 1^st. Edition, published in August 1977. Florida also became the first state to enter all of its major institutions into the accreditation process in 1979 when Secretary Louie Wainwright entered into a contract to accredit its 24 major institutions. This was followed by the accreditation of its Probation and Parole Field Services and all of its (30) Work Release Centers in 1982. Finally, with the accreditation of its Central Office in January 1984 the Florida Department of Corrections became the largest fully accredited correctional agency in the nation.

The Department of Corrections has continued its quest for excellence by maintaining the accreditation of its major institutions, Probation and Parole Field Services and Work Release Centers. Today the following facilities and programs are fully accredited:

Major Institutions

Apalachee Correctional Institution Avon Park Correctional Institution Baker Correctional Institution Brevard Correctional Institution Broward Correctional Institution Calhoun Correctional Institution Central Florida Reception Center Century Correctional Institution Charlotte Correctional Institution Columbia Correctional Institution Cross City Correctional Institution Dade Correctional Institution DeSoto Correctional Institution Everglades Correctional Institution Franklin Correctional Institution Florida State Prison Gainesville Correctional Institution Glades Correctional Institution Gulf Correctional Institution Hamilton Correctional Institution Hardee Correctional Institution Hendry Correctional Institution Hernando Correctional Institution Hillsborough Correctional Institution Holmes Correctional Institution Indian River Correctional Institution Jackson Correctional Institution

Jefferson Correctional Institution Lake Correctional Institution Lancaster Correctional Institution Lawtey Correctional Institution Liberty Correctional Institution Lowell Correctional Institution Madison Correctional Institution Marion Correctional Institution Martin Correctional Institution Mayo Correctional Institution New River Correctional Institution Okaloosa Correctional Institution Okeechobee Correctional Institution Polk Correctional Institution Putnam Correctional Institution Reception and Medical Center Santa Rosa Correctional Institution South Florida Reception Center Sumter Correctional Institution Taylor Correctional Institution Tomoka Correctional Institution Union Correctional Institution Wakulla Correctional Institution Walton Correctional Institution Washington Correctional Institution Zephyrhills Correctional Institution

Probation and Parole Field Services
Each Circuit Office is listed below with the number of probation offices shown in parenthesis:
Bartow Circuit (9) Clearwater Circuit (14) Daytona Beach Circuit (8) Ft. Lauderdale Circuit (8) Ft. Myers Circuit (7) Ft. Pierce Circuit (5) Gainesville Circuit (5) Jacksonville Circuit (7) Key West Circuit (3) Lake City Circuit (7)	Miami Circuit (11) Orlando Circuit (9) Panama City Circuit (6) Pensacola Circuit (9) Sanford Circuit (7) Sarasota Circuit (6) Tallahassee Circuit (7) Tampa Circuit (12) Tavares Circuit (8) West Palm Beach Circuit (5)

Work Release Centers
Atlantic Work Release Center Bartow Work Release Center Cocoa Work Release Center Daytona Beach Work Release Center Dinsmore Work Release Center Ft. Pierce Work Release Center Hollywood Work Release Center Kissimmee Work Release Center Lake City Work Release Center Miami North Work Release Center	Opa Locka Work Release Center Orlando Work Release Center Panama City Work Release Center Pensacola Work Release Center Pinellas Work Release Center Santa Fe Work Release Center St. Petersburg Work Release Center Tallahassee Work Release Center Tarpon Springs Work Release Center West Palm Beach Work Release Center