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F. u� STANDARDS WHAT ARE THEY? Every recreation and park agency, whatever its focus or its field d of operad n} is rightfully co n6erned with the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations. with the importance of a recreation experiences to the quality of life, every agency has an essential responsibility in the lives of individuals. The appraisal of just how well an agency is doing operationally is indeed a cliff cult task. For this reason when evaluating an agency, the recreation and park profession and the supporting citizenry have turned to the "experience-wisdom" of the profession.n. 1�hen this experience wisdom is formalized, it results in standards against which p p one evaluated an agency}s operation. Thus, a standard is a statement of desirable practice as set forth by experienced and recognized professionals. For further discussion of standards, see introduction of document Guide to Standards with Comment6ry. Development of the Standards r of this Accreditation Program was a document` entitled '"Evaluation and Self- Study of Public Recreation and Park Agencies" first issued in 1965. The standards in the document were initially determined by leading professionals in the Great Lakes District of the then Rational Recreation Association and field tested in a statewide study in Pennsylvania encompassing 30 municipal park and recreation departments employing full-time directors. The document was updated and revised in 1972 and has been used for 20 years. i The standards in this Accreditation Program were developed by a special committee (see historical perspectives in preceding section on Accreditation). The committee membership is on page vii. Input from a wide scope of practitioners has been sought through meetings at conferences, working with various state and organization boards and councils, and general distribution of information. The standards and the review process are being field tested at eleven of park and recreation systems of varying characteristics. 4.. The 155 Standards are divided into 10 categories: 1.0 Agency Authority, Ro I e and Responsibility (17'sumdards); 2.o Planning (17 standards); 3.0 organization and Administration (23 standards); 4.0 Human Resources (3o standards)- 5.0 Finance ('Fiscal Policy and Management) 1 standards); 6.0 Program and Services Management (13 standards); 7.0 Facility and Land Use Management (13 standards); 8.0 Safety acid Security (10 standards); 9.0 Ris' k Management (7 standards); 10.0 Evaluation and research (Evaluative Research) (4 standards). Some of the standards are broad in scope, while others are quite def tnitive. There are 35 which are designated as fundamental to a quality operation. The standards are complemented with Commentary to provide further information regarding the implementation of the standard. The Guide to Standards %dth Commentary, which includes both the standards and c6mmentary, is an educative document and may be used in a number of approaches to self-evaluation. Ivan der Smissen, Betty. Evaluation and Self-Study of Public Recreation and Park Agencies. Published by NRPA. Revised 1972. 5