Smoky Mountain Children’s Home Receives National Accreditation
Sevierville, TN–Over the past eighteen months, the Smoky Mountain Children’s Home (SMCH) has been involved in a wall-to-wall review of all of its programs by the Council on Accreditation, (COA) of New York. The organization also provides accreditation for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. Recently the accrediting body announced that SMCH has officially received national accreditation for the next four years, through July 1, 2025.
Every SMCH department was reviewed and compared favorably with national benchmarks. The formal process evaluated each SMCH program against national best practice standards. An onsite COA visiting team concluded the final review in the month of February.
Executive Director Dr. Walt Mauldin stated, “Our institutional self-study was led by Linda Loyd, a 45-year veteran, who serves as our Accreditation Director. Campus and community staff, residents, as well as foster care children and parents participated in the interviews and assessment. Our Board of Directors were actively involved in the entrance and exit interviews. The SMCH leadership team prepared literally thousands of pages of documentation revealing the excellence of our residential, foster care and adoption programs.”
Linda Loyd said, “This type of process could not happen without exceptional teamwork! Each of them love our children and youth, and they love what they are doing.” She went on to commend the self-study leadership team, which was comprised of Mauldin, Dr. Shane Smith, Dr. Wade Horton, Beverly Beard, Tammie Mauldin, Marvin Amos, Dr. Pamela Kay Overbey, Melody Jones, Jessica Pendergrass, Conni Allen and Patty Higgenbottom.
Most institutions, such as colleges and universities, are accredited for a ten-year period. However, with the changing complexities of caring for children and teens, agencies like SMCH must go through a rigorous reaccreditation process every four years.
After receiving the news of reaccreditation, the staff and residents at SMCH proclaimed, ”To God be the glory!”
