UPDATES AND CLARIFICATIONS FOR CANADIAN ORGANISATIONS

New Updates for May 2008
CA-BSM | CA-BSM 1 and CA-BSM 5 | CA-CR | CA-KC 6.08 | CA-PQI 4.02 | CA-RPM 2.01 | CA-RPM 2.01 | CA-YC.pdf | CA-YJCM | CA-YJD

New Updates for April 2008
CA-CM | CA-CR 2.03 | CA-FC 2.04 | CA-RPM 9 | CA-RPM 9.05 | CA-SCL 7 | CA-TS 2.02 | CA-TS 3.03

New Updates for March 2008
CA-PS 6.01 | CA-SDD

New Updates for February 2008
CA-FEC | CA-GOV 5 | CA-HCS 9.04

STANDARDS UPDATES AND CLARIFICATIONS

Standards Updates and Clarifications provide detailed information about changes and modifications to the standards and are based on new research or literature, as well as feedback COA receives from the field.

Updates

Updates are formal changes made to a standard. Updates are generally issued monthly on the first business day. They include an Effective Date on which the updated standard replaces the original standard. For agencies/organisations that sign their Accreditation Agreement on or after the Effective Date, the updated standard is obligatory.

For agencies/organisations that are already in process when an update is issued, the updated standard is optional, and the agency/organisation can choose to meet either the original or updated standard. COA offers this choice because the great majority of Standards Updates provide relief to the agency/organisation through, for example, added NA options, improved language, or more descriptive interpretations. Even when an organisation/agency is not aware that an issued update provides relief, the organisation will be rated on the updated standard.

Clarifications

Clarifications are extended discussions about a standard or standards. Based primarily on questions from the field, Clarifications provide additional guidance around the meaning or intent of a standard or group of related standards. As such, Standards Clarifications are neither mandatory nor optional. However, the information they contain can be very important to understanding the meaning of a standard for your agency/organisation and how a standard or group of standards will be rated.

It is strongly recommended that agencies/organisations read applicable Standards Clarifications and incorporate the guidance they contain into their understanding of the standards.