Pine Bluff Arsenal's Army Community Service recently received notice that it had passed their accreditation inspection. The actual inspection, according to Jan Brewer, ACS social services administrator, took place last year.
"We are one of a few small installations that have passed accreditation," said Brewer, as she read through the comments from the accreditation team. "They commented that we provide 'selfless service', we have excellent management support and do innovative outreach."
This is the 50th year anniversary of ACS, which offers comprehensive programs and services dedicated to maintaining the readiness of Soldiers and Families, and communities, which includes Department of Defense Civilians. The program works to build community cohesion on and off post by offering services to active duty, retired, National Guard, Reservist and Civilian employees and their Families.
Programs are divided into several areas such as Family Advocacy, Deployment/Mobilization, Relocation Services, Army Emergency Relief and Financial Readiness.
A lot of work goes into preparing for the accreditation process, and it can be quite a challenge, said Jerry Pye, ACS Director since 2002. "We are the only ACS in the state but we are not the only military family program," he said. "We have learned and set the bar in a lot of instances on dealing with fewer Soldiers, yet provide the same amount of quality services. We have learned how to do things differently to get it done."
This was PBA's ACS fifth accreditation process.
Brewer said that it doesn't matter that the installation is large, medium or small, all of the ACS programs are graded to the same Army standard. "We start a year out preparing for the accreditation process," she said. "Many documents are sent to the team, which consists of two to three people from U.S. Army Installation Management Command, prior to their visit."
During the most recent accreditation, the team commented on a few of the office's strengths, which included Memorandums of Agreement with several sources outside the installation. "When we can't provide a particular service here at PBA, we go off-post," said Brewer. "We utilize services from the Arkansas Department of Human Services, including their Division of Children and Family Services, and the Little Rock Air Force Base."
Missy Brodnax, director of Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation said the ACS team here at PBA is dedicated and hard working.
"Our ACS team offers comprehensive, coordinated and responsive services by ensuring that our customers receive uniform levels of quality support that are consistent with services found at other installations around the world," she said. "An accreditation team delves into every single aspect of the individual programs. This means nothing is too insignificant to escape scrutiny: standard operating procedures, meeting minutes, training rosters, even the maneuvering clearance for wheelchairs at ACS building entrances are inspected by the team."
Pye reiterated that ACS services are not only open to Soldiers, Civilians are welcome to use them too. "Our door is open to everyone. Every time we have a class, these are open," he said. "We have a lot of heart and faith in what we do. The biggest blessing for me is the people."
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