Training Facility / Program Accreditation
Eligible operations/Facilities:
(1) Private Pet Training Academies/Programs (full service obedience training). All in home, in board, private lesson, etc shall be eligible for accreditation.
(2) Private Police K9 Training Facilities/Programs (Full service patrol, narcotics, explosives, tracking, SAR).
(3) Law Enforcement Police K9 Training Units providing training services.
(4) Private training organizations, such as SAR K9 groups.
Application Process:
Facilities wishing to be considered for Accreditation shall be in operation for a minimum of 5 years continuously, or the owner/operator shall have a demonstrable background of accomplishment in sport training, or law enforcement training, as decided by the committee.
Application Process & Fee:
The facility shall submit 3 copies of the application and all supporting documentation to the NTPDA Accreditation Committee, accompanied by an application fee of $500.00 (non-NTPDA Member facilities) or $350 (NTPDA Member Facilities). This fee is non-refundable.
An ad hoc committee of the advisory board of NTPDA (minimum 3 members) will evaluate the credentials of any eligible facility through the application process and site visit. Upon receipt of the application, the committee shall review the application which shall contain the curriculum of the facility including facility licensing, owners and staff biographies/credentials, references, and letters of recommendation from clients. If the application is accepted, a site visit shall be arranged. If the application is denied for incompleteness, notification shall be sent in writing to the applicant facility to remedy any deficiencies in the application one time only. If the application is denied for not meeting a the NTPDA reasonable standard of accreditation, the applicant may re-apply within one year from the date on the letter of rejection, after having remedied the deficiencies, with no additional application fee. After the one year time has expired, however, re-application shall require submission of the application fee that prevails at the time of re-application.
Site Visit:
The facility being evaluated shall cover all travel, lodging, and per-diem (arranged in advance) for 2 of the committee members to make a 2 day site visit to evaluate the operational aspects of the facility while engaged in delivering the service that is under consideration for evaluation. These expenses shall be covered each time the committee makes such a site visit. Upon return from the site visit, the visiting members shall submit one written report to the committee, stating whether or not they recommend accreditation. Upon consideration, the committee shall deliver a final decision regarding the accreditation status of the facility as a whole. No partial accreditation shall be considered.
If the training is not conducted at a facility per-se, the “program of training” will be evaluated by accompanying the trainers on training service calls, or to classes being conducted, while trainers representing the entity being accredited are engaged in the performance of their duties under the outline of curricula submitted for review.
***NTPDA shall not be an arbiter of disputes between the facility and its clientele at any time.***
Accreditation shall be reviewed by re-application every 2 years, and a fee of $100 shall accompany re-application.
If a facility temporarily ceases to operate for any time, the accreditation process must start from the beginning.
Accredited facilities will be published on the NTPDA website in a timely manner, and shall receive an official letter of accreditation and certificate stating same for display, at the conclusion of the process.
Areas of Evaluation
The following shall be a part of the evaluation:
Training Credentials of the owner & employed trainers
Thorough Reference check of the clients of the facility
Background check of owners/trainers of private facilities.
Curriculum Review of Facility Training Services
Site Visit shall include an inspection of the operation of the facility, and an interview of the facility management regarding curriculum and training offered.
A particular training philosophy is not mandatory for accreditation. Whether a facility uses primarily positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement for training behaviors is not at issue. Accreditation shall not depend on the training methodology used by the facility per se, however, appropriate use of training tools within generally accepted theoretical standards for use shall be evaluated.
The facility / program shall receive a copy of the accreditation report upon completion of the accreditation process. Facilities not meeting the standards for accreditation shall have up to one calendar year to address issues in the report which the committee identified as preventing them from granting accreditation. Another site visit must be arranged before the end of one calendar year from the initial date of application to qualify for re-inspection. If one calendar year elapses without a scheduled re-inspection, the accreditation process must start from the beginning, and must include a re-application and payment of another accreditation fee.
For information on facility/program accreditation, please contact
Jeremy Van Beek
elitecaninetrainingoutfitter@gmail.com