AIRS Accreditation Information

The Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) is the professional membership association for community Information and Referral (I&R) serving the nonprofit and government sectors. AIRS is the driving force behind the delivery of quality I&R services and the sole source for standards, program accreditation and practitioner certification for the I&R sector.

AIRS Accreditation Program is the only credential specifically geared for the I&R sector. It measures a program's compliance with expected practices within the field as defined by the AIRS Standards and Quality Indicators for Professional Information and Referral.

AIRS accreditation and re-accreditation has five core elements, which are:

1) A consultative review of overall policies, processes, and procedures
2) An online community survey of organizations within their resource database
3) An online resource database review
4) A secret shopper testing of the direct client service
5) An onsite review

Airs Accredited The Franklin County Office on Aging received its AIRS accreditation in August 2022. The accreditation is valid for a five-year period and will be up for re-accreditation in 2027. As an AIRS Accreditation agency, the agency provided:

Objective evidence of achievement in the areas of service delivery, resource database, cooperative relationships, disaster preparedness, and organizational effectiveness
Demonstrated commitment from leadership to meeting the highest standards in the field
Enhanced credibility in the eyes of the public and stakeholders
A stronger position in a competitive field
Expanded access to new markets, government funding and foundation grants
Improved protection against legal challenges
Recognition by peers in the I&R sector

To learn more about AIRS Accreditation, click here.