Welcome to the first issue of The Accreditation Letter. It’s for the people who carry an agency’s accreditation: managers, chiefs, wardens, health officers and lab directors. It’ll be short, sourced, and useful the same week you read it.
This first issue is a roundup, because 2026 has been an unusually busy year for standards. Six accrediting bodies either put new editions into effect, have one planned for 2027, or proposed new standards. If your agency answers to any of them, the binder you built last cycle may already be quoting an edition that no longer exists.
What changed, and what to do about it
Corrections health: the 2026 standards1,2
The 2026 jail and prison standards replaced the 2018 editions, with compliance required from January 1, 2026. The mental health standards replaced the 2015 edition on April 1, 2026. Every standard now carries a list of Supporting Survey Documentation, and the old “Discussion” section is now Interpretive Guidance. Two standards moved from Important to Essential: C-08 Health Care Liaison and D-03 Clinic Space, Equipment, and Supplies. Essential means 100% compliance.
Version 4.0 is the only version accepted4
All CAAS applications submitted on or after January 1, 2026 are reviewed under Version 4.0. Version 3.0 is retired, and CAAS is explicit that agencies “may not combine or blend standards from different versions within a single submission.”
Standards & Measures 2026: less paper, more ways to show conformity5
PHAB’s refreshed standards took effect July 1, 2026. The headline is flexibility: “expanded options to demonstrate conformity through alternative assessment options, such as demonstrations, site visit conversations, and focused narratives during Annual Report years,” plus streamlined documentation requirements.
New standards on artificial intelligence6
In March 2026 CALEA posted proposed revisions for law enforcement, public safety communications, training academies and campus security, covering privacy expectations, IT systems and electronic data storage, and a new artificial intelligence section in each program. The four proposed AI standards cover policy, technology considerations, quality control, and use. Public comment opened in March, and as of mid-September the AI standards are still in review and have not been adopted.
The 11th edition model arrives7
CPSE says the 11th edition “will be effective for agencies appearing before CFAI beginning in 2027.” Agencies with a 2027 hearing are writing their self-assessment against a model they may have only just received.
13th edition transport standards8,9
CAMTS’s published timeline for the 13th edition transport standards targets an effective date of January 1, 2027, with board ratification planned for July 2026 and copies in October 2026. As of mid-September, CAMTS’s standards page still lists the 12th edition (2022) as current, and its fall accreditation workshops are still teaching the 12th edition.
The transition question everyone asks
If a reaccreditation survey reaches back 36 months, do you need three years of proof for requirements that didn’t exist until January? For NCCHC, no. Its Director of Accreditation answered this in the Spring 2026 issue of CorrectCare, NCCHC’s magazine, rather than on the standards pages:
“Facilities are not expected to demonstrate 36 months of compliance with these new requirements. Instead, surveyors will assess the steps taken toward implementation as of January 2026, rather than expecting full historical compliance with the new elements.”NCCHC, CorrectCare, Spring 2026, p. 223
That makes a dated implementation record your most valuable document: when each policy was revised, when staff were trained on it, and when the new practice actually started. The same habit will serve you for every edition change on this list. My full NCCHC reference is here.
A 15-minute check for this quarter
- Confirm, in writing, which edition your next assessment or annual report will be judged against.
- Update standard titles and numbers in your crosswalks, policy index and binder tabs.
- Start a dated implementation log for every new or changed requirement.
- Inventory any AI-assisted tools in use, with who approved each one.
- Put the cost of new manuals and training in next year’s budget request now.
One thing I keep hearing
In conversations with agencies this year, the same worry comes up more than any standard: the accreditation manager is the only person who knows where everything is. When a new edition lands, that one person has to re-map the whole manual alone. If that sounds familiar, I wrote about it in What Happens to Your Accreditation When That One Person Retires?
If you’d like to know where you stand against your current edition, we offer a free standards gap check: send your policy manual, and you’ll get back the standards and subpoints you can’t yet prove.
Greg Levine
I represent Badge 6, an AI-driven accreditation platform. I don’t own Badge 6. This newsletter summarizes public statements by each accrediting body; always confirm requirements against your own manual and your accreditation manager.
Sources
- NCCHC — NCCHC Releases 2026 Jail/Prison Health Standards
- NCCHC — NCCHC Releases 2026 Mental Health Standards
- NCCHC — CorrectCare, Spring 2026 (Standards Q&A, p. 22)
- CAAS — Transitioning to CAAS Standards Version 4.0
- PHAB — Now in effect: the refreshed Standards & Measures 2026
- CALEA — March 2026: Commission Standards for Review and Comment
- CPSE — CPSE 11th Edition
- CAMTS — Standards open drafts and timeline
- CAMTS — Standards (current editions)