The standards cover fiscal and personnel procedures, training and staff development, physical plant, safety and emergency procedures, sanitation, security and control, and health care. Eligible agencies (those that hold under confinement pretrial or presentenced adult, or juveniles or sentenced adults or adjudicated juveniles) wishing to participate in the certification process appoint an accreditation manager, conduct a self-assessment of operations, and complete a self-evaluation report, specifying the agency's level of standards compliance. This report may be accompanied by statements supporting nonapplicability of a standard and/or a request for a plan of action waiver for one or more standards. Within 12 months of entering candidate status, the agency applies for a standards compliance audit, based upon which the final decision to grant or withhold certification is made. During the three-year certification period, agencies must submit annual certification statements confirming continued compliance and report progress on plans of action. At the end of three years, the association decides either to revoke certification or to recertify an agency. 3 appendixes, glossary, index.