Accreditation

The Largo Recreation, Parks and Arts Department has been an accredited agency since 1999. We were the first municipality in the State of Florida and 22nd agency in the country to reach the high level of standards of accreditation set by the National Recreation and Parks Association Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA). Staff believe that accreditation provides our public and staff with validation that the department is implementing the best business practices in the field. There are over 150 standards that address a variety of disciplines such as programming, communication, staff development, maintenance and operations, and planning. Annually, staff provide updates to CAPRA. Every five years the department undergoes an extensive self-assessment and visit from a professional team to evaluate our processes and practices. As a long-term accredited agency, the standards have become routine business practice for us. One of the tremendous benefits of accreditation and the related site visits is that they keep the agency in the mode of continuous quality improvement. We have benefited greatly from each of the accreditation visiting team's insights which lead to continued growth and improvement.