PRINCE FREDERICK — Calvert County’s parks, pools and recreation programs have again been certified as meeting the national benchmark for how a park agency should be run, five years after the department first earned the designation.
The Calvert County Department of Parks & Recreation has been reaccredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies, or CAPRA, and the National Recreation and Park Association, the county said in an Oct. 16 announcement. To keep the status, the department had to show it complies with 154 standards and document all of its policies and procedures.
CAPRA accreditation is the only national accreditation for park and recreation agencies. The standards cover the management and administration of lands, facilities, resources, programs, safety and services, the county said, and the review is meant to find efficiencies and tighten accountability in ways that benefit residents.
A five-year test
Accredited agencies must repeat the process every five years, according to the National Recreation and Park Association, which lists 222 accredited park and recreation agencies in the United States. Calvert’s department first earned accreditation in 2021, after a review process that began in 2018, the Maryland Association of Counties reported at the time.
Reaccreditation involves a formal application, self-assessments, a review and a visit from a team of trained volunteer assessors, followed by a hearing before the commission, which grants the status, the county said. The announcement did not say when the site visit or hearing took place, or whether assessors flagged any standards the department had to correct.
“Earning CAPRA reaccreditation is an honor and a reflection of our department’s ongoing commitment to excellence in parks and recreation,” said Bob Branham, Calvert County’s director of parks and recreation. He credited the department’s staff and said the reaccreditation “ensures we meet the highest standards of service for Calvert County residents.”
The reaccreditation comes during a rough stretch for one of the county’s busiest recreation sites. The county recently pushed the reopening of the Edward T. Hall Aquatic Center to Dec. 1, and school officials moved quickly to protect the high school swim season.
Residents can follow updates on park availability and programs on the department’s Facebook page.
