Step 7: Site Visit
Safe Communities America, Inc. is the
non-profit, coordinating and accrediting
organization for Safe Communities in
the United States.

STEP 7 - SITE VISIT 

Following the review of a community's application for accreditation, the two domestic (US) reviewers will conduct a site visit to the applicant community.  This visit takes 1.5 days.  The purposes of the site visit are to confirm the community's ability and willingness to meet the criteria for accreditation as a Safe Community and to provide an opportunity for members of the applicant coalition to establish contacts with representatives of existing Safe Communities.  The applicant community is responsible for airfare (or mileage), lodging, meals, and essential incidental costs for two reviewers for two days. 

The formal portion of the site visit begins with the reviewers meeting with the members of the applicant coalition.  The reviewers will assess the size and diversity of the coalition, how well the coalition members know one another and whether they are comfortable working together, their understanding and use of community injury data to plan and review prevention projects, and their relationship to the various injury prevention projects described in the community's application.  Coalition members will also have the opportunity to ask questions of the reviewers and learn about the operation and work of other Safe Communities. 

Following the meeting with coalition members, the reviewers will meet with local leaders and with the organizations and individuals who are carrying out the injury prevention projects listed in the community's application.  The reviewers will be looking for evidence of support from community leaders and injury prevention practitioners as well as cooperation and coordination between prevention programs and the local Safe Community coalition. 

At the end of the site visit, the reviewers will advise the local coalition representative(s) of the recommendation that they will present to the Safe Communities America board concerning the community's readiness for accreditation.  The SCA board will make a final determination on the community's application based upon the contents of the application, the recommendation of the reviewers, and any additional information that the board finds to be relevant to the application.