Westchester County Department of Parks

CAPRA re-accreditation awarded by NRPA to Westchester County Parks.

Boasting over 50 parks facilities on more than 18,000 acres of greenspace throughout the county, Westchester County Parks has, for the fifth time, earned the distinction of being accredited by the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA).

The announcement was made Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024 at NRPA’s annual conference held in Atlanta, GA.

Westchester’s parks system was the first county in New York State to receive this distinction when it received accreditation the first time around in 2003. It is the only agency in the state to become accredited. Nationally, the parks system is a member of an elite group of 71 agencies that have been accredited since the program was introduced by NRPA in 1994.

The goal of the national accreditation program is to create a nationwide system of standards that would allow parks and recreation agencies to compare their practices to what is considered a professional model, to measure their delivery of recreational services, and to identify their effectiveness and efficiency in meeting the interests and needs of their constituents. Once accredited, an agency is expected to maintain these high standards and continue to improve on them over the next five years when it must apply for accreditation once again.

Westchester County Parks will continue to provide the best in parks services to our residents by measuring and comparing our standards as outlined by NRPA.

Last year, an application for re-accreditation was submitted to the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA), which comprises representatives from NRPA, the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, and the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials.

Once the application was accepted, a special committee of parks administrative and field staff was appointed to conduct the comprehensive self-assessment report. During a rigorous one-year process, the committee conducted an extensive review of parks systems during which they provided narrative and documentation for 154 standards in ten major categories: Agency Authority, Role and Responsibility; Planning; Organization and Administration; Human Resources; Finance; Program and Services Management; Facility and Land Use Management; Safety and Security; Risk Management; and Evaluation and Research.

Once completed, the self-assessment report was presented to CAPRA for a preliminary review last April, and was then followed up in May by a team of certified park and recreation professionals and experienced citizen board members from all over the country. During that time, they reviewed all of the documentation that had been submitted to meet each of the standards, then met via Zoom and talked with parks staff as they provided presentations of our parks facilities throughout the county.
For more information about the accreditation process, visit the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA).

The Westchester County parks system features six championship golf courses, two pools and aquatic playgrounds, two beaches, new cricket fields and pickleball courts, a first-rate sports/performance/civic arena, two interpretive working farms, an arboretum and glass house conservatory, six nature centers, three major multi-use trailway systems and miles of hiking trails throughout the county. Recreational and nature interpretive programs are offered on weekends throughout the year, along with a variety of children’s summer camps.