Since November 2005, SDRMA has been accredited with Excellence by the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities (CAJPA). The CAJPA accreditation program has been operating since 1989 and reviews the organizational structure and activities of a joint powers authority (JPA) comparing the JPA with standards adopted by the Association believed to be advantageous to the preservation and performance of the individual JPA and JPAs in California as a whole.

The purpose of the accreditation program is to promote professional management and fiscally sound practices, provide industry standards, assure governing boards of management’s compliance with accepted standards, and maintain a self-regulating process that is ultimately less expensive and more meaningful than State or Federal regulation.