Latest Blogs
Accreditation Maintenance: Key to Continued Achievement
Congratulations! You’ve worked hard to earn accreditation, which affirms that you meet designated national industry standards, and that you are focused on supporting your staff, organization-wide continuous improvement and most importantly, supporting positive outcomes for those in your care. You and your colleagues celebrated the achievement and have now returned to your daily routines with renewed vigor.
8 Questions to Ask When Starting on the Road to Accreditation
I am often approached by people who are just beginning on the road to national accreditation and have no idea where to start. Our conversations tend to follow a similar path, including which accrediting body they should work with (read here for 10 Steps to Selecting an Accrediting Body).
The Final Deadline for Implementing FFPSA is One Year Away – Here’s What You Should Know
In 2018, the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) mandated that Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs), in part, must be licensed by their state and achieve national accreditation to receive Title IV-E funds following the initial two weeks after a child enters their care.[1] The time originally allocated to submit program plans was two years with the potential for taking a two year delay.
BEYOND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: The Joint Commission Expands Its Profile in Child Welfare.
The Joint Commission’s behavioral health care accreditation program has undergone some transformative changes in recent months. These changes are expansive in their consideration for adoption, family preservation, foster and kinship care and child protective services. The Joint Commission is also leveraging best practice, federal regulation and the utilization of terms familiar to human service providers to enhance their efforts.
Accrediting Bodies Offer New Ways To Continue Accreditation Efforts
(Re)accreditation is often an important component of an organization’s strategic planning. For congregate living facilities (residential or group home settings) seeking reimbursement under Title IV-E as a qualified residential treatment program (QRTP), achieving or maintaining accreditation by an approved accrediting body is a required component of strategic planning.
Pine River Institute CEO, Vaughan Dowie, Sits Down with Accreditation Guru
Located near Shelburne, Ontario, Pine River Institute is a residential treatment center and outdoor leadership experience for youth 13 to 19 years old struggling with addictive behaviors and often other mental health issues. Shelburne is approximately 60 miles northwest of Toronto.
Pine River Institute’s decision to apply for and maintain national accreditation was based solely on internal drivers – commitment to quality and safety and to increase parents’ confidence.
Tamarack Center CEO, Tim Davis and the Importance of Accreditation
Accredited by The Joint Commission since 1986, the Tamarack Center provides top-tier residential psychiatric treatment to adolescents in Spokane, Washington. In addition to a web page devoted to “Accreditation and Licensing” on their site, they also display the Gold Seal of Approval logo from The Joint Commission. Recently, Tim Davis, CEO at Tamarack Center expanded on the importance of accreditation and its significance to his organization.
Accreditation’s Significance in Time of Crisis
Since late February 2020, child welfare agencies and behavioral health care organizations have been forced to focus on two critical functions – infection control and emergency management. Depending on the services provided and location of the organization, providers have been forced to change their operations in ways that include having all employees work remotely, provide telehealth services or even “closing the gates” and delivering residential services without people going on or off the property.
Accreditation In Action – Congratulations HeartShare and HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services of New York City!
We congratulate HeartShare Human Services of New York and HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services of New York City on receiving their re-accreditation through COA, Council On Accreditation!
Since its founding in 1914, HeartShare and its Family of Services has expanded to more than 100 program sites in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island and operates in 60 of the 62 New York counties through energy grants. HeartShare’s responsiveness to the needs of the New York community guides its innovation. When the community desired special education classrooms, HeartShare opened a school for children with autism. When young adults aging out of foster care required a safety net, HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services created the American Dream Program to help youth achieve their college and career dreams.
Accreditation In Action – Congratulations Shamah Autism Center!
Shamah Autism Center, located in Saudi Arabia, is a special education school providing education for children 3 to 12 years with autism spectrum disorders, Asperger syndrome and associated social and communication difficulties.
Jennifer Flowers has survived multiple recessions and other roadblocks en route to founding her breakthrough niche business, Accreditation Guru, Inc.
In 2009, Jennifer Flowers was working in Lower Manhattan, at the Council on Accreditation, which evaluates and accredits for-profits, nonprofits, and government entities. When she found herself abruptly laid off from her job one fall morning, she made a large placard about her plight and headed over to nearby Federal Hall, where President Obama was due to give a speech about the economy.
Accreditation Guru Hires Director of Behavioral Health Marketing
Accreditation Guru proudly welcomes Peggy Lavin, LCSW as the new Director of Behavioral Health Marketing. In this position, Peggy will work with founder and CEO, Jennifer Flowers, on the fulfillment of strategic marketing goals within the behavioral health and addiction recovery arenas.
Wisdom and Value in Strategic Planning
One of my absolute favorite days of the work year calendar is strategic planning. I look forward to this special opportunity when key leaders come together and focus. We scan the environment, assess our positions, incorporate input, determine goals and set priorities for how we intend to perform the important work together in alignment.
Lutheran Child and Family Services Receives Council on Accreditation 2019 Innovative Service Award
The Council on Accreditation is one of the nation’s premier accrediting bodies for human service organizations. Out of 75 applicants for the agency’s prestigious 2019 Innovative Practices Award, which recognizes “successful approaches to management and service delivery practices adopted by our accredited organizations,” the Regenerations program at Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois received the distinction.
Happy Birthday FFPSA! Now in Effect, New Law is Changing Child Welfare Services
Individuals, agencies and associations in the child welfare space have been preparing for the initial implementation date of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) even before it was signed into law in February of last year.
Why Hire a Consultant?
Individuals reach out to relatives, friends and other trusted advisors for relationship, financial or career help all the time. So why are many businesses reluctant to hire a consultant?
Some reasons for this resistance include institutional inertia, fear of seeming weak or ineffective and a lack of awareness that a different perspective can provide big dividends.
Jennifer Flowers Recently Interviewed by NonProfit Pro on Effective Annual Plans
Our very own Jennifer Flowers, CEO, sat down for an interview with NonProfit PRO. In this interview, she discussed ways to best create an effective annual plan after an organization has developed its strategic plan.
How to Have a Winning Board Retreat
A well-functioning, cohesive and engaged board of directors is a crucial factor for your organization’s ability to fulfill its mission. As a nonprofit organization continues to grow in both size and significance, it is increasingly vital for board members to understand their evolving role and the importance of their contributions to successful mission fulfillment.
Team Member Highlight – Bobbie Lison
Bobbie has been a peer surveyor and team leader at the Council on Accreditation for more than ten years. She has reviewed a variety of agencies, including nonprofit, religious and military organizations.
EAGLE Recognized now as an Approved Accreditor for QRTPs Under the Family First Prevention Services Act
On May 15, it was announced that EAGLE Accreditation Program is recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services as an approved accreditor for Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs) under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). As we have discussed here, FFPSA, which passed in February 2018, allows federal funds to be spent on preventative services to help keep families together and also restricts funding on congregate care or group homes for children and youth who require removal from their families. In part, FFPSA mandates that all residential treatment providers convert to QRTPs, a new licensing category, in order to be eligible for reimbursement through Title IV-E foster care funds after the first two weeks of child placement.