Resources

Mentor Network

About the Mentor Network

Preparation for an accreditation site survey/site visit/on-site audit typically requires considerable energy, knowledge, and skill. The sharing of information, ideas, and expertise between service providers can make preparations faster and easier. Such "mentoring" can be an invaluable resource. The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) will provide support for mentors to assist their colleagues in the accreditation process.

What is "mentoring"?

The dictionary defines a mentor as "a wise and trusted counsellor." Mentoring in the MCFD accreditation program is the sharing by one person of their knowledge, skills, and experience, to assist another person/organization with their preparations for an accreditation survey.
Mentoring can consist of:

  • meeting with staff/Board members/other stakeholders of the organization about the benefits, disadvantages, and processes of undertaking accreditation;
  • providing information on the interpretation of the accreditation standards;
  • consulting on ways in which the organization is attempting to meet the standards, e.g., reviewing draft policies, discussing procedures, etc.;
  • visiting the organization to review the organization’s/program's current ability to meet the accreditation standards (e.g., a "mock" accreditation site survey/visit);
  • providing consultation regarding areas that need attention before the actual site survey/visit date;
  • providing suggestions about how an agency might address deficiencies and thereby meet the standards.

It is important that the mentors resist:

  • rushing in with advice, which would prevent the mentoree from coming up with their own solutions;
  • criticizing the way an organization operates;
  • thinking that they have all the solutions and that their way of doing things is the only right way.

Individual mentors and their employers will determine the amount of time they can give to mentoring. It is important that mentorees use the time and resources of their mentor judiciously.

Who are the Mentors?

Mentors will be MCFD-/CLBC-funded contracted service providers who have completed the accreditation process with an organization. Mentors have an interest in assisting their colleagues in other organizations and in taking on a leadership role in their service sector. The role of the mentors is to provide suggestions and information; the mentor is not acting on behalf of the accrediting body or MCFD but is simply providing the assistance that any skilled colleague could provide.

Co-ordination and Support of Mentors

MCFD will provide tools and ongoing support for the mentors. Most of this is via teleconferences and emails and is intended to foster consistency and quality of mentoring across the province, as well as to meet the needs of the mentors as the process of mentoring evolves. MCFD will also cover travel expenses for mock surveys.

Who can access the mentor network?

Information about the mentor network will be provided to all accreditation participants and other interested persons. Mentoring can be accessed by any contractor who is involved in accreditation. Mentorees are required to have reviewed the relevant standards manual(s) and have begun the work of comparing their own organization's operations to the standards.

Are the mentor's services confidential?

After a mock survey, mentors are requested to provide MCFD with a mock survey summary report on the readiness of the organization to proceed with their site survey/visit. Any concerns around health and safety and indications of administrative impropriety are also required to be disclosed to MCFD.

When should I seek mentoring?

The best time to seek out a mentor is when you have worked your way through the standards manual and you feel "stuck" about how your organization can meet one or more standards or feel that you are ready to apply for a site survey/visit and need an informal peer review or "mock survey" to determine how well you meet the standards. We ask that all organizations have a mock survey/review with a mentor before scheduling their "real" site visit/survey. This will assist with ensuring that the organization is indeed ready. Cancellation of a scheduled site survey/visit costs the equivalent of at least one surveyor day.

Before seeking mentoring, you should be clear about what you want the mentor to assist you with. For example, you may need some new ideas about how to meet a specific standard, or you would like someone knowledgeable about the accreditation standards to comment on a policy you have drafted.

It is not the job of the mentor to give you detailed instructions on how to begin your preparations for accreditation or to convince you that accreditation is worthwhile. The strength of mentors is their experience in organizing the work and meeting the standards in their own way, as well as what they have learned from others about the great variety of ways in which standards can be met without an organization sacrificing its individuality, responsiveness, or principles.

Mentorees should resist:

  • expecting simple answers from a mentor. There any many appropriate ways to meet the standards and every organization needs to determine its own;
  • getting copies of another contractor's documents and copying them verbatim without thinking things through with your staff, Board, and other stakeholders (in fact, this is probably a recipe for not being successful);
  • dismissing a mentor's suggestions out of hand because they would require you to do something a new way. Be open-minded;
  • waiting for the mentor to guide your internal agency preparation process.

How do I access mentoring?

Mentoring services are accessed in the following way:

  1. The mentoree of the organization preparing for accreditation requests a mentor/mock survey from the MCFD Accreditation Program staff;
  2. The MCFD Accreditation Program staff sends a request to the mentor network and passes on potential mentor(s) to the mentoree;
  3. The mentoree contacts the prospective mentor to discuss the mentoring needs and the availability of the mentor;
  4. The mentoree confirms the request for mentoring services to MCFD Accreditation Program staff by phone or email [see below];
  5. If the mentor requires funds to travel for a mock survey, pre-approval is required from MCFD Accreditation Program staff. Staff will forward a travel authorization package to the mentor;
  6. The organization seeking mentoring makes arrangements with the mentor directly;
  7. If the mentor traveled for a mock survey, he/she submits a travel reimbursement form to the MCFD Accreditation Program staff.

For more information, please contact:
Jessica Wilner
Analyst, Accreditation Program
Phone: 250 387-7412
Fax: 250 356-1864
Email: Jessica.Wilner@gov.bc.ca