Accreditation of Ministry/Community Living British Columbia (CLBC) Services

Accreditation of Vancouver Coastal Region

Vancouver Coastal Region has recently announced they will pursue accreditation through Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). The region has undertaken accreditation of its direct services as a regional initiative and will be the first government entity in Canada to accredit their child welfare service delivery.

The region sees many benefits to becoming accredited, including greater input from persons served, improved outcomes for children, youth and families and an opportunity to meet or exceed international best practice standards. Accreditation will also advance service transformation in the region, as there is a strong correlation between organizational outcomes for accredited agencies and the Ministry's Service Transformation goals.

Several accredited agencies have offered their support to Vancouver Coastal, and the region will be creating a joint Stakeholder/MCFD Advisory committee to guide and support the project.

Accreditation in the Aboriginal Sector

Participation in the accreditation process by contracted Aboriginal service delivery organizations is optional.

Several Aboriginal Services have earned or are preparing for accreditation voluntarily.

Aboriginal service providers are welcome to contact the ministry regarding the potential of accreditation supporting them in their work.

Accreditation of Community Living British Columbia (CLBC)

CLBC is preparing for CARF accreditation.

CLBC has negotiated an agreement with CARF outlining its respective roles and responsibilities and project phases. CARF has also committed to covering the costs of an evaluation of this process which is a significant demonstration of partnership. The results of this evaluation should provide useful findings to assist future accreditation endeavours both within CLBC and the ministry and also for CARF.

A project plan has been developed and work is underway to align service delivery policies with CARF Employment and Community Standards and identify relevant requirements for Human Resources, Corporate Services, Information and Technology and Communication.

Accreditation of Provincial Services

The Provincial Services have earned accreditation with the Council on Accreditation (COA). The Provincial Services include: Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre, Provincial Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services and Youth Custody Services.

Continuous Quality Improvement Teams exist in all programs and meet quarterly. By the end of 2007, in preparation for re-accreditation, Provincial Services will begin training with the new COA 8th Edition Standards.

Provincial Services congratulates the Vancouver Coastal Region in choosing to become accredited and offer assistance to the region in any part of the accreditation process.