Obtaining a three year accreditation certificate from CARF will provide us with proof that we are providing quality services for the people we support, helping us to maintain and strengthen our mission statement of “Working for a Community for all”.

Since April we have met with stakeholder groups from our Licensed and Unlicensed Homes Programs, our Community Based Programs and our Infant Development Programme to develop Program Outcomes and Mission Statements for each program stream.  This involved three sessions with each group to brainstorm, word smith and fine tune ideas.  A total of 12 meetings!  The process, as well as the results was wonderful.  The meetings with our stakeholder groups are without exception the best part of the accreditation process.

Attached are the Program Outcomes and Mission Statements for each program stream. 

The Satisfaction Survey results have been compiled into a report and the Performance Improvement Goals for the coming year have been established.  The Program Managers met to develop Action Plans for improvement using the survey results as well as the Program Outcomes developed by their stakeholder groups. 

 Attached is a letter outlining performance improvement outcomes as a result of the survey. 

At the same time we have refined the Person Focused Plan Package in our Licensed Group Homes and we introduced it to the people we support in our Community Based Programs.

The Key Workers from the group homes attended a full day of training on the new package and on understanding quality assurance and outcomes.  Staff in the Community Based Programs will also receive training. 

At the same time, we have continued to tackle  the CARF Standards determining what we need to do to meet them by the Site Survey in April 2004.  We have created detailed work plans and divided up the tasks with the intention of being finished by the end of August, in order to show six months of implementation before the site survey.  Kelly Parry, a practicum student from the Douglas College technical writing program has been hired to help with policy writing.  She will be with us until the end of August.

 Needless to say, we have been very busy as we will be for the next 10 months.  Thanks again to everyone for all their wonderful support and enthusiasm.  We couldn’t do it without you!