Accreditation 

CAC accredits programs within organizations, not the whole organization.

Programs that have demonstrated compliance to CAC Standards are granted accreditation status for a period of 1, 3 or 4 years.

A Peer Review Process, utilizing volunteer peer reviewers, is the means by which programs are evaluated against the standards, for accreditation. 

Purpose of Accreditation 

The purpose of accreditation is to ensure that there is congruency between:

·         Developments in excellent practice, changes in legislation, government policy and/or regulations and CAC Standards;
·         CAC Standards and written program policy and procedure;
·         Program policy and procedure translated into staff, contractor and volunteer practice;
·         Practice as described by staff, contractors and volunteers and the actual experience of persons served and
·         Persons served experience with the need to develop or revise standards. 

Indicators  

The indicators used in the CAC accreditation process are designed to overlay each other and provide the team with a complete picture from multiple perspectives.  The indicators used to identify issues and check for congruency include: 

·         Review of documents, including policy,
·         Interviews of senior management, supervisors, front-line staff, contractors, students and volunteers;
·         Staff, contractor, student, volunteer and person served file reviews and
·         On-site observations

Partnership 

The process of accreditation involves a working partnership between CAC and the program to

·       Assist programs to becoming better service providers;
·       Enhance service delivery through an increased focus on structure, internal processes, outcome measurements and quality assurance; 
·       Provide programs a stronger foundation upon which to build; and
·       Provide organizations with both professional and public recognition of their achievements.   

Accreditation status is not transferable:

·         From one program to another;
·         One location to another and/or
·         From one owner to another.