CMHO's Accreditation Program
CMHO'S Accreditation Program is a service available to member centres to assist them in continuously improving their services. CMHO accredited centres are certified as meeting the highest standards of quality in the delivery of children’s mental health services and for the way they administer and govern themselves. Each accredited centre is issued a Children's Mental Health Ontario (CMHO) Accreditation Certificate to prominently display in its office.
Canadian Centre for Accreditation (CCA) Webcast
In a project funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, six accrediting bodies have joined forces to develop an independent third party accreditation program for Canadian community based health and social services, called the Canadian Centre for Accreditation (CCA). The Standards Working Group, one of three working groups set up to develop and implement this new organization, sponsored this webcast; the purpose of which was to inform the various networks of the progress of the accreditation process and the accreditation standards that are in the development phase. The webcast also provided an opportunity for on-line feed-back to the Working Group. Listeners were encouraged to submit their feedback regarding the poll questions along with any comments to Nena Pendevska at npendevska AT familyserviceontario DOT org. Please note polls were inserted into the slide deck; therefore, slide numbering may not by synchronized with podcast.
John Ellis, CCA Steering Committee Chair, Family Service Ontario; Nena Pendevska, CCA Project Manager; Barbara Wiktorowicz, CCA Working Group Member, Community Organizational Health Inc; Joanne Johnston, CCA Working Group Member, Children?s Mental Health Ontario Canada (Wednesday June 23, 2010)
Slidedeck (PDF, 46 pages)Audio file (Audio, 71 MB)
Summary - Feedback (MS DOC)
The Accreditation Insider
This newsletter describes the progress being made by the Canadian Centre for Accreditation project - which is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Canada : Canadian Centre for Accreditation
Issue 1 (PDF, 2 pages)April 15 2010
July 1 2010
October 1 2010
History of Accreditation
CMHO's accreditation program is unique in Canada and has received international interest and attention. It is based on Children's Mental Health Ontario’s long history of defining standards of quality children’s mental health services.
- 1983 - Goal to establish an accreditation program set.
- 1984 - Ontario Trillium Foundation grant received to develop the program.
- 1988 - Unanimous support expressed for the program’s creation; The First Accreditation Site Review took place.
- 1996 - A goal established for all CMHO members to become accredited.
- 1997 - Accreditation Standards were revised.
- 2000 - Specialized models were developed (for French language agencies and for agencies that offer both children's mental health and child protection services).
- 2002 - Essential standards were revised; A bylaw was passed requiring all CMHO members to become accredited.
- 2003 - CMHO, in partnership with the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies, piloted an Integrated Accreditation Model.
- 2005 - 85% of CMHO member agencies have had at least one Site Review.
Benefits of Accreditation
- sets standards of excellence in all areas of the organization.
- provides organizations with a template for high quality services, administration governance.
- stimulates continuous organizational education and improvement.
- provides public assurance of quality.
- enhances services to children and families.
Values of Accreditation
CMHO's accreditation program is based on four core values:
- Affirmation of the Key Roles and Strengths
Services must be delivered in a way that acknowledges and supports the importance of family, community and cultural life of children and their families. - Individualization
To be most effective, the selection of appropriate types and levels of interventions must be based on an assessment of the particular child, youth or family's unique situation, and tailored for their needs. - Client Involvement and Partnership in Service
The views of children, youth and families are sought at each step in the service delivery process. - Accountability
Accountability means monitoring, evaluating, and continuously improving how mental health services are provided in terms of results and cost.
Accreditation FAQs
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