December 5, 2024
As we have previously mentioned, our FOCUS Accreditation review has been under way since earlier this year, when FOCUS began reviewing policies, procedures, and other documents to confirm or validate that Karis Disability Services meets FOCUS standards outlining service quality. This validation typically takes place every 4 years, and Karis has been accredited with FOCUS since 2010, with our last validation taking place in 2017. (This was delayed, in part, due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
The Virtual Validation phase of our accreditation review has now been completed. A huge thanks goes out to everyone who was involved in the process, either directly or indirectly. This includes everyone who participated in virtual domain (standard) interviews, those who worked to collect and share additional documentation as requested by FOCUS, those involved in the virtual records review for employee and service user records, to the Our Voices Matter Council, who invited FOCUS accreditors to a presentation on their work and accomplishments, and to everyone who completed online surveys.
This concludes a significant part of our FOCUS Accreditation review; however, the work is not done, and there is still more work to do before we can achieve our re-accreditation with FOCUS.
What can we expect next?
The following activities are now planned, related to the FOCUS Accreditation review:
– Now through January 31st, 2025 – collection of requested documentation for FOCUS review (including volunteer records, some employee records and records of people using services; this may also include additional requests for completion of surveys and/or for interviews with FOCUS).
– February – March 2025 – Confirmation of onsite validation schedule and review, and final preparation for direct support teams to help people know about what to expect during FOCUS Accreditation onsite visits.
– April 7 – 25, 2025 – (tentative, dependent on weather / travel conditions) – FOCUS onsite validation visits.
For this next phase, any requests for participation in activities will come through district leadership (e.g., district shared services managers). If you do receive a request, please keep in mind that the sooner we can confirm and share information with FOCUS, the better, and our ultimate target is to have all information shared with FOCUS no later than January 31st, 2025.
If you have any questions, please contact quality@karis.org, or reach out to a member of our FOCUS Champions team, talk to your supervisor, or reach out to Justin Radstake or Peter Wyngaarden.