Child and Youth Services
CARF’s Child and Youth Services (CYS)
standards manual is designed for organizations that serve children and youth
from birth through young adulthood in programs in the field areas of child
welfare, behavioral health or healthy development.
Throughout the CYS standards manual
the focus on quality services is achieved through child and family driven
services. This begins with standards
that are developed with the voice of experience, and then for the providers, to
involve the child and family in the design, implementation, delivery and
ongoing evaluation of services throughout the duration of care.
Key principles that are interwoven
throughout the standards include:
- Trauma-informed care principles
- Well Being and Resiliency
- Cultural and Linguistic Competency
- Strengths Based
- Individualized services based on assessment of the child and
families unique Strengths, Needs, Abilities and Preferences
(SNAP)
Within the CYS standards manual, organizations
may choose which program(s)/service(s) they provide and would like to include
in the accreditation process. This is a
unique feature of CARF; we allow you to choose which of the program(s) to have
accredited, rather requiring every service or program you offer to be included
in the accreditation process.
CYS has standards for numerous
specific types of programs. They are separated into two groups, those that are
most typically offered during day-time hours and those that are considered overnight
types of programs. It is important to
remember that the name of the program/service you provide does not have to
match the name that CARF gives a particular program. Although we try to use common or typical
language for programs/services which serve children and youth, we have found
this varies greatly by location, field and language. We do however offer assistance in helping you
select the standards which match your programs/services best.
In addition to the specific program
standards; we also have the following specific population standards:
- Juvenile Justice
- Medically Complex
Most often these standards are
optional if you serve children and/or youth within this target population. Your Resource Specialist, the dedicated CARF
representative who assists with the entire CARF process, will provide further
detail if required.
To see a complete list of the
standards in the Child and Youth Services standards manual, please refer to the program descriptions
for further details.
For more information on CARF child and youth services accreditation, please email cys@carf.org or call toll free (888) 281-6531.