5/6/2021
May 6 12, 2021, is Nurses Week. CARF recognizes the profound impact the nursing field has across health and human services.
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11/13/2019
With a growing aging population, many adult children and other loved ones step up to provide care, but family caregivers take on a significant amount of work in addition to regular jobs and family responsibilities, which can lead to extreme burnout.
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7/25/2019
Social determinants of health (SDH) are the conditions in which people live, work, and age and include factors like housing stability, employment status, geographic location, education, and other socioeconomic circumstances. SDH, often determined by distribution of wealth and resources, has proven responsible for inequities in healthcare and has become its biggest cost-driver.
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3/14/2019
By CARF International
The CARF Connection blog often discusses integrative
services and ways to approach a person in a holistic way. In other words, we
focus on many of the things that social workers have been advocating since the
era of Jane Addams in the 1890s. It is no wonder that CARF’s workforce is
teeming with social work professionals.
This March, CARF joins the National Association of Social
Workers in celebrating social workers.
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2/25/2019
By CARF International
With healthcare information more
widely available than ever, consumers are boosting their health literacy,
taking the initiative to educate themselves more thoroughly on how to take care
of themselves. Here are some suggestions for taking control of your own health
literacy.
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2/13/2019
By CARF International
CARF shares best practices related to outcomes management through
its standards. To complement that effort, here are some recent field examples
of outcomes systems’ improving performance.
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1/3/2019
By CARF International
As providers, regulators, and payers in health and human
services around the world seek value and efficiency, many are adopting new
standards, integrating new methods, reviewing existing regulations, and
exploring innovative practices from other countries.
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12/20/2018
By CARF International
As 2018 comes to a close, we thank the many stakeholders who
spent another year advancing the goals and values close to CARF’s mission. In a
brief look back, here are some of the most consequential stories from 2018.
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11/29/2018
By CARF International
Many payers are exploring value- and performance-based
payment models in which providers are reimbursed for positive outcomes. Most
analysts believe such payment systems, which offer lower costs for payers, are
the wave of the future.
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10/16/2018
By CARF International
In the past, a concussion sustained while playing sports may
have been dismissed as just a bad headache. These days we understand a bump,
blow, or jolt to the head (or even the body) can affect brain function and
impeding an athlete’s ability to participate in sports for some time afterward.
In worst-case scenarios, coma or death can result.
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9/25/2018
By Michael Johnson, managing director of behavioral health, CARF
International
I attended the Zero Suicide International Summit this year
to exchange ideas with global thought leaders on how to eliminate the public
health crisis of suicide. I came away with many thoughts, but here are some of
the highlights.
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9/19/2018
By CARF International
As suicide rates edge up, many human service organizations are
challenged to publicly talk about the issue in responsible and effective ways.
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8/30/2018
By CARF International
For U.S. providers of child-welfare services, one of the most
impactful laws to take effect this year has been the federal Family First
Prevention Services Act or FFPSA.
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6/8/2018
By CARF International
This week brings renewed attention to the issue of suicide.
While the tragic losses of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain will get headlines,
they represent a growing public health issue that is the tenth leading cause of
death in the United States: suicide. These events offer an opportunity to
address misconceptions, stigma, and a lack of resources that act as barriers
for people at risk, and to bring the focus toward resources and best practices.
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5/24/2018
By CARF International
Take advantage of the professional development resource
offered to CARF-accredited organizations, and encourage your emerging leaders
to become CARF surveyors.
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5/17/2018
By CARF International
A recent report discusses the future of community-based
human services. The first four initiatives are directly supported by CARF
standards, meaning, if you’re a CBO applying the standards for accreditation,
you’re likely strengthening the overall ecosystem. Here are the standards and
other CARF resources that can offer guidance to your organization.
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5/10/2018
By Valeria Benabdallah, CEO/Psychotherapist, VEMB Psychotherapy Services
Being a microbusiness means that stakeholders, persons
served, and the two staff members at VEMB Psychotherapy Services work closely
together. My work as a social justice mental health clinician is to collaborate
with appropriate systems while providing psychotherapeutic interventions to
clients and their families. As a CEO, my job is to provide sound leadership and
oversight to all business, clinical, and financial functions of the
organization.
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4/10/2018
By CARF International
Surveyors representing health and human service organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada attended the 2018 CARF Surveyor Continuing Education Conference on March 24 and 25 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort in beautiful Tucson, Arizona.
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3/13/2018
By Brad Contento, Corporate Communications
One of the biggest drivers of service options is the availability of
funding. When a piece of federal legislation redefines how public funds can be
used, it changes the array of available services.
The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) primary focus is
prevention services. Simply put, states will be able to use Title IV-E foster-care
funds for services for children at risk
of entering foster care. Previously, these funds could be used only for foster
care itself and for adoption assistance.
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2/28/2018
CARF’s winter Transforming Outcomes Institute concluded on February 24.
It hosted more than 100 participants in Tucson, AZ. Here’s a visual breakdown of the
training.
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1/19/2018
On Tuesday, January
16, Tyler Hilinski, the starting quarterback for the Washington State Cougars
football team, lost his life to suicide. His death leaves family, teammates,
classmates, and many other members of the community in a state of deep pain. Tyler was not someone
most would have imagined was dealing with a behavioral health issue. He was
young, intelligent, and a star Division-1 athlete. These facts underscore a
major misconception about suicide.
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9/1/2017
We at CARF are deeply concerned about the many lives
affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, natural disasters of significant scope and scale.
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8/23/2017
We spoke with three former CARF
surveyors who are now CARF staff members. They shared some interesting context
on themselves and why they first got into surveying
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7/11/2017
Halfway into the 1971 classic film Willy
Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Gene Wilder, wearing an orange top hat
and oversized bow tie, excitedly shows off a special wall covered in
fruit-decorated wallpaper. “Lick a pineapple,” he implores. “It tastes like a
pineapple. Try some more! The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!” While
snozzberries and lickable wallpaper are the stuff of fiction, the interactive
wonderland of Wonka’s chocolate factory is not far from reality at Riley
Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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3/23/2017
4 practices to develop a SOGIE-literate culture: CARF spoke with Los Angeles Youth Network (LAYN), about what it does to
create and maintain a SOGIE-conscious culture. CEO Mark Supper identified four
cultural competency practices that help LAYN stay inclusive of diverse SOGIE.
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3/21/2017
In this case study, we follow a youth named Adam through his decision
to come out as transgender, the resulting trauma and homelessness, and the
services provided to get him on a path to success. The challenges he
experienced were a direct result of his gender identity and new expression of
it. Valuing that part of his identity was an important element in creating a
service environment for him to succeed.
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9/21/2016
As part of CARF’s 50th year anniversary celebration in 2016, we are
sharing snapshots of the industries in which we offer accreditation. This is
part 5 of a series: Child and Youth Services. Leslie Ellis-Lang, CARF’s managing
director of child and youth services, discusses how CARF’s development and
advancement of distinct child and youth standards parallel how society itself has
viewed children and young persons over time.
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9/16/2016
Responsible, quality-based practitioners in the health and human services industry should educate and train themselves to act in a responsible and timely manner when presented with a person at risk for suicide. We know through research that applying evidence-based practice and delivering comprehensive and integrated prevention programs can reduce the rate of suicide. In regard to Suicide Prevention Month, please access CARF’s Quality Practice Notice on Suicide Prevention for first step resources to saving a life.
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6/21/2016
Telecommunications and data management technology has
unavoidably made its way into healthcare industries because it can increase
consumer access to services and providers’ ability to provide them. Many
providers are successfully incorporating technological solutions, which is why
CARF has made an effort to highlight practices related to this topic in the Promising Practices newsletter series. This blog
post features some articles that highlight successful uses of technology to
improve business practices or service delivery.
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5/31/2016
A major story so far in 2016 has been the change in service
delivery models toward larger systems and networks through affiliations,
mergers, and various other types of integrations. Providers are forming
relationships across multiple sectors to expand their reach and provide services
more efficiently to a broader population. The changing environment poses
challenges for providers as they find themselves operating within a new service
infrastructure or environment. This trend is of particular interest to CARF
because it poses quality questions for providers across a spectrum of
industries.
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4/8/2016
After your programs or services have earned CARF accreditation, you will want to market and advertise your achievement to your community and stakeholders. CARF provides resources that can help you promote your accreditation, including guidelines for citing your accreditation, example news release and letter text, and several CARF seal options. This blog post explains how to properly use and display the CARF seals of accreditation in your online and printed materials.
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3/16/2016
In the past few months, three child and youth advocacy
organizations accepted invitations to join CARF’s International Advisory
Council (IAC). The Association of Children’s Residential Centers (ACRC), Youth
M.O.V.E. (Motivating Others through Voices of Experience) National, and
National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health (NACBH) join the growing
contribution of the children and youth services industry in CARF standards.
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6/30/2015
Although this article focuses on sexual abuse of minors, vulnerable populations are not only children and youths. Adults with disabilities and elderly persons can be at high risk for abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Protecting the rights of persons of any age or ability served by CARF-accredited programs is at the heart of the CARF accreditation process.
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