Accreditation

Our Accreditation Journey

Radius Child and Youth Services is committed to continuous improvement and to providing high quality client services. That’s why back in October 2018, we began our journey to voluntarily pursue the Accreditation Primer Award through Accreditation Canada–and to learn what we’re doing well and where we can improve.

The Primer accreditation process involved having external surveyors assess our organization against national standards in the areas of governance, leadership, risk management and the quality of care we provide as a Children’s Mental Health organization.  Everyone at Radius Child and Youth Services was involved in accreditation, from our clinical staff and volunteers to Board members.

In October 2019, we were thrilled to learn that Radius Child and Youth Services achieved the Accreditation Primer Award through Accreditation Canada!

We are excited to share that we are entering the next phase in our accreditation journey!  Over the next year, we will be working towards achieving the more comprehensive Qmentum Accreditation Award through Accreditation Canada.

Accreditation Basics

Introduction to Accreditation

Radius Child and Youth Services is committed to providing quality services to our clients. Participation in the accreditation process is a key action by which we measure our clinical and operational performance against established Children’s Mental Health standards. It enables us to identify opportunities to improve client care and services in a way that is transparent and holds us accountable to our communities. Accreditation Canada’s accreditation program – developed over 55 years – has a high degree of recognition in the social services community.

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation is an ongoing process of assessing social services organizations against standards of excellence to identify what is being done well and what needs to be improved. Accreditation Canada’s evidence-informed standards are developed by an independent affiliated organization called the Health Standards Organization and, designed in partnership with clinicians, policy makers, clients and families.

What is the Value of Accreditation?

Accreditation helps organizations improve quality and safety by shining a light on processes that work well, and those that need more attention. The result? Reduced risk and higher quality client services. Accreditation creates stronger teams by improving communication and collaboration and promoting learning around Leading Practices. The result? More effective teams and better outcomes.  Accreditation demonstrates our commitment to quality, safety, and accountability.

Who is Radius Pursuing Accreditation With?

Accreditation Canada, an independent, not-for-profit, 100% Canadian organization and a trusted accreditor for more than 55 years.  Radius worked with Accreditation Canada to successfully achieve the Accreditation Primer Award and will now be working towards achieving the Accreditation Qmentum Award.

On-site Survey

The accreditation process involves an on-site survey conducted by trained peer surveyors who assess the Radius organization against national standards. After the on-site survey, the surveyors submit a preliminary report to Radius and to Accreditation Canada. Accreditation Canada examines the surveyors’ report and provides the organization with a final report and an accreditation decision based on the on-site survey.  Our next onsite survey with the goal of achieving the Qmentum Accreditation Award will be in December 2021.

Radius – An Ongoing Quality Journey

The results of the on-site survey point to areas of success and areas where improvements can be made; the latter are used to bolster Radius’s ongoing quality improvement program.