The Three Parts of the Review

For any accreditating body, the accreditation review is a core service. The CAPRSS accreditation review consists of self review, peer review and committee review. Combined, these help to ensure that accredited organizations will have institutional integrity (clear purposes, high levels of integrity, fiscal stability, systems to fulfill its purposes), PRSS effectiveness (clear and appropriate objectives & design, process of review, collection and use of data that ensure environment for recovery), and sufficient capacity to sustain quality over time.

Self Review

As an accreditation candidate, you have completed a thorough self review using the CAPRSS standards, which provide a framework for evaluating your program’s processes, results, and your progress toward your goals and objectives. You completed a three-part program inventory, which included your Organizational Profile, Welcome Walk Through, and Accreditation Self Study. The materials that you submitted are the foundation for the peer and committee reviews.

Peer Review

Peer review is a common practice in many fields to maintain standards of quality, improve performance, and provide credibility. For CAPRSS, it is a reflection of the peer support process that is at the heart of PRSS; peer reviewers provide knowledge, experience, and practical help to others in the field.

The key people from CAPRSS involved in the peer review process are CAPRSS staff member (your CAPRSS liaison), the Peer Review Team Leader, and Peer Reviewers. Each peer review team will consist of 1-3 peer reviewers who bring expertise from direct experience.

*Peer Reviewers. The peer reviewer is an external consultant to CAPRSS who has expertise in peer recovery support services, addiction recovery, and/or management of service organizations. Peer reviewers are responsible for evaluating an organization’s conformance with the CAPRSS standards for excellence; they ensure that each candidate receives an objective, impartial, and fair initial peer review. Peer Reviewers do not decide if an organization is accredited or not. Rather, the Peer Reviewer’s role is to be CAPRSS’ “eyes and ears.” They are fact-finders who rate according to what they actually find on site. They write a Summary Report of the site visit, which is used by the Review Committee.

Committee Review

Committee review is the capstone of the accreditation process; it completes the process begun with the the Accreditation Self Study and furthered by the Peer Review Site Visit. The purpose is to (1) examine the in-depth information concerning all aspects of the PRSS program(s) gathered by the site itself and considered by the Peer Review Team and (2) determine a program’s conformance with the CAPRSS standards.

The Accreditation Review Committee (ARC) is composed of three individuals with experience or expertise in PRSS. The ARC members:

• Review and discuss the Peer Review Site Visit Summary Report that the Peer Review Team completes for each candidate, which includes findings and recommendations regarding accreditation;
• Speak with members of the Peer Review Team, if necessary, to obtain additional information and/or clarification;
• Discuss which accreditation outcome is the best fit for the candidate; and
• Issue the formal accreditation determination.
  

The ARC also conducts follow-up reviews of organizations that are implementing performance improvement plans that may required for accreditation, and review complaints filed by interested parties.

* After review and discussion of the summary report, the Accreditation Review Committee issues the final accreditation report containing your accreditation determination.

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