SAFE has officially received accreditation!

Written by SAFE

Over the last two and a half years—most of which was during a global pandemic—our staff have worked diligently toward this achievement.

By receiving accreditation through the Council on Accreditation, SAFE is recognized as following best practices in service delivery, human resources, training, finance, risk management, compliance and quality improvement, supervision, administration and board governance. Becoming accredited also means that we will meet regulatory requirements for continuation funding, that new funding opportunities may also be available to SAFE, and that we are committed to continue improving as an organization.

The Council on Accreditation publishes standards for child welfare, behavioral health, and community-based human and social service providers. These standards undergo a rigorous, multi-stage development and vetting process to ensure that they remain relevant and reflect current best practices.

Special thanks go out to Sydni Kipp, who was SAFE’s Accreditation and Compliance Specialist during the process, and our volunteer, Ellen Fisher—together, they led the work to get SAFE accredited. We could not have achieved this honor and status without the help of them and so many people in the agency.

Numerous staff helped by providing documentation, changing program processes, developing new documentation standards and forms, providing training on new processes to various departments, participating in interviews with the Council on Accreditation, and much, much more.

We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our physical accreditation certificate and plaque, which we will prominently display.