Our Supported Employment Services (SES) was visited by a representative from CARF, formerly known as the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, for their field survey of our SES operations as well as the administrative oversight our agency provides to the SES activities. Agencies that receive state of New Jersey funding for the provision of supported employment services must maintain a current accreditation by a qualifying organization such as CARF, which has provided their services worldwide to a wide variety of human services businesses for more than fifty years.
The three-day site survey took place on June 24, 2022 to June 26,2022 and included interviews with Arc of Cumberland County administrative staff, Board of Trustees members, Supported Employment Services employment specialists, consumers of our SES services, and some employers of our consumers at their community business locations. We provide employment placement and follow along supports to almost 300 consumers who live and work in Cumberland, Atlantic, Cape May, and Gloucester counties.
In this process, the CARF surveyor reviewed the activities of our supported employment services as they relate to the standards developed by CARF in their Aspire to Excellence model. These standards address the areas of Leadership, Strategic Planning, Input from Persons Served, Financial Planning and Management, Health and Safety, Rights of the Persons served and Performance Measurement, to name a few. Further, CARF reviewed our SES performance related to the provision of Quality Individualized Services and also our specific Employment Services practices. Over all, a total of over one thousand CARF standards were identified and measured. After reviewing the results of the written survey report, CARF issued The Arc of Cumberland County a full three- year accreditation in the areas of:
The report stated “The Arc of Cumberland County provides excellent community employment services, including job placement, and ongoing employment supports, for consumers with a variety of complex issues and employment challenges. The organization and it employment specialists are proud of its record or working with all referrals, no matter the disability, and it is well respected in the local community and in southern New Jersey. Employers, consumers, and other stakeholders expressed a high level of satisfaction, and the employers consistently ask the organization for more potential consumers”
Since 2001, we have received the maximum three-year accreditation awarded by CARF for eight consecutive surveys. Congratulations to Director of Employment Services, Nicole Sikking, her SES staff, and our consumers and their stakeholders for their outstanding representation of themselves, the Supported Employment Services program, and The Arc of Cumberland County during this survey process.