CARF Survey Summary- March 2015 Comox Valley Family Services Association (CVFSA) has strengths in many areas. Some of the comments were:

● CVFSA, a non-profit organization, has a commitment to its purpose, mission, and values; to providing quality services; and to quality improvement through application of the CARF standards.

● The board of directors is dedicated to the CVFSA mission, supports its operations, and has been a positive force in maintaining the organization’s growth and fiscal stability.  The board of directors fulfills its monitoring, due diligence, and policy responsibilities in order to maintain excellent service delivery, operations, and fiscal stability.

● The dedicated and professional new leadership team is developing a strong team effort, commitment to excellent service delivery, meeting the needs of the clients, and providing client driven services. The members of the leadership team have appropriate experience, and leadership team members appear to work well together.

● The organization is well respected in the community and is recognized for its capacity to meet the need of the clients.  The organization has a positive image and reputation in its service delivery area and appears to be a respected and valued member of the service community, as evidenced from all stakeholders interviewed.

● CVFSA has appropriate policies, procedures, and systems to support the business operations and services that are provided by the organization.  The policies and procedures are well written, clear, concise, and complete.

● The organization has developed numerous and excellent partnerships and collaborative efforts with agencies and organizations throughout the community and service area. CVFSA is described as being open and collaborative.  Stakeholders feel they are truly a part of a team and are confident in their trust with the organization.    

● Funders indicate CVFSA is a pleasure to work with and that issues are approached not as problems, but rather as opportunities to improve.

● It is evident that families are the centre of attention and goals are set around what is best for them.  CVFSA is a cornerstone organization that is greatly relied on. Detailed reports are completed when the clients and/or families transition or leave a program.  These reports identify goals set, progress on accomplishments, and a written summary that includes recommendations for next steps.

● The level of support and guidance offered to employees at CVFSA is noteworthy. The organization benefits from its staff members, who are passionate about their work, have a caring attitude, and are eager to provide services to the clients.

● It is obvious that CVFSA is providing quality person-centred programming in each of its program areas.  The clients and funders alike expressed high levels of satisfaction in the services that are being provided by the organizations.  Once client expressed that she did not know if her family would have survived without the support they received from CVFSA.

●The employees at CVFSA are skilled, knowledgeable, compassionate, and supportive of each other.  There is collegial work culture that is cultivated and encouraged by the organization. On balance, CVFSA provides excellent services and demonstrates a true commitment to quality and a willingness to improve services and operations. 

The board, leadership, staff members, and other stakeholders are congratulated on this achievement.  They are encouraged to continue to use the CARF standards to improve organizational performance and guide their pursuit of excellence.

For more information on accreditation see our page on this under ABOUT.