Child and Youth Services, Section 2. General Program Standards
$149
A course will expire on 06/30/2025
Leads to certification with duration:
1 year
CARF Standards (2024 SMY) / CYS

Child and Youth Services, Section 2. General Program Standards

For an organization to achieve quality services, the philosophical foundation of child- and family-centered care practices must be demonstrated. Children/youth and families are involved in the design, implementation, delivery, and ongoing evaluation of applicable services offered by the organization. A commitment to quality and the involvement of the persons served span the entire time that they are involved with the organization. The service planning process is individualized, establishing goals and objectives that incorporate the unique strengths, needs, abilities, and preferences of the person served. The persons served have the opportunity to transition easily through a system of care.  This curriculum examines how child and youth services programs utilize a person-centered screening and assessment process to determine a person’s eligibility for services and ensure a comprehensive program structure that maximizes opportunities for persons served to participate.  Persons are actively involved in the direction of their services through an individualized planning process, including planning for transition to other levels of care or other services, or discharge from services.  Content also addresses the provision of medication services, promotion of nonviolent practices, and best practices to ensure quality records.  Also included is a course on the specialty standards for programs that deliver services via information and communication technologies.

Curriculum content

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    This 2024 course focuses on program/service design, structure, and staffing, and how these support participation of the children/youth served and achievement of quality outcomes. Specific standards are also provided for peer support services and residential/overnight services, if applicable

    • Lesson 2.A. Program/Service Structure

  • This 2024 course focuses on screening and assessment as an individualized process that determines a child/youth’s eligibility for services and the organization’s ability to provide them. Standards within this course focus on an individualized assessment process that maximizes opportunities for the child/youth served to gain access to the organization’s programs and services. Programs minimize wait times, use standardized and appropriate admission criteria, and ensure that individuals are oriented to the program and understand exactly what will happen as services are delivered.

  • This 2024 course focuses on the individualized planning process, highlighting practices that support active involvement of children/youth served in determining the direction of their plan. Programs engage individuals served in planning and directing their services, and individualized strengths, needs, abilities, and preferences are reflected in the plan and addressed through service delivery.

  • This 2024 course focuses on how programs utilize planning, preparation, and proactive follow-up to ensure the safety of children/youth served, support their ongoing well-being, and facilitate continuity of care.

  • This 2024 course focuses on practices applicable to programs that provide medication control, administration, or prescribing. Medication control is the process of physically controlling, storing, transporting, and disposing of medications, including self-administered medications. Medication administration refers to the process of preparing and giving of prescription and nonprescription medications by authorized and trained personnel to the person served. Prescribing is the result of an evaluation that determines if there is a need for medication and what medication is to be used in the treatment of the person served.

  • This 2024 course focuses on how programs strive to provide a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment and only employ seclusion and/or restraint as a last resort. Content addresses use of seclusion and/or restraint by trained and competent staff in accordance with procedures and legal protocols in order to mitigate risk to the child/youth served and others.

  • This 2024 course focuses on how a complete and accurate record is developed to ensure that all appropriate individuals have access to relevant clinical and other information regarding each child/youth served.

  • This 2024 course focuses on systems and procedures that provide for the ongoing monitoring of the quality, appropriateness, and utilization of services provided. This is largely accomplished through a systematic review of the records of the children/youth served that assists the program in improving the quality of services provided to each child/youth served.

  • This 2024 course focuses on standards related to delivering individualized services through information and communication technologies. Standards address written procedures; training provided to personnel, persons served, and families/support systems; considerations related to privacy/confidentiality; equipment maintenance; and emergency procedures.