Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc.

National accreditation awarded to
Catholic Charities for high quality services

By Judy Bokorney
Website Editor 

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. received national accreditation from the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services (COA) on September 25, 2002. COA is one of three nationally recognized accrediting bodies, along with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission (CARF).

This achievement signifies that Catholic Charities meets or exceeds high quality standards and services comparable to any other social service agency in the nation.  COA is an international, independent accrediting organization that promotes standards and quality services for children, youth and families and advocates for the value of accreditation. In 2001, COA accredited more than 1,400 private or public organizations that serve more than 6 million individuals and families in the United States and Canada.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. served about 50,000 people last year in the ten-county diocese, which includes Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Hardee, Hendry, DeSoto, Highlands and Glades counties.

“We started talking about accreditation three years ago,” said Peter Routsis-Arroyo, president of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. “We knew we would need this in order to survive as agency in the future. It was a proactive decision,” he said.

Only a handful of agencies have this type of accreditation in Southwest Florida, according to Routsis-Arroyo. Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice is the fourth out of the seven diocesan Catholic Charities agencies in Florida to receive it. The other three are currently in the process of achieving the accreditation.

“More and more donors want accountability from the organization they give to and the State of Florida also has announced that it will eventually not fund any organization that is not accredited,” said Routsis-Arroyo. “Above and beyond accountability, this accreditation also has helped us to meet the highest standards of quality and we can match up with any agency in the country,” he said.

Over two years ago, it was announced to staff and volunteers that they were going to embark on the long and involved process of achieving accreditation. COA accreditation is a process of evaluating an organization against best-practice standards. COA develops the standards by using a consensus model with input from service providers, funders, policymakers and consumers across the U.S. and Canada. The standards also represent current research and regulations and are comprised of both organizational standards and service standards.

“The process has been a lot of pain and hard work,” said Routsis-Arroyo. “Without the dedication, skill and willingness of the staff and volunteers to cooperate we would never have achieved it. When I announced that we received the accreditation at our most recent staff meeting everyone exploded with loud cheers. They were proud of themselves as they should be,” he said.

The biggest obstacle for Catholic Charities was getting staff and volunteers geographically together for countless meetings and training sessions. “The real challenge is when you have 100 employees at 26 sites and 200 volunteers, a board of directors and four advisory boards that are spread out over a 10-county, 10,000 square mile diocese trying to get together to meet this goal,” Routsis-Arroyo said.

“However, when you are spread out that much some of the smaller or more remote offices often feel isolated from the organization and this accreditation process has helped us to be more cohesive and unified in our services and programs, and as an agency,” Routsis Arroyo said. “Through the process, the staff became more acquainted with each other and with the programs and services that we offer to clients.”

The organization will be re-accredited every three years. According to Routsis-Arroyo, every service offered now has outcome measures that are done on a quarterly basis that demonstrate how Catholic Charities serves each client. COA accreditation will continue to have internal, organizational and funding benefits for the agency and force systematic development based on continuous quality improvement and community identified needs. It also mandates sound fiscal responsibility.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. is part of Catholic Charities USA, which consists of 1,400 local agencies and institutions that provide services to more than 10 million people in need each year regardless of religious, social or economic backgrounds. Services offered in the Diocese of Venice include counseling, immigration services, migrant assistance, adoption services, child day care, elderly services, emergency services, refugee resettlement and employment, disaster response, and assistance for mothers and children.

“Our mission is based on how Jesus lived his life. He told us: “Whatever you do to the least of mine, that you do unto me,” said Routsis-Arroyo. “The bottom line is that we will be able to serve the needy more efficiently and with better services.”

Click here for more information on Continuous Quality Improvement.