Accreditation
Posted by: CQL on 12/29/2006
Filed under: North Dakota
North Dakota Disability Services Division in the Department of Human Services
The Situation
North Dakota’s Developmental Disabilities services provide support and training to individuals and families in order to maximize community and family inclusion, independence, and self-sufficiency; to prevent institutionalization; and to enable institutionalized individuals to return to the community. To achieve this goal, Developmental Disabilities contracts with private, nonprofit and for-profit organizations to provide an array of residential services, day services, and family support services.
The U.S. District Court ruled in 1982 (The Arc of North Dakota v. Governor) that all North Dakota providers were required to meet CQL (then ACDD) Accreditation. In 1994, the plaintiffs reached a settlement and the court-ordered requirement was lifted. Since then, the Division has continued to require independent accreditation for all providers. For over 20 years, the North Dakota Division has chosen CQL Accreditation to ensure service quality for people with disabilities across the state.
What CQL Did
CQL began work in North Dakota in 1984. Over the past 20 or more years, we have conducted accreditation reviews in residential, vocational, family and early childhood service provider organizations. North Dakota providers have been among the first in the country to adopt new CQL standards and measures and have built a culture of quality that is person- centered and outcome-based, and at the same time grounded in assurances of human rights, safety and security.
Today, all 29 community-based providers in the state are CQL Accredited. Individuals in North Dakota consistently achieve personal outcomes at levels well above the national average.