If there are licensure and or certification requirements for any services requested, staff verifies certification dates and qualifications. If selected to deliver services, providers contract with local county boards of mental retardation and developmental disabilities. However, certification is a Department responsibility. The increase in federal funds over the past decade has brought a demand for regulatory oversight to the department. By requiring compliance with standards and regulations, the department is able to provide assurances to taxpayers that public funds are expended appropriately.
Compliance is measured by a team of department staff through pre-survey tasks and onsite review.
A county board is also obligated to conduct annual self-audits to evaluate compliance with the department's standards. To date, three pilot reviews have been conducted by the department's teams. A variety of sources submitted feedback from the pilot reviews and the accreditation process is currently being revised. Read an overview of the changes to the accreditation process made after the process for the ten pilot counties . The accreditation manual is being revised, and therefore is offline and not available for download.