Addiction Services earned accreditation

CARF announced that Southwest Florida Addiction Services has been accredited for a period of three years for 15 of its substance abuse programs.

The latest accreditation is the third consecutive Three-Year Accreditation that the international accrediting commission has awarded to SWFAS.

The following programs received accreditation for both children and adults: residential treatment, day treatment, outpatient treatment, and prevention services. The Detoxification Center and Transitional Living Center for adults also were accredited.

In addition, five Drug Court programs operated by SWFAS were accredited, serving Lee, Glades and Hendry counties.

"We are very pleased to receive our third three-year accreditation from CARF. This recognizes the hard work of our staff in providing treatment and prevention programs that meet international standards for excellence," said SWFAS CEO Kevin Lewis.

This represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization's substantial conformance to the standards established by CARF. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process and has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit that its programs and services are of the highest quality, measurable, and accountable.

SWFAS is a non-profit organization with nine locations throughout Lee, Glades and Hendry counties and has been providing substance abuse prevention and treatment services for children and adults in Southwest Florida since 1980. SWFAS is a United Way agency.

CARF is an independent, not-for-profit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and now known as CARF, the accrediting body establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services. ¦