Recently, the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) announced that all of its members will need to seek and achieve national accreditation by the end of 2022. NATSAP and its leadership know what we’ve also been seeing in the industry: national accreditation is becoming a threshold requirement for insurance companies and other payers . . . and may very well become a legislative requirement.
So, what does that mean? How does the new accreditation standard affect your program? Which association should you choose? What is the timeline and what are the costs associated with accreditation? These are all good questions – Tetra Outcomes has been invited by NATSAP to help you navigate the unknown.
Tetra Outcomes has been working with behavioral healthcare organizations, alternative schools, and therapeutic schools and programs for the last several decades. We have helped facilities and schools develop cutting edge programs based on research and effective principles, and we have helped many programs achieve and maintain accreditation with one of the several national accrediting organizations.
While accreditation should not require wholesale changes from your organizations, there are some important requirements for accredited programs in terms of record keeping, student and patient progress monitoring, and other ongoing compliance requirements. Although in many instances the changes may seem subtle, they are important and, as NATSAP acknowledged when making this announcement, those changes can help set your organizations apart from non-accredited organizations, help you capture revenue you may not otherwise received, and admit patients and enroll students who may have gone elsewhere. And, perhaps most importantly, accreditation allow you to showcase your program and prove your effectiveness.
The determination about what national accreditation to seek depends on a number of factors unique to your program. Similarly, the costs associated with accreditation depends on your organization’s operations and goals and can range from a several hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. Tetra Outcomes is excited to be a resource to NATSAP members seeking answers to these questions. We’re happy to review your program’s business operations and help you craft a plan that is both affordable and helps you achieve accreditation with the fewest changes and interruptions to your program. You may learn more by visiting our website (www.TetraOutcomes.com), emailing us ([email protected]), or giving us a call at 801.599.0600.
About Tetra Outcomes. Tetra Outcomes was started by Richard P. West, PhD, who in addition to his role at the company is an Emeritus Professor at Utah State University . Dr. West has devoted his career to researching models of behavior support and the development of data tools for behavioral, learning and programmatic decision-making. Dr. West’s assessment tools have been used by more than 3,000 organizations and several hundred thousand respondents. He previously served as a consultant to Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home in Boys Town, Nebraska, and has authored six books, 14 chapters, and more than 75 articles in national journals relative to critical conditions for behavioral support.