NC Register Volume 23 Issue 09 - Office of Administrative Hearings

PROPOSED RULES
(b) An area program shall be reviewed under the auspices of
DMH/DD/SAS periodically, and not less than once every three
years, except when its accreditation period has been extended as
provided in Rule .0603(f) of this Section.
(c) The Accreditation Review shall examine each area program
service for:
(1) compliance with applicable rules;
(2) client outcomes;
(3) achieved levels of client satisfaction; and
(4) operational and programmatic performance
meeting applicable standards of practice.
(d) For purposes of the accreditation process, "applicable
standards of practice" means a level of competence established
with reference to the prevailing and accepted methods, and the
degree of knowledge, skill and care exercised by other
practitioners in the same discipline.
(e) Upon completion of the Accreditation Review,
DMH/DD/SAS shall provide the area authority with an oral
summary and written report of results.
(f) At each regularly scheduled public meeting of the
Commission, DMH/DD/SAS shall report the results of all
Accreditation Reviews completed since the last Commission
meeting.
Authority G.S. 122C-112; 122C-141(b); 122C-142(a); 122C-
191(d).
10A NCAC 27G .0703 ACCREDITATION OF THE
AREA PROGRAM
(a) Upon completion of an Accreditation Review,
DMH/DD/SAS shall accredit the area program for a period of
between one and three years. The length of the accreditation
period shall be determined by DMH/DD/SAS based on the
results of the review and an evaluation of the area program's
current status, planned changes, and anticipated future needs.
(b) DMH/DD/SAS may accredit an area program to provide a
specific service for a shorter period of time than the area
program's overall accreditation.
(c) An area program or service accreditation of one year shall be
accompanied by the development of corrective action plans for
services or operations specified by DMH/DD/SAS. These plans
shall be developed by the area program, which shall submit them
to DMH/DD/SAS for approval. These plans shall be developed
and implementation begun within 90 days following the
accreditation review.
(d) As a condition of accreditation for more than one year,
DMH/DD/SAS may require an area program to develop and
submit plans for corrective action and service enhancement. The
Division Director may specify the scope and time frame for
submission of the plans based upon the needs determined by the
Accreditation Review.
(e) DMH/DD/SAS may conduct Accreditation Reviews at any
time during an accreditation period in the event of significant
changes in the membership of the area board, a change in area
director, complaints by consumers, consumer organizations or
advocacy groups, failure to submit acceptable corrective action
or service enhancement plans, failure to implement required
plans, or other occurrences that suggest a change in
circumstances warranting a reexamination of the area program,
its operations, or one or more of the services it provides. This
review may be a full Accreditation Review of the area program,
or it may be limited to selected services provided by the area
program.
(f) In a case where the Division Director determines that the
results of an Accreditation Review demonstrate such superior
program performance that accreditation for a period longer than
three years is justified, the Division Director may recommend to
the Commission that an area program's accreditation be extended
for an additional period not to exceed two years, and the
Commission may approve such an extension.
Authority G.S. 122C-112; 122C-141(b); 122C-142(a); 122C-
191(d).
10A NCAC 27G .0704 DENIAL OR REVOCATION OF
ACCREDITATION
(a) DMH/DD/SAS may deny or revoke accreditation for an area
program service:
(1) upon confirmation that a service subject to
licensure is not licensed;
(2) upon receipt of evidence of a condition that
DMH/DD/SAS determines is a threat to the
health, safety or welfare of an individual
served;
(3) upon an area program's failure to complete
corrective action or service enhancement in
accordance with a plan approved by
DMH/DD/SAS;
(4) upon determination that:
(A) the services rendered are not provided
at the applicable standards of practice
in the appropriate discipline;
(B) the area program has received notice
of the deficiencies and a specified
time period for remedial action; and
(C) the area program has failed or refused
to take appropriate remedial action to
bring the service to the required level
of competence; or
(5) Upon determination of a pattern of behaviors
that over time show a failure to maintain
applicable standards of practice or show
repeated threats to or disregard for the health,
safety and welfare of clients.
(b) Upon denial or revocation of accreditation for a service,
DMH/DD/SAS shall take appropriate steps to withhold funds for
the service pending re-accreditation as set forth in the
DMH/DD/SAS accounting rules 10A NCAC 27A .0100 and
.0200.
Authority G.S. 122C-112; 122C-141(b); 122C-142(a); 122C-
191(d).
10A NCAC 27G .0705 INTERIM ACCREDITATION
FOR NEW SERVICES
(a) An area program desiring to offer a new service may receive
interim accreditation and start-up or interim funding according
to the following procedures:
23:09 NORTH CAROLINA REGISTER NOVEMBER 3, 2008
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