Florence Crittenton Home Pursues Goal of Accreditation With Assistance from Plum Creek Foundation
Helena, Mt. – A $3,000 grant from Plum Creek Foundation will be used to help the Florence Crittenton Home in its quest to continue to offer excellent service to pregnant and parenting teen mothers and their babies.
The Helena-based organization, the only licensed therapeutic home for pregnant and parenting teen mothers and their babies in Montana, is pursuing accreditation through the Council on Accreditation, an international, independent, not-for-profit, child- and family-service and behavioral healthcare accrediting organization founded in 1977.
“Accreditation holds human service organizations to the highest standards of service delivery, governance, and policy and procedure,” says Program Development Coordinator Kate Godinez, who is overseeing the home’s accreditation application. “Florence Crittenton Home has chosen to pursue accreditation for all of these reasons as well as to create a higher degree of sustainability as a nonprofit organization. We are devoted to opening our doors to as many teen mothers and babies as possible, thus making accreditation a critical component of our services.”
The intensive, 12-month accreditation process, which began in September 2011, includes an intensive self-study, a site visit and a policy and procedures review, among other requirements.
“Florence Crittenton Home is able to provide a positive, loving and supportive environment because of the staff and volunteers who are so devoted to our mission of helping teen mothers and their babies,” Godinez adds. “The home is dedicated to hiring and maintaining the highest quality staff and believes the structured guidelines set forth by the Council on Accreditation will allow for an organized plan-of-action for recruitment, professional development, staff satisfaction and retention.”
Florence Crittenton Home’s partnership with the Plum Creek Foundation first began in 1993, when the foundation contributed $10,000 to the organization. The home serves an average of 50 young mothers and their babies annually.
About Florence Crittenton
For over 112 years, Florence Crittenton has been providing the highest level of care for young mothers and their babies. They have touched the lives of over 15,000 women, children and adoptive families. Today, Florence Crittenton provides innovative therapeutic services for teen mothers and their children and focus on improving outcomes for lifelong parenting success that include building healthy  attachments and relationships, increasing educational opportunities and gaining independence. For more information visit www.florencecrittenton.org
About Plum Creek
Plum Creek is the largest and most geographically diverse private landowner in the nation with approximately 6.7 million acres of timberlands in major timber producing regions of the United States and wood products manufacturing facilities in the Northwest. In Montana, Plum Creek practices sustainable forestry on all of its 901,000 acres throughout the western part of the state. For more information on Plum Creek in Montana, visit www.plumcreek.com/montana.Â