Washington Alliance 
for Quality Recovery Residences

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Referral mandate required by Washington State

As of January 1, 2023, referrals to recovery residences can only be made to homes that are listed on the Recovery Residence Registry maintained by the WA Health Care Authority. This new law created chapters 41.05.760 RCW and 71.24.660 RCW. The registry comprises all legitimate Oxford House locations and facilities that are accredited by the Washington Alliance for Quality Recovery Residences (WAQRR). We are a nonprofit organization that contracts with the HCA to accredit recovery residences and provide quality technical assistance to residence operators. Our goal is to increase the quality and quantity of recovery homes in Washington. 

 

The three-tier accreditation process

WAQRR accredited recovery residences undergo annual reviews to ensure consistent safety and quality. This includes program and document reviews, site visits, and resident and staff interviews.

 

Overview

1. The provider / applicant completes the accreditation application and submits all documents online.  

2. A WAQRR Accreditation Coordinator will confirm receipt and contact document reviewers and site visitors.

3. Documents are reviewed for compliance with the WAQRR Quality Standard.

4. Review Criteria (each required document component is reviewed according to the the latest version of the WAQRR standard):

   • Red =  The component does not meet part or all of the standard—the document is either missing or does not meet the basic intent of the standard in question.

   • Yellow =  The component is present and meets the intent of the standard in question.

   • Green =  The component exceeds the standard in question—This is our way of commending provider for an exemplary policy.  We may gather these as part of an example set for providers seeking to improve their documents. 

5. Results are shared to the applicant and requests follow up if needed. Following a successful document review, the WAQRR Accreditation Coordinator will schedule and conduct a phone interview with the operator to assess standards relating to house environment, recovery support, and administrative processes.  

6. Site visits will be scheduled after the phone interview is completed and any related issues have been resolved. Site visits are conducted and results are submitted electronically to the Coordinator.  Accreditation fees are paid at the time of the site visit.

7. Once all requirements have been met, the Certification Coordinator recommends the applicant to the Certification Committee pending approval.

8. After final approval, you will receive a certificate and posted on the WAQRR Residence Directory.

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Getting started

Ready to get the process started? Click here to start an application. When you start, you will create a username and password so that you can save your work and come back to it later. It seems the most time-consuming part of the application process is submitting the required documents in the application. At the start of the application, you’ll be asked to estimate the level of care that is provided in each of your homes.

 

Once your application has been submitted, we will have a document reviewer evaluate them to confirm that the documents are in alignment with WAQRR standards. After this is completed, we will give you feedback on any required items we still need and any recommendations we have for improvement.

 

Tips for success

During each step of the accreditation process, we are assessing if your organization is aligning with the  WAQRR quality standards so taking some time to look over them and using them as a reference point for your documents and site inspections will save you time during the accreditation process.  We have compiled a Housing Inspection Checklist for site visit preparation that will help you know exactly what we will be looking for during the scheduled site inspection.  

 

Next Steps

Once the application process and document review are completed, and we have everything we need; we schedule a zoom interview to learn more about your residences and your program, followed by a site inspection of your home(s).

 

Payment is collected after you have submitted your application for review. Here is a link to the WAQRR fee schedule. If you do not finish the process to gain accreditation, we can refund the certification fee. 

 

Here to help

When seeking WAQRR accreditation is never an instant approved or denied scenario, we give you feedback and let you know what we need to move forward after all steps of the accreditation process. You will have time to adjust or make changes if required. We work with you to get you up to standard if some things are missing. The goal of WAQRR is to help Recovery Residence Operators. We are here to support you in any way we can. 

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