Surveyor

As the cornerstone of the organization’s peer review accreditation process, surveyors promote CARF’s mission, vision, values, goals, and objectives by conducting on-site reviews of health and human service organizations. In applying standards from the respective CARF standards manual, surveyors interview personnel, persons served, and other stakeholders; observe organizational processes and service delivery; and review documents, including records of persons served, plans, policies, and procedures to determine conformance to the standards. Surveyors offer consultation to the organization regarding conformance to the standards and performance improvement. To conclude the survey process, surveyors present survey findings to the organization and submit a comprehensive report to CARF for final determination of the accreditation outcome.

Essential duties and responsibilities

The following duties and responsibilities represent the essential functions of this job that an individual must be able to perform with or without a reasonable accommodation:

• Maintain ongoing communication with CARF regarding availability to survey, contact information, employment, and expertise.
• Offer to conduct and accept assignments only to surveys for which an individual has the requisite expertise and experience.
• Utilize available resources (e.g., standards manuals, Surveyor Website) to remain current with CARF standards, accreditation and survey processes, and surveyor roles and responsibilities.

• Collaborate with other members of the survey team to conduct all aspects of the survey including:
  • If assigned as the team coordinator, complete pre-survey arrangements including:

• Contacting the organization to establish interview schedules, site visits, review of programs to be surveyed and time for orientation and exit conferences; and
• Contacting team members to coordinate travel arrangements and convey logistical arrangements for interview schedules, site visits, review of programs to be surveyed and time for orientation and exit conferences.

• Present an orientation conference to:

• Provide information about CARF and the survey process;
• Confirm with the organization the programs, services, and locations to be surveyed;
• Verify the accuracy of information included on the “report top”; and
• Advise the organization of the survey schedule.

• Apply each applicable standard while conducting a survey;
• Interview personnel, persons served, and other stakeholders of the organization to gather information relative to the survey;
• Review documents, including records of persons served, plans, policies, and procedures to determine conformance to the standards;
• Observe organization processes and service delivery to gather information relative to the survey;
• Offer consultation to the organization regarding conformance to the standards and performance improvement;

• Offer the option of a pre-exit meeting; and conduct a pre-exit meeting, if requested;
• Present an exit conference to advise the organization of the survey findings;
• Prepare the eChecklist for the sections of the manual for which an individual is responsible;
• Prepare the survey report that accurately reflects the survey findings for sections of the manual for which an individual is responsible;
• Merge the eChecklist and collaborate on sections of the survey report, as appropriate;
• As part of a survey team, provide a recommended accreditation decision to CARF;
• If assigned the report compiler role, prepare the team’s consolidated survey report for review by the survey team and submission to the CARF office;

• If assigned the role of team coordinator, submit the survey report and eChecklist to CARF within five (5) days of the last scheduled day of the survey;
• Respond to CARF staff inquiries regarding the survey report in a timely manner;

• Track and record all expenses, per established guidelines, for reimbursement and submit surveyor expense reimbursement requests within seven (7) days of completing the survey; and
• Complete applicable online feedback questionnaires for each survey conducted.

• Participate in surveyor continuing education and other professional development activities per recommended guidelines.

Special job demands

• Be available to conduct at least three surveys per calendar year (January 1–December 31), including two surveys within the first six months following initial training.
• Be able and willing to travel to domestic and international survey locations and stay over Saturday night, as needed.

Note: Duties and responsibilities are not all inclusive and may change at any time, with or without notice. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The following qualifications represent the training, education, certifications, licensures, and/or work experience required to perform the essential duties and responsibilities successfully:

• (U.S. only) Must be authorized to work in the United States. Does not now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status, including but not limited to H-1B visa status.
• Educational requirements are determined by the individual’s primary profession.
• To be considered for and/or maintain the role of a surveyor, the individual must:
  • Be currently employed in a CARF-accredited organization, or be employed by a governmental entity that works to improve the quality of human services;
  • Have knowledge of, and experience with, CARF standards;
  • Must not be employed by or perform any services for a competing accrediting body.
• In addition, the individual must meet the following experience requirements, as set forth by the specific type of surveying (i.e., program, administrative, finance) to be conducted:
  • Program Surveyor:
    • For not less than five years during the individual's career, the individual directly:
      • Provided services to persons served in the specific programs to be surveyed; or
      • Supervised the day-to-day direct provision of services to persons served in the specific programs to be surveyed.
    • During each of at least three of the past six years, the individual directly:
      • Provided the services or supervision described above; or
      • Consulted, other than as a CARF surveyor, on the services or supervision described above for not less than fifty (50) days; or
      • Worked, as a governmental employee, with organizations to improve the quality of services to persons served in the specific programs to be surveyed.
  • Administrative Surveyor:
    • For not less than five years during the individual's career, the individual had administrative, managerial, or other oversight responsibility for an organization that offers program areas within the applicable customer service unit.
    • During each of at least three of the past six years, the individual directly:
      • Maintained the administrative, managerial, or other direct oversight responsibility described above; or
      • Consulted, other than as a CARF surveyor, on the administrative, managerial, or other direct oversight described above for not less than 50 days; or
      • Worked, as a governmental employee, with organizations to improve the quality of administration, management, and other oversight of program areas within the applicable customer service unit.
  • Finance Surveyor (CARF-CCRC only):
    • For not less than five years during the individual's career, the individual had responsibility for financial matters of a continuing care retirement community (including internal control policies, budgeting, banking relationships, investments, and financial planning).
    • During each of at least three of the past six years, the individual directly:
      • Maintained the financial responsibility described above; or
      • Consulted, other than as a CARF surveyor, on the financial responsibility described above for not less than 50 days; or
      • Worked, as a governmental employee, with organizations to improve the quality of financial matters at continuing care retirement communities.

COVID-19 VACCINATION

CARF policy generally requires staff and surveyors to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, subject to reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with a disability or sincerely held religious beliefs. Surveyors who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 are NOT eligible to perform on-site surveys or digitally enabled site survey for a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs organization (VA), visit any CARF office or location, or perform other CARF work at a specific location identified by CARF. However, as an alternative/accommodation to the vaccination requirement, surveyors who are not fully vaccinated ARE eligible to perform digitally enabled site surveys for organizations other than the VA.​​​​​​​