The certification was a bright spot in a difficult two years, King said. If facilities are not certified by 2024, they will not be able to renew their licenses. Residential homes are reimbursed for the time children spend in group homes, but if a facility is not QRTP certified, then those reimbursements stop. 'The government wants to make sure kids are not lingering in group homes for long periods of time,' King said. The accreditation stems from the Family First Prevention Services Act, which was signed into law by President Trump in 2018. In addition, the federal government wanted evidence things were being done properly. Many of the practices were already in place at Avondale, King said, but it was a matter of putting them into policy and making sure they were consistent. The center had to meet 479 standards, 'making sure we are operating in a way that is trauma informed, people are appropriately trained, and policies are in place to make sure kids are safe,' King added. The accreditation was a long process, King said, and took more than a year. 'That way we are not retraumatizing them, and we are helping them learn coping skills, to be able to move beyond that trauma, and help them not be stifled by the history they have been through,' he said.

'If we have a child come into our care, any interaction with them, any response to them, we have to keep on the back of our minds an idea of what they have been through in their lives, and how our response may affect them,' King said.

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