A license and accreditation are two different things
A license comes from the state. In Florida, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) licenses substance use treatment providers. It is how a provider gets permission to operate.
Accreditation comes from an outside group. The Joint Commission describes it as a formal process where an independent body evaluates whether an organization meets specific quality and safety standards. A program applies for this review. It is a separate step from getting a license.
So think of them as two different checks. The license is the first thing to confirm, and our DCF license lookup guide shows how. Accreditation is a useful second look at how a program runs.
Joint Commission and CARF side by side
| Joint Commission | CARF | |
|---|---|---|
| Who they are | Founded in 1951. It describes itself as the largest U.S. health care accreditor | Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. An independent, nonprofit accreditor of health and human services |
| What they cover | Many settings, including hospitals, behavioral health care and human services, and telehealth | Areas including behavioral health, opioid treatment programs, medical rehabilitation and aging services |
| How the review works | An on-site survey. Most are unannounced. Surveyors review patient records, observe care and interview staff and patients | An on-site survey that CARF calls a consultative peer-review model |
| How long it lasts | The Joint Commission says accreditation typically lasts three years | Ask the center for its current dates, or check with CARF |
| Where to confirm it | Find Accredited Organizations | Find a Provider |
Is one better than the other?
We don’t rank them, and we don’t think a family should choose between two programs on this point alone. Both are established accreditors, and both review addiction treatment. The two groups describe their approaches differently, but the seal is only a starting point for your own questions.
CARF’s behavioral health list includes withdrawal management, inpatient treatment, residential treatment, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient treatment and outpatient treatment. The Joint Commission’s page What is Accreditation? lists behavioral health care and human services among the settings it accredits.
A good question for any program is simple: “Which of your services does this accreditation cover?” A seal may apply to one program and not to another, or to one location and not to the place your loved one would go.
You should also know how the system is paid for. A program chooses to apply, and it pays for the process. For example, About CARF lists survey fees from providers among its revenue sources. That doesn’t make accreditation meaningless. It is one more reason to use it as one sign among several.
What a seal can and can’t tell you
What it can tell you
- An outside group looked at how the program runs
- The program was willing to be reviewed
- Someone checked records and practices, and not just a website
- The program has written standards to answer to
What it can’t tell you
- Whether this level of care fits your loved one
- How your loved one will do in treatment
- Which counselor they will get, or how the groups feel
- Whether your insurance will pay, or what you will owe
A logo on a website is a claim, not proof. Confirm it on the accreditor’s own site before you rely on it.
How to confirm a claim in three steps
Ask for the exact name
Ask the center which accreditor it uses and the legal name it is listed under. Parent companies and business names can differ.
Search the accreditor’s site
Use the Joint Commission’s Find Accredited Organizations page or CARF’s Find a Provider page. Look for the name and location.
Match the program
Make sure the result fits the location and service your loved one would use. If it doesn’t, ask the center why.
Then check the license
Accreditation doesn’t replace a license. It takes a few minutes to look one up.
Licensed centers you can look up
Free listings, checked against Florida DCF. Listings show license status, not accreditation, so ask each center and confirm it yourself.
ACE Medical
6428 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville
Chemical Dependency Counseling (Green Cove Springs)
21 North Orange Avenue, Green Cove Springs
Chemical Dependency Counseling (Southpoint)
4237 Salisbury Road North Suite 308, Jacksonville
Chemical Dependency Counseling (Westside)
6983 103rd Street Suite 2A, Jacksonville
Clay Behavioral Health Center (Loch Rane)
2141 Loch Rane Boulevard Ste 120-121, Orange Park
Community Rehabilitation Center (Beechwood)
623 Beechwood Street Suite 623, Jacksonville
CRC Crossroads Health and Wellness Center
5206-A Pearl Street, Jacksonville
Design Recovery
3000 3rd St S, Jacksonville Beach
Dupont Counseling Group
8540 Baycenter Road, Jacksonville
Duval Family Health Center (Downtown Clinic)
611 E. Adams St, Jacksonville
EPIC Behavioral Healthcare (Central Campus)
1400 Old Dixie Highway Suite C, St. Augustine
EPIC Behavioral Healthcare (North Campus)
3910 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine
EPIC Behavioral Healthcare (Palencia)
352 Paseo Reyes Dr, St. Augustine
EPIC Recovery Center
3574 US 1 South Suite 107 and 111, St. Augustine
FreshMinistries Outpatient Counseling (Weaver Center)
616 A. Philip Randolph Blvd, Jacksonville
Gateway Community Services
555 Stockton St, Jacksonville
Gateway Community Services (Broadway)
2133 Broadway Avenue, Jacksonville
Groups Recover Together (Orange Park)
2020 Kingsley Ave Suite 3, Orange Park
Inspire to Rise (Westside)
5927 Old Timuquana Road, Jacksonville
Jacksonville Outpatient Detox
8613 Old Kings Rd S, Suite 100, Jacksonville
Lakeview Health
3227 Southside Blvd, Jacksonville
Lakeview Health Outpatient
4496 Southside Blvd, Jacksonville
MedMark Treatment Centers Jacksonville
5600 Spring Park Road Suite 101, Jacksonville
Mental Health Resource Center (North)
3333 W. 20th Street, Jacksonville
Mental Health Resource Center (South)
11820 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville
Meridian Healthcare (Putnam County Clinic)
3314 Crill Avenue, Palatka
New Life Counseling and Educational Services
4124 Boulevard Center Drive, Jacksonville
New Season Treatment Center (Duval)
590 Ellis Road South, Jacksonville
New Season Treatment Center (Jacksonville)
4427 Emerson Street Bldg 4, Jacksonville
New Season Treatment Center (Orange Park)
1241 Blanding Boulevard Suite 5, Orange Park
Questions about rehab accreditation
What is the difference between Joint Commission and CARF?
Both are independent groups that review programs against written standards. The Joint Commission accredits many kinds of health care organizations, while CARF focuses on health and human services. For a family, the main question is whether the accreditation covers the program your loved one would attend.
Does a rehab in Florida have to be accredited?
A license and accreditation are separate. A program chooses to apply for accreditation, so a program without it may still be properly licensed. Some insurance plans may ask about accreditation, so check with the plan if that applies to you.
Does accreditation mean a program will work for my loved one?
No. It tells you about how the program runs. It can’t promise a result. Fit, level of care and the plan after discharge matter just as much. Use our how to check a rehab checklist to look at the whole picture.
What is the Gold Seal of Approval?
The Joint Commission says accredited organizations may display The Gold Seal of Approval as a mark of quality and patient safety. As with any logo, confirm it on the Joint Commission’s website.
What if a center says it’s accredited but I can’t find it?
Ask for the exact name it is listed under, since a parent company may hold the accreditation. If you still can’t confirm it, treat that as a reason to be careful. Our list of questions to ask a rehab has other ways to test a program’s answers.