Clear Path for Veterans, an assistance dog program dedicated to assisting people with disabilities, is pleased to announce that it achieved accreditation by Assistance Dogs International; ADI is the leading authority in the assistance dogs industry. It establishes and promotes standards of excellence in all areas of assistance dog acquisition, training and partnership.
The Canine Program offered by Clear Path for Veterans is the only program in the greater Syracuse area that is ADI accredited, providing service dogs to veterans with military-related post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and military sexual trauma. Today, Clear Path’s Canine Program is active in 33 counties across New York state and, in the coming years, will serve all 57 counties outside of New York City.
Unique to the service dog industry, Clear Path offers holistic wrap-around services in conjunction with service dog placement and training. Doing so emphasizes growth across the six dimensions of wellness: occupational, physical, social, intellectual, spiritual and emotional. These programs transform lives and promote a thriving population of veterans transitioning from military to civilian culture.
In September 2022, Clear Path celebrated its 10th anniversary of providing impactful programs and services to veterans, families and community members. With the recent achievements of the Canine Program, exciting new initiatives are on the horizon, including a campus expansion to increase operational capacity. Clear Path places great emphasis on community engagement and looks forward to beginning new conversations with constituents about this next chapter.
Once accredited, a program becomes a member of ADI. Member programs must complete a reaccreditation every five years to comply with ADI’s Standards of Practice. ADI accreditation is a peer-review process conducted by a trained ADI assessor over a period of two to four days.
There are 152 ADI-accredited assistance dog programs in the world.
About Assistance Dogs International
Assistance Dogs International is a worldwide coalition of non-profit organizations that raise, train and place assistance dogs. The mission of ADI is to foster a collaborative global community dedicated to the highest standards of excellence for the assistance dog industry.
For more information, visit assistancedogsinternational.org, or contact Chris Diefenthaler, ADI’s Executive Director, at chris@assistancedogsinternational.org or 419.350.5788.