Caron Ocean Drive

Assessed 2026-10-01

Headline basis: Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01

Public-evidence total: 48

The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements. For the licence element of C2 only, it can also use an authority ruling held in our sealed evidence room. It is the only number used for the rank.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium. ProvisionalA check was still open when the edition closed, for example a register lookup or a video not yet received, or evidence under embargo.: C10.

C1 Client separation and occupancy · 4

Ocean Drive is a private floor of The Keele Center with private suites, separate living areas and a private dining room, and clients meet in a shared group programme; the pool, fitness centre, salon and lecture hall are shared with the rest of the building. Band 4 is met whatever the number of clients on site, because at least one confidentiality measure beyond statute is published (private pay only, so no insurer claims trail, and a private entrance to the floor). Band 5 needs 10 or fewer clients on site, which nothing establishes, and bands 6 and above are closed by group therapy, a three-day family workshop and a residential family programme. No bed count is used and no deduction applied.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• The number of clients on site is not published.

Sources (3 cited items):

• Caron Ocean Drive: The programme page states it offers extended care on a private floor at The Keele Center, with private suites with a separate living area, bedrooms with king-size beds and en suite bathrooms, and a private dining room on that floor.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The programme page lists group therapies, a three-day family workshop and a residential family programme.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The published payment option for this programme is private pay only.

C2 Clinical governance and medical cover · 7

The Florida DCF substance use provider register shows Caron of Florida, Inc. at The Keele Center, 4575 Linton Blvd, with active Residential Level 1, Residential Level 2 and Inpatient Detoxification components, status Regular to 26 January 2027; the tie to Ocean Drive is Caron's own page placing the programme on a floor of that building. A named Medical Director gives direct care to Ocean Drive clients, withdrawal is managed on site, physician medical care is provided at the site, and CARF lists a Three-Year Accreditation to 31 January 2029 on its own register. Band 8 needs one more element: no overnight physician presence is established ('24/7 staffed onsite medical detox' names no physician at night), no hospital route is named and no governance committee is published.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• The state register names the building, not the Ocean Drive programme.

Sources (4 cited items):

• carf.org: The CARF provider record lists Caron of Florida, Inc. at 4575 Linton Boulevard, Delray Beach, with Three-Year Accreditation for Residential Treatment (Behavioral Health) for adults and older adults and for Withdrawal Management (Residential), first accredited in 2005.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The operator publishes state licensure for detoxification, Residential Level 1 and Residential Level 2 for its older-adult and this residential programme, with no licence number or register link.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The Medical Director for the region is published as providing direct care to clients enrolled in this programme and in the older-adult programme.
• sudprovidersearch.myflfamilies.com: Place of care named as: The Keele Center, 4575 Linton Boulevard, Delray Beach, Florida (Ocean Drive private floor)

C3 Diagnostic depth on admission · 6

The programme publishes comprehensive psychological, psychiatric and medical assessment with QEEG brain mapping and brief neuropsychological, personality and mood screening, with a named psychiatrist on the team and deeper neuroimaging and neuropsychological work available as ancillary services. Laboratory tests appear only in the separately booked Neurocognitive Assessment Program, and no written diagnostic formulation for the client is published, so band 7 is not reached. Psychiatric medication management is said to be 'commonly' included without stating that a physician delivers it, so it is not counted.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Sources (3 cited items):

• Caron Ocean Drive: The programme page publishes comprehensive psychological, psychiatric and medical assessments including QEEG brain mapping, brief neuropsychological assessment and brief personality, mood and psychological screening, with neuromodulation, neuroimaging, ADHD evaluation and comprehensive neuropsychological or psychological evaluation as recommendable ancillary services.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The programme team includes a named psychiatrist and the regional medical director.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The campus neurocognitive assessment programme typically spans ten to fourteen days, includes laboratory work, pharmacogenomic analysis, neuroimaging and QEEG, and produces an integrated screening assessment summary with recommendations.

C4 Clinical intensity · 4

Sessions with a dedicated primary therapist are published as daily and then three times weekly, counted at three one-to-one sessions a week, with a family therapist and a continuing care therapist. Caseloads are not published, a low client-to-staff ratio is claimed without a figure, the group share of clinical hours is not established and no overnight clinical presence in the residence is evidenced, so the band above is not reached.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Sources (3 cited items):

• Caron Ocean Drive: The programme publishes daily and then three-times-weekly sessions with a dedicated primary therapist, family therapist and continuing care therapist.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The programme claims a low client-to-staff ratio without attaching a figure, and publishes housekeepers and counsellor's assistants to meet personal and clinical needs.
• Caron Ocean Drive: Residential rehabilitation at this location is published as usually lasting 30 to 90 days based on medical and recovery progress, on a general page that names this programme only in a list.

C5 Continuity and aftercare · 6

A customised care plan is built with the client and family and includes monthly recovery workshops, remote sobriety monitoring, an alumni community, virtual support groups and the operator's own outpatient centres, with the step-down continuum licensed and accredited inside the same operator. No duration, price, post-discharge psychiatric review, outside coordination or six-month structured contact is published, so the band above is not reached.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high

Sources (3 cited items):

• Caron Ocean Drive: The programme publishes a customised care plan built with the client and family, covering structure and accountability recommendations, monthly progressive recovery workshops, a remote sobriety-monitoring programme, an alumni community, virtual support groups and the operator's outpatient centres.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The operator publishes state licences for day or night treatment with community housing, day or night programme, intensive outpatient, outpatient treatment and aftercare services covering this programme among others.
• carf.org: The CARF provider record for the operating entity includes partial hospitalisation, day treatment, intensive outpatient and outpatient treatment programmes.

C6 Admission integrity and commercial conduct · 5

A sweep of the operator's domain found no self-ranking site, no sponsored recognition presented as independent and no assistant-directed content (/llms.txt and /ai-instructions returned 404); a blog post with a best-in-category title names no other clinic. One positive signal counts: the admissions page states Caron will help an enquirer find another quality programme where it is not the right fit. No price is published (Caron states it has no set fee) and no referral-fee or voluntary-admission position is published, so the clean sweep with one positive signal gives band 5.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• TMS offered beyond cleared indications and undefined recovery-rate claims on group pages are recorded but not scored here.

Sources (4 cited items):

• Caron Ocean Drive: The admissions page states that because treatment is personalised there is no set fee, and that where the operator is not the right treatment centre it will help the enquirer find another quality programme.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The programme page gives private pay as the only payment option and publishes no price.
• Caron Ocean Drive: An owned blog post carrying a best-in-category title names no other clinic and refers only to the operator's own sites, so it is recorded as a sweep result rather than as an owned-media ranking.
• clinic and group domains, web search: Search of clinic and group domains, web search. Scope: domains checked caron.org (group site hosting the Ocean Drive, Caron Florida, policies, admissions, blog and team pages; no separate Ocean Drive or Caron Florida domain found on Caron's own pages; clinic questionnaire response not received); pages checked.... Result: sweep recorded; outcome per the C6 V elements.

C7 Transparency toward the client · 3

Two transparency elements are met: a complaints route to the operator's privacy officer and to the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, and a statement of regulatory status on the licences page naming the Florida DCF licence categories. No inclusions list, deposit, cancellation or refund terms, licence number or register link, registration number or street address for the legal entity, ownership relation, inspection results or retention period are published, so the band above is not reached. No contradiction deduction applied; the DCF register's record of the entity as a non-profit owned by the Richard J. Caron Foundation agrees with Caron's non-profit self-description.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• The licences page states licence categories, counted as a statement of regulatory status; it states no condition or service that is not provided.
• The element reading for this criterion is not published as a list; the band is explained in the reasoning.

Sources (3 cited items):

• Caron Ocean Drive: The licences page states the Florida DCF licence categories and CARF accreditation, with no licence number, expiry or register link.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The notice of privacy practices lists the covered entities, gives a complaints route to the operator's privacy officer and to the federal health department, and states no retention period.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The website privacy policy names the parent foundation and its address and states retention as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes collected for, last updated in October 2020.

C8 Track record and regulator standing · 5

The Florida operation opened in 2011 and The Keele Center in 2023, and CARF has accredited the operating entity since 2005. No final regulator, court or tribunal finding within ten years and no Florida DCF or AHCA enforcement action was found; a reported confidential private settlement carries no liability finding and scores nothing, and a 2012 settlement of Caron's own suit against the City of Delray Beach is not adverse and is older than ten years. The CARF survey is an accreditor survey, not a statutory inspection, and no review platform profile or bylined first-hand reporting within five years was retrieved, so the clinic sits in band 5, the 'not published' band.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high

Sources (9 cited items):

• carf.org: The CARF provider record shows the operating entity first accredited in 2005 and currently holding Three-Year Accreditation.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The operator's history page records the Florida operation opening in 2011 and The Keele Center opening in 2023.
• CourtListener REST v4 search (RECAP type r and opinions type o): Search of CourtListener REST v4 search (RECAP type r and opinions type o). Scope: "Caron of Florida". Result: record found: Non-adverse, final: the Caron Foundation's federal lawsuit against the City of Delray Beach over the Ocean Drive sober houses ended in a settlement approved by the city on 17 July 2012, allowing....
• CourtListener rd search: Search of CourtListener rd search. Scope: docket_id:4356762. Result: record found: Non-adverse, final: the Caron Foundation's federal lawsuit against the City of Delray Beach over the Ocean Drive sober houses ended in a settlement approved by the city on 17 July 2012, allowing....
• general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Caron of Florida" wrongful death lawsuit settlement Palm Beach. Result: record found: Non-adverse, final: the Caron Foundation's federal lawsuit against the City of Delray Beach over the Ocean Drive sober houses ended in a settlement approved by the city on 17 July 2012, allowing....
• general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Caron of Florida" fine OR license OR "Department of Children and Families" OR AHCA. Result: record found: Non-adverse, final: the Caron Foundation's federal lawsuit against the City of Delray Beach over the Ocean Drive sober houses ended in a settlement approved by the city on 17 July 2012, allowing....
• general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Caron" "Ocean Drive" OR "Caron of Florida" Boca Raton lawsuit verdict OR fine OR violation. Result: record found: Non-adverse, final: the Caron Foundation's federal lawsuit against the City of Delray Beach over the Ocean Drive sober houses ended in a settlement approved by the city on 17 July 2012, allowing....
• press and news search: Search of press and news search. Scope: first-hand bylined reporting from inside the facility, last 5 years. Result: no record found.
• statutory regulator records: Search of statutory regulator records. Scope: inspection history and grades of this site. Result: no record found.

C9 Environment, safety and nutrition · 4

The score is the mean of a health and safety sub-band of 6 and a nutrition sub-band of 2, which is 4. Health and safety elements met include a purpose-built medical building with round-the-clock staffed on-site detox, a fitness centre with trainers, a pool, a salon, family programme contact, concierge support, and Delray Medical Center, a Level I trauma centre with a 24-hour emergency department, about 3 minutes and 1.6 km by road from 4575 Linton Boulevard. The health sub-band does not reach 7 because the required further element is not evidenced, and nutrition is weak: 'nutritional support' is listed with no named dietitian, nutrition assessment or plan.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• The emergency department check relied on a search summary because the hospital page returned HTTP 403.

Sources (3 cited items):

• Caron Ocean Drive: The Keele Center is published as a 40-bed, 100,000 square foot medical facility with round-the-clock staffed on-site medical detox, an on-site salon, a fitness centre with personal trainers available and a pool.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The programme publishes housekeepers and counsellor's assistants to meet personal and clinical needs, and a concierge service to run errands, arrange travel and manage appointments.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The family programme publishes weekly phone calls with therapists, a three-day family workshop tailored to each family's needs and a residential family programme for in-depth work.

C10 Clinical seniority and academic standing · 4

The programme page names nine people (medical director, clinical supervisor, psychiatrist, psychologist, family, primary and lead therapists), and eight registrations were verified. The Medical Director is boarded in addiction, internal and lifestyle medicine and is a fellow of the national addiction medicine society. No university appointment, publication record or registration number is published for any of them, so the band above is not reached; one board certification lookup still needs a manual check, so the score is provisional.

ProvisionalA check was still open when the edition closed, for example a register lookup or a video not yet received, or evidence under embargo.: Clinician register lookups for this criterion were still open at the edition cut-off (see known_gaps). The points count as assessed on the evidence available; the band may change when the lookups are completed, which is resolved in a later edition.

ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium

Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:

• One psychologist linked from the Ocean Drive page has no register lookup.
• The psychiatrist's certifying board is not named.

Sources (3 cited items):

• Caron Ocean Drive: The programme page names nine people with roles: a medical director, a clinical supervisor, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, two family therapists, two primary therapists and a lead therapist, each linked to a team profile.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The Medical Director's profile gives board certification in addiction medicine, internal medicine and lifestyle medicine and fellowship of the national addiction medicine society, with no university appointment, licence number or verification link.
• Caron Ocean Drive: The psychiatrist's profile states board certification without naming the certifying board, the programme assignment, a licence number or a verification link.