Section 2060.540  Recovery Homes

a)         Recovery homes are a service authorized by a DHS/SUPR intervention license and provide housing for residents recovering from an SUD.  Services, in addition to housing, help to build upon the strengths and strategies residents may have developed to survive in often inhospitable environments with culturally dominant messages that often devalue them.  Recovery homes help to counter those experiences by providing relationships, connections, and spaces where residents are treated with dignity, where the resident's experience in the real world is witnessed, and where the resident's strengths and needs are seen and valued.  Recovery home staff assist with access to other ancillary recovery support or skill building activities that can help residents in obtaining or maintaining a lifestyle free of an SUD.  Structured operations are directed toward initiation or maintenance of recovery for persons who exhibit treatment resistance, a potential for symptom recurrence, or lack a suitable recovery living environment.  Residents may also have recently completed SUD treatment, may still be receiving outpatient treatment, or may be participating in MAR.

b)         Recovery homes shall inform all residents of their recovery philosophy and any subsequent residency requirements regarding abstinence, harm reduction, and MAR.

c)         Recovery homes licensed by DHS/SUPR shall adhere to applicable requirements in Subparts A, B, and C of this Part and meet the following criteria:

1)         Ensure that the licensed recovery home is listed on the DHS/SUPR Recovery Residence Registry;

2)         Provide a homelike environment for congregate living;

3)         Have a procedure and documentation to ensure that all residents have a substance use diagnosis and need assistance to strengthen or maintain recovery capital relative to the SUD;

4)         Have a procedure and documentation to ensure that residents receiving recovery home services are actively seeking assistance in obtaining and helping fellow residents maintain an SUD recovery-oriented lifestyle and, ultimately, permanent stable housing;

5)         Offer regularly-scheduled community gatherings and recovery education groups, led by peers, held a minimum of five days per week with activities that include self-help groups or other recovery activities designed to meet each resident's specific social or cultural needs;

6)         Ensure that each resident has an individual recovery plan that contains measurable goals and objectives that, at a minimum, identify steps to secure stable permanent housing, needed support services and activities, and employment and vocational skill building services.  Each plan shall also address how it will help build support within the recovery home for each resident and how treatment can be accessed, if necessary;

7)         Have an established referral network for use by residents for any necessary medical, mental health, SUD, vocational, or employment resources, including one referral agreement, if applicable, with an organization that provides medication assisted treatment;

8)         Have a policy and procedure to ensure prompt intervention and referral for necessary medical or treatment services if a resident has a reoccurrence of SUD symptoms;

9)         Have a budget that specifies monthly operating expenses and that demonstrates sufficient income to meet these expenses plus an emergency reserve of a minimum sum equivalent to the total of two months of operating expenses; and

10)       Have written documentation of compliance with all applicable local zoning and building ordinances and the applicable fire and life safety requirements specified in Section 2060.310(a)(2).

d)         Recovery homes shall have at least one full-time recovery home operator who is responsible for the daily operations at the recovery home and who meets the credentialing requirements specified in Section 2060.320(a) or (i).

e)         Recovery homes shall have at least one recovery home manager on site who oversees all recovery home activities under the direction of the recovery home operator.  All recovery home managers shall meet the credentialing requirements specified in Section 2060.320(a) or (i).

f)         The recovery home operator may also function as the recovery home manager, as long as the requirements of both positions are met.

g)         Recovery homes may use residents for staff coverage if they meet the credential specified in Section 2060.320(i), are compensated for their time through payroll, rent subsidy, or both, and if such obligation does not interfere with the ability of the resident to secure full-time employment.

h)         Recovery homes shall conduct a background check to ensure that no staff or resident is on the National Sex Offender Registry at https://www.nsopw.gov/ if children or adolescents are living in or receiving services.

i)          Recovery homes shall make every effort to ensure that residents have permanent stable housing upon discharge.  These efforts include, but are not limited to, agreements or ongoing active contact with local recovery support and housing organizations.