Phony homes?
Move quickly to monitor drug recovery sites
The state House and Senate have passed separate bills that would regulate recovery homes, a catch-all term for places where people with drug or alcohol addictions may stay while getting well or trying to stay that way. The regulations are sorely needed in light of the opioid epidemic, and legislation bringing order to what is now a kind of Wild West should be fast-tracked through the reconciliation process and rushed to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk.
The state already licenses and inspects inpatient, outpatient and partial hospitalization treatment programs serving people in addiction, but it does not regulate the housing that some may use as a bridge between treatment and independent living. The opioid epidemic has led to a dramatic increase in the number of recovery homes, also known as sober living homes. Without regulation, it’s difficult to tell which ones are doing good work and which are just siphoning money from patients or insurers.
The issue had been simmering for months but took on higher visibility Oct. 6, when federal agents arrested David Francis, who ran a McKees Rocks recovery home called Next Step Foundation, and charged him with providing his residents with drugs. That is the last thing needed in McKees Rocks, where government and civic leaders have worked hard to revitalize the town while also making a home for higher-than-average numbers of residents with mental health issues and other special needs.
People battling addiction need support, not additional forms of temptation. To their credit, some recovery homes voluntarily comply with standards established by the National Alliance of Recovery Residences, which has a Pennsylvania chapter based in Philadelphia. But it isn’t easy to tell the wheat from the chaff. Regulation would change that.
In addition to drug treatment programs, the state licenses and inspects various other kinds of facilities, including personal care homes, nursing homes and psychiatric care centers. Licensing and inspection data are placed online. Insurers, treatment providers or anyone else can look up the data and help clients make a decision about where to live. Regulation is also a backstop; the state has the authority to shut violators or inspect them whenever it wishes.
The same safeguards are needed to protect residents of recovery homes. In June, the Senate passed a bill, sponsored by Sens. Tom McGarrigle, R-Delaware, and Gene Yaw, RLycoming, that would put licensing in the hands of the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. Also in June, the House passed a similar measure sponsored by Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne.
The McGarrigle/Yaw bill would forbid recovery home operators from forcing residents to turn over public assistance benefits — a hedge against financial exploitation — and the regulations apply to any recovery home that accepts money from a federal, state or county agency. Mr. Kaufer’s bill would require criminal background checks for a home’s owners and employees, and it would require homes to be licensed no matter who funds them.
Four months have passed since the Senate and House passed their bills. It’s time for the Legislature to put together compromise legislation and send it off to the governor. Those fighting the opioid crisis need all the tools they can get.