Ed Mahon Spotlight PA
HARRISBURG State officials charged with instituting oversight for addiction recovery homes say a regulatory system with financial, safety, and training requirements will save lives.
But recovery advocates and elected commissioners in the Philadelphia suburbs argue the costs could backfire by overburdening house operators and making high-quality and affordable living options inaccessible.
At the center of the debate is a voluntary licensing system, first mandated by Pennsylvania lawmakers in 2017, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs has struggled to implement in a timely fashion.
In March, the agency released regulations that would require recovery house operators who want a state license to pay a $250 fee each year as well as an estimated $10,000 annually for a financial audit. Some operators would have to pay for physical upgrades, such as acceptable fire exits. Operators would also have to provide proof of zoning approval and criminal background
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HARRISBURG â State officials charged with instituting oversight for addiction recovery homes say a regulatory system with financial, safety, and training requirements will save lives.
But recovery advocates and elected commissioners in the Philadelphia suburbs argue the costs could backfire by overburdening house operators and making high-quality and affordable living options inaccessible.
At the center of the debate is a voluntary licensing system, first mandated by Pennsylvania lawmakers in 2017, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs has struggled to implement in a timely fashion.
In March, the agency released regulations that would require recovery house operators who want a state license to pay a $250 fee each year as well as an estimated $10,000 annually for a financial audit. Some operators would have to pay for physical upgrades, such as acceptable fire exits. Operators would also have to provide proof of zoning approval and criminal background checks for all
A state department said a licensing program with financial and safety requirements for recovery homes will save lives, but advocates are pushing back on the added costs.
HARRISBURG â State officials charged with instituting oversight for addiction recovery homes say a regulatory system with financial, safety, and training requirements will save lives.
But recovery advocates and elected commissioners in the Philadelphia suburbs argue the costs could backfire by overburdening house operators and making high-quality and affordable living options inaccessible.
At the center of the debate is a voluntary licensing system, first mandated by Pennsylvania lawmakers in 2017, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs has struggled to implement in a timely fashion.
In March, the agency released regulations that would require recovery house operators who want a state license to pay a $250 fee each year as well as an estimated $10,000 annually for a financial audit. Some operators would have to pay for physical upgrades, such as acceptable fire exits. Operators would also have to provide proof of zoning approval and criminal background checks for all sta
Alejandro A. Alvarez / Philadelphia Inquirer
In December 2017, Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation to increase oversight for drug and alcohol recovery houses a measure that lawmakers said was needed to fight the opioid epidemic and protect vulnerable people from being exploited.
The action by lawmakers came after years of complaints from local government leaders and some recovery advocates, who said profit-driven owners packed people into homes, provided few rules and little support, and put residents at greater risk of relapsing.
But more than three years later, recovery homes believed to number in the thousands continue to operate without state oversight, Spotlight PA has found. The state’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs missed a June 2020 deadline to, for the first time, create a certification or licensing process for them.