A Virginia recovery housing bill survived its first hearing today in the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services.
Senate Bill 838, sponsored by state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Henrico), aims to create a path toward independent oversight of all Virginia recovery residences, establish protections for sober home residents and ensure transparency with the public.
While the initial version would have mandated immediate certification of all recovery homes, VanValkenburg’s substitute bill changed that.
The language in the substitute isn’t totally consistent with what he presented to the committee, but assuming the bill will undergo another amendment to align with his intent, here’s what the changes will mean if the bill becomes law:
DBHDS will have the authority to directly issue a 6-month provisional certification to “any recovery residence that has indicated an intent to receive accreditation by or membership in a credentialing agency…” Under current state regulation, that would mean indicating an intent to seek accreditation from the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VARR) or a charter from Oxford House. The six month period would start on July 1, when the law goes into effect.
Meanwhile, a workgroup will convene under the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to make recommendations on revamping the certification process (i.e. — changing the state regulations). Those recommendations will be due to the General Assembly by Nov. 1 (changed from Oct. 1) — two months before the earliest 6-month provisional certification would expire.
That means no operator would have to be certified by VARR or chartered by Oxford House before the workgroup’s recommendations reach the General Assembly for review.
What happens from there will be determined by the legislature.
Several stakeholders and two individuals impacted by certified recovery homes spoke in support of the bill.
VARR representatives were in the room but did not speak. Stephanie Bellanger, owner/operator of Starfish Recovery & Wellness (who is no longer a VARR board member), spoke in opposition of mandatory certification. She was introduced by a lobbyist for Treatment and Recovery Allies — a newly formed LLC that appears to have no online presence.
(Starfish has been covered extensively in this series regarding forced treatment, alleged sexual misconduct and other abuses of power.)
The substitute bill also corrected the definition of “recovery residence,” which made parts of the current law and the initial version of SB838 inscrutable.
SB838 passed in a 13 to 1 vote. Sen. Christopher Head (R-Alleghany County) voted no, and Sen. Ryan McDougle (R-Gloucester County) abstained.
Next, the bill will be considered by the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
Jan. 30 update:
SB838 was approved by the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee with one proposed amendment, which brought the bill’s text into alignment with the concept VanValkenburg presented Friday to the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services. The bill is now headed to the full Senate for consideration.
Public participation is not permitted at this stage, but anyone can reach out to their representative directly to weigh in. (Use the state’s Who’s My Legislator? service to find out who represents you.)
To avoid flooding my subscribers’ inboxes, I’ve created a new page, Virginia Recovery Housing Bill Tracker, for providing day-to-day updates on all recovery housing bills along with information on how to participate. A link is also included at the top of the homepage.
Moving forward, I will reserve new posts for the more noteworthy updates.
Scroll below to view investigative stories in The Parham Papers series, or visit the homepage to explore all articles, including legislative updates.
Excellent progression.