*This post contains two updates.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin is recommending the General Assembly add language to the recovery housing oversight bill that would allow the state to revoke sober homes’ temporary certifications for “serious health and safety concerns.”
Sponsored by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, Senate Bill 838 aims to improve oversight, transparency and resident rights in Virginia recovery homes by 1) mandating state certification of all recovery residences and 2) establishing a workgroup under the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to redefine the certification process.
The final version, which passed unanimously in the House and Senate, gave sober home operators a six- to nine- month window to become compliant by authorizing the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to issue “provisional” certifications to operators who indicated an intent to go through the certification process. It did not explicitly authorize DBHDS to revoke temporary certifications prior to Youngkin’s recommended changes.
In addition to giving DBHDS that authority, the governor’s amendment swapped out “provisional certification” for “conditional certification” — a seemingly benign revision that has created uncertainty among the bill’s advocates.
That change came at the request of DBHDS, said VanValkenburg.
“DBHDS asking for this at (the) last minute is both really frustrating and hard to understand,” he said in a text message. “We’ve been crafting this bill for six months!”
Ostensibly, he said, the word change simply creates consistency with the terminology used throughout the agency. But he’s concerned it could have more legal significance, which lawmakers don’t have time to explore at this stage of the legislative process. “We just want to make sure that the language doesn’t perpetuate the status quo,” he told me in a follow-up phone call.
The Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VARR) — one of two non-governmental organizations currently authorized to accredit recovery homes on behalf of DBHDS — provided the following statement:
VARR supported the original concept of this legislation. The proposed amendments, however, introduce some uncertainty. We are particularly interested in understanding how “health and safety risks” are defined and what parameters will be used to determine this. Given that certification will be a mandatory requirement, clarity on specific areas of criteria is essential. We remain hopeful that the state will respond to our repeated efforts to engage, so we can gain a clearer understanding of the intent, process, and policies involved.
VanValkenburg told me he anticipates having a majority vote tomorrow to reject Youngkin’s amendments. From there, the governor still has veto power, but VanValkenburg isn’t too concerned.
“I feel confident that they understand we need to move forward and create a new regulatory regime for recovery homes,” he said. “That makes me hopeful they will sign the bill as it passed so that we can make that move forward.”
DBHDS did not initially respond to a request for comment. But shortly after I published this update, a spokesperson for the Department reached out to explain the proposed change in terminology. By replacing “provisional certification” with “conditional certification,” the terms for recovery housing would align with the way those terms are used for DBHDS-licensed providers, such as outpatient treatment centers.
A provisional license is issued to providers that have not demonstrated compliance with regulatory requirements, the spokesperson explained. It reflects negatively on the provider, signaling that their license might be revoked. On the other hand, a conditional license “does not reflect on how well a provider is doing. It merely conveys that they have not been licensed long enough to demonstrate full compliance.”
***
Apr. 2, 2025, 7:54 a.m. update: As a result of ongoing conversations with the Youngkin administration, Sen. VanValkenburg has decided to accept the governor’s amendments. “The admin has put my worries at ease,” he wrote in a text message. “And (I’m) confident they’ll implement well.”
Later that day, the General Assembly adopted the governor’s amendments. SB838 will take effect on July 1.
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Thanks for writing this. It really is interesting how DBHDS jumped in at the last second to ask for those changes, when they’ve had all session to have their policy managers and advocates do this!
Awesome job, keep it up. Shut down VARR.
“We are particularly interested in understanding how “health and safety risks” are defined and what parameters will be used to determine this.”
Here’s one example of a health and safety risk: a recovery house abandons a court ordered person just released from jail at Patient First without regard of documented clear eminent risk to that person’s life.
If VARR doesn’t understand how to determine this they’re more ignorant than we thought. Or, they’re concerned about the current houses known to be in frequent violation and lets slide by.
Think about it, how does VARR NOT already have this defined in their guidelines for certification or to be on list list?
Down with varr
Starfish is evil. Anything that gets frank under control or in jail would be amazing.
So the word of the day is: conditional. Good job, DBHDS.