The first two subgroup meetings of the SB838 workgroup will be held virtually this Tuesday, June 24.
Subgroup 1, focusing on requirements for recovery housing certification, will meet from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
From the Event Details page of the Commonwealth Calendar:
Subgroup 1: Requirements for Certification will focus on the following parts of the SB838 Workgroup Charge: a uniform set of certification criteria for all recovery residences; protocols for the Department to define qualifications for indigent bed fees and payment and reimbursement to recovery residences for indigent bed fees; protocols to ensure resident and patient choice in receiving treatment and that the recovery residence operator, the house manager, or anyone in leadership with the recovery residence is not determining the treatment received; training and standards that recovery residence operators and house managers shall meet before becoming a certified recovery residence operator or a certified recovery house manager, including a verified period of participation in recovery; and a Residents’ Bill of Rights, including a mandatory compliance requirement with such Residents’ Bill of Rights by certified recovery residence operators and certified recovery house managers.
Subgroup 2, focusing on state and local government oversight for recovery housing, will meet from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.
From the Event Details page of the Commonwealth Calendar:
SB838 Subgroup 2 State and Local Government Oversight will focus on the following parts of the SB838 workgroup charge: protocols for termination of residency; uniform data collection for recovery residences with a transparent data platform; establishment of a hotline for complaints involving or against recovery residences to facilitate investigations; a process for investigation of complaints involving or against recovery residences to be conducted by the Department or the Department in coordination with the locality where the recovery residence is located and not the credentialing entity; protocols for sanctions on recovery residences, including decertification when appropriate; and methods for localities to conduct fire, building, safety, and health inspections of recovery residences.
Public access links will be posted on the Commonwealth Calendar (Subgroup 1 / Subgroup 2) prior to the meetings.
Presentations from the May 29 meeting and a rough timeline for future workgroup meetings are available here.
I will post a summary of the subgroup meetings sometime next week. (Edit: I will post a summary as soon as possible.)
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I’m on both subcommittees, and my agenda is as follows:
1. Establish a protocol for removing a person from the house.
2. A database of people who wish to be house managers
3. Have other national organizations offer certifications for recovery houses
4. 3rd party oversight that DBHDS handles. Under no circumstances should VARR be in charge of oversight. (for a multitude of reasons)
5. Any data captured regarding residents will be carefully managed and regulated. A certification entity, such as VARR, will be prohibited from sharing the data with third parties unless a specific written agreement is in place beforehand. Additionally, residents will have the right to opt out of their data being shared with certification organizations or third parties.
6. No certification entity is allowed to have language in their written agreement with operators that says the operator can not speak out when they see something they disagree with on the certification entity’s part.
7. Bunk beds are to be banned.
8. Each resident must be allocated 2 square feet of storage space for dry food goods. There also must be a full set of dishes for each resident, pots & pans, and serving dishes. Next, when it comes to cold and frozen food storage, four residents per refrigerator. A refrigerator is typically considered to be 18 square feet in size and equipped with a freezer. (an average-sized refrigerator found in a typical house)
9. All medications must be stored in a secure locker so that other residents can’t get to that person’s medications. This doesn’t apply IF the facility has medical people on staff.
10. All bedrooms and common rooms MUST have NARCAN stations with a minimum of two NARCAN doses per station.
11. Certification entities will be subject to a third-party ethics review board, which will be administered by DBHDS. This is to ensure that conflicts of interest do not occur.
12. On the DBHDS website, there will be a place for the public to request an inspection of a house.
13. Have a method for residents to grade a recovery house, and that information will be added to the inspection report done by DBHDS. This information will be publicly available, allowing individuals to review the report for a specific house and gain insight into its features.
If anyone has any additional items they would like to add, let me know.