The SB838 workgroup is still deliberating on recommendations — due to the General Assembly by Nov. 1 — aimed at strengthening oversight, transparency and resident rights in Virginia’s recovery housing industry. Since my last update, members have held a second round of subgroup meetings and reconvened for a full workgroup session. This is the first […]
Virginia’s legislatively mandated recovery housing workgroup held its first two subgroup meetings virtually last week. Each was set to tackle a different set of recommendations related to improving oversight, transparency and resident rights in recovery housing, as delineated in Senate Bill 838, sponsored by state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Henrico). The back-to-back meetings included stakeholder presentations […]
Last Thursday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch published a story with the headline, “State cuts off money to agency supporting halfway homes for recovering addicts.” Reporter Luca Powell wrote: Language in this year’s budget takes nearly $2 million away from the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences, or VARR. The organization certifies group homes, of which there are […]
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 intent of a new recovery housing bill is clear: create a path toward independent oversight of all Virginia recovery residences, protect vulnerable sober home residents from exploitation and ensure transparency with the public. Sponsored by Virginia lawmakers on both sides of the aisle — state Sen. Schulyer VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, and state Delegate David Owen, […]
For the last few years, Virginia has been dumping millions of dollars for recovery housing into the hands of a few sober home owners and operators — organized as the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VARR) — and relying on them to fairly distribute the money to recovery homes throughout the state. Since January 2023, […]
Henrico County leaders discuss recovery housing and the need for oversight with state legislators representing Central Virginia.
In the wake of mounting concerns about unregulated sober homes, Henrico County leaders say it’s time to push for meaningful oversight.
Every year, Henrico County courts order dozens of defendants with substance use issues to live in sober homes certified by the self-policing Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VARR). Henrico Deputy County Manager for Public Safety Michael Feinmel explains how the courts came to rely on recovery homes with no government oversight as an alternative to jail.
For the first time since the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VARR) was written into the state budget four years ago, legislators are attaching strings to the money. The house budget bill, which passed in the House of Delegates last week, allocated $2.2 million per year for VARR members. But it comes with new stipulations: […]
At 8 a.m. today, I settled into Senate Room A at the Virginia General Assembly Building to see what would happen with SB19 (sponsored by state Sen. Barbara Favola) and SB190 (sponsored by state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam) – the two Senate bills designed to initiate state oversight of recovery housing. As soon as the Senate […]
A new senate bill creates a path for the state to get involved in oversight of recovery residences. You have an opportunity to weigh in.
With VARR managing millions, ‘all Virginians’ in need of addiction recovery services still come second to VARR leaders’ insider benefits.
There’s a new bill on the table for the 2024 session of the Virginia General Assembly that takes a small step toward oversight of recovery house operators. State Sen. Barbara Favola – a Democrat representing parts of Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties – has prefiled Senate Bill 19, which would “require recovery residences, in the […]
A DBHDS review confirmed “lack of robust conflict of interest policies and disclosures” and “lack of supporting documentation and monitoring of the expenditures,” among other deficiencies.