National Council toolkit sets recovery housing standards

A collaboration between the National Council for Behavioral Health and the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) aims to help guide states in their oversight of recovery housing by identifying effective policies and best practices.

The two organizations have published “Building Recovery: State Policy Guide for Supporting Recovery Housing,” to assist states with the creation of recovery housing certification programs that standardize operations and protect and support recovery housing residents.

The guide was published on the heels of a recent Government Accountability Office report on recovery housing in five states that found a lack of meaningful data, haphazard approaches to oversight and a lack of consistency in tapping into limited opportunities for federal support.

Although recovery housing has been recognized by many in the field as a key component of successful long-term recovery, recovery housing systems frequently operate outside the bounds of public policies and resources. The toolkit published by the National Council and NARR includes guidance for states on adopting recovery housing standards, incentivizing compliance and investing in infrastructure. It also includes a model state law, as well as a matrix of current and proposed recovery housing bills, an action assessment, and a list of publicly available research briefs.

National Council hopes the toolkit fosters a “feasible, robust system with nationally recognized standards,” Tom Hill, National Council vice president of practice improvement, said in a news release.

The “Building Recovery” toolkit can be downloaded at no cost on the National Council website.