Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Bill seeks proof of rehab home compliance

Senate Health Committee expected to consider bill that would cause facilities to prove they meet certain licensing requirements.

A bill that would create more hurdles for drug and alcohol programs seeking licenses from the state is making its way through the California State Assembly. Assembly Bill 2903 would make recovery homes offer proof to the California Dept. of Alcohol and Drug Programs they meet local zoning, fire and business license requirements.

The bill, penned by Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), was amended last week to take out a key provision that would have put additional restrictions on homes that house six or fewer recovering addicts. The original bill would have changed the status of rehabilitation homes that house six or fewer people if they belonged to a larger treatment facility, making such homes get licensed as part of the larger whole.

Current law places few restrictions on smaller rehabilitation homes, which are seen in the eyes of the law as the same as private residences where roommates or family members live together.

“They changed the bill’s focus, but it still does a couple of helpful things,” said Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff.

Newport Beach officials have been watching the bill’s progress as the city battles several legal challenges to a new ordinance aimed at curbing the spread of rehabilitation homes in the city, Kiff said.

The city has had problems in the past with rehabilitation homes that would obtain a state license to operate a larger recovery facility after telling city officials they intended to open a small home that housed six or fewer recovering addicts, Kiff said.

The bill would make the homes more accountable to city requirements for the homes, Kiff said.

The California Assn. of Addiction Recovery Resources contends the bill discriminates against recovering drug addicts and alcoholics, who are classified as disabled under federal law. Protection & Advocacy Inc., a nonprofit advocacy group for people with disabilities also has come out in opposition to the bill.

“PAI actively opposes efforts to restrict the ability of people with disabilities to live in their communities, including the ability to reside and receive treatment in group homes, treatment facilities and other licensed residential care facilities,” Protection & Advocacy Inc. wrote in a letter opposing the bill to Assembly members. “Such facilities are protected under the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability.”

The Senate Health Committee is expected to consider the bill in the next few weeks.
__________
source: http://www.dailypilot.com

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Accurate Native history is critical to sobriety and recovery, program finds

White Bison Inc. is a 20-year-old Native nonprofit organization that focuses not only on alcoholism recovery but also on the ways in which a history of colonization contributed to addiction in the American Indian community. Operating from a modest office on a quiet street, White Bison reaches Native communities well beyond this city south of….

Stop Drinking Now…7 Tips to Alcohol Recovery

Drinking Alcohol is a serious health issue and affects almost everyone in one way or another, so this article will help guide you towards a guaranteed method of quitting this forsaken addiction. If you feel that this subject may affect you or somebody you know, then please read on with an open mind as you….

Just what is a binge drinker and how to get through to them

Just as governments in Australia and Britain are on the brink of introducing new measures to combat alcohol abuse and binge drinking, new research says that campaigns warning about the harmful effect of excessive alcohol consumption don’t work. The researchers say they fail to work because they are widely ignored, in particular by young people….

Commitment intended to break alcohol cycle

The Salvation Army’s Clitheroe Center is gearing up to accept alcoholics involuntarily committed to a new detoxification program, becoming the only rehabilitation facility currently in town that will hold patients for a month or more to force them to sober up. The scheduled opening this month comes on the heels of a spate of homeless….

Alcoholics affect everyone but help is available

Ann’s husband is an alcoholic. Spouses of alcoholics have two options — they can leave the alcoholic or they can seek help and understanding in order to live with the person they love. Ann chose the second option. For several years Ann has been attending Al-Anon. Ann is not her real name and her identity….