Recovery residences are a vital part of Virginia’s behavioral health system and play an essential role in addressing the opioid crisis. They provide safe, substance-free housing for individuals in recovery and serve as a bridge between treatment and independent living. However, the recent rapid growth of the recovery housing industry exposed serious gaps in oversight, safety, and transparency. Concerns from residents, families, law enforcement, and community leaders prompted the General Assembly to pass Chapter 608 of the 2025 Acts of Assembly (SB838), directing the Secretary of Health and Human Resources (HHR) to convene a workgroup to make recommendations for structuring state oversight and recommendations to empower individuals who use the recovery residences with information and transparency.

The SB838 Workgroup, established by HHR in coordination with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), was charged with developing recommendations to improve certification, accountability, and transparency for all recovery residences operating in Virginia. The Workgroup’s recommendations reflect a coordinated reform strategy aimed at ensuring that recovery residences in Virginia are safe, ethical, and effectively governed. Members of the Workgroup emphasized that meaningful oversight must balance the need for quality and accountability with the social-model philosophy of peer-based recovery that makes these homes effective, while being mindful to not inadvertently create an environment that would preclude individually run residences. Key priorities and outcomes included:

• Establishing minimum certification standards to ensure that every recovery residence operates in a safe, supportive environment that promotes dignity, autonomy, and selfdirected recovery.

• Reforming the Indigent Bed Program to ensure short-term financial assistance is used as intended to help residents without financial means secure housing during early recovery.

• Enhancing data collection and transparency by establishing reporting requirements and creating public access to information about certification status, inspection results, and certain complaints.

• Strengthening DBHDS authority and staffing capacity to conduct inspections, investigate complaints, and enforce compliance across the recovery residence system.

• Clarifying licensing and human rights obligations for certain residences that provide structured programming or receive state funding.

Collectively, these recommendations establish a path toward a meaningful certification and oversight system that protects residents, supports responsible operators, and gives communities confidence that recovery housing in Virginia is safe, transparent, and accountable.