Recovery residences: funding.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on funding amounts or impacts on other types of housing, leaving these points as unknowns.

Funding Rules for Recovery Homes

This law sets rules that recovery homes must follow to be eligible for state funding.

What This Bill Does

• Defines a recovery residence as a place where people can live while getting help with drug or alcohol problems, following certain guidelines from the Housing First policy.
• Requires these residences to offer residents choices about their living situation and support if they have setbacks in their recovery.
• Makes sure that staff and residents are trained on how to handle emergencies and prevent overdoses, and provides access to medication for reversing an overdose.
• Ensures that the privacy of residents is protected according to state and federal laws.
• Requires these residences to adopt a written policy about what happens if someone uses drugs or alcohol again after trying to quit.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who run recovery homes in California
• Residents of recovery homes

Terms To Know

Housing First

A policy that focuses on getting people experiencing homelessness into stable housing as quickly as possible, with support services provided later.

Relapse

When someone starts using drugs or alcohol again after trying to stop.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify the amount of funding recovery homes will receive.
• It is unclear if this law will affect other types of housing for people with drug or alcohol problems.

Official Summary Text

AB 1556, as amended, Haney.
Recovery residences: funding.
Existing law establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to oversee the implementation of Housing First guidelines and regulations, and, among other things, identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. Existing law requires a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies. Existing law specifies the core components of Housing First, including services that are informed by a harm-reduction philosophy that recognizes drug and alcohol use and addiction as a part of tenants’ lives and where tenants are engaged in nonjudgmental communication regarding drug and
alcohol use.
This bill would require a recovery residence, defined as a residence that, among other things, satisfies the core components of Housing First as described above, to meet specified requirements in order to be eligible for state funding, including that residency is initiated by the resident and the resident is additionally offered at least one harm-reduction housing placement option, relapse is not cause for eviction and residents receive relapse support, the residence provides emergency preparedness and overdose prevention and response training to staff and residents and makes overdose reversal medication available and readily accessible to staff and residents onsite, the residence has consent and confidentiality protections for its residents consistent with state and federal law, and the residence adopts and maintains a written return to use policy, as specified. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF