NARR Regulatory News: Minnesota, South Carolina & Alabama

Minnesota’s “working group” on sober living homes suggests a voluntary state certification process is in the works

Minnesota is one of 23 states that does not have a state-sponsored mechanism for oversight of sober living homes. Instead, about one third of sober living homes in Minnesota are certified with MASH, the Minnesota Association for Sober Homes, the state’s NARR affiliate.

This, however, is likely to change soon. In 2022, the state created a “working group” to study the state of sober living in Minnesota and make suggestions for reform and formalized state support moving forward. In 2023, the working group released a Sober Homes Situational Analysis Legislative Report doing just that. The report is short, concise, and worth a read if you’re interested in learning more about the sober living home landscape in Minnesota and the regulations that are likely to come down the pipeline for the recovery community in the near future. In short, the report suggests the creation of a voluntary state certification process with “incentives” for becoming certified, such as being added to a centralized registry and being eligible to receive state funding. This is a popular model in other states, so it’s not surprising to see it suggested here.

The other “big news” from Minnesota is the passage of HF3954, which requires several things of all sober living homes in the state, including requiring all recovery residences to allow residents who use controlled prescription medications, such as ADHD drugs, anxiety medications, and MAT medications for SUD, like Suboxone. For some in Minnesota, where the “Minnesota Model” of total abstinence from all drugs originated, this new law has been controversial.

For more on Minnesota sober living homes, regulations, and startup information, see: Minnesota NARR State Affiliate Guide.

South Carolina still has no state certification program for sober living home

South Carolina sober living homes still do not have the option of getting certified under a state-sponsored certification program - voluntarily or involuntarily. There was a bill to create a voluntary certification program in the state, but it has not seen any action since 2021, when it was referred to a committee and never heard from again. It never became law and it’s unclear why the efforts stalled. No other efforts have been made to create a state-sponsored certification program.

Still, problems with lack of oversight continue for some sober living homes in South Carolina. A recent news item involving a noisy sober living home and a sword-wielding, car-jacking resident may put sober living home regulation back on the table for the state. Often, high-profile problems, like life-threatening fires or other egregiously unsafe conditions, can trigger increased scrutiny on sober living homes and heighten pressure on lawmakers to address the issue.

In the meantime, recovery residences may seek voluntary, non-state-sponsored certification with the state’s NARR affiliate, the South Carolina Alliance for Recovery Residences, sometimes abbreviated as SCARR.

For more on sober living home management and behavioral health business strategy in South Carolina, see: FAQ About Opening a Sober Living Business in South Carolina and Opening an Addiction Treatment Center in South Carolina? Prepare for a Challenge.

Alabama has no state-sponsored certification program for sober living homes, has decided to use AI to make behavioral health funding decisions

Alabama is another state that still has no state-sponsored certification program for sober living homes, and there is no legislation on the horizon to change that any time soon.

Sober living homes in Alabama are represented by the Alabama Alliance for Recovery Residences, or AARR, the state’s NARR affiliate. AAR incorporated in the summer of 2021 and began granting certifications to sober living homes who meet NARR standards.

While there are no forthcoming regulatory changes for sober living homes in Alabama, many in the recovery community are unhappy with the state’s decision to use some of the opioid settlement funds to pay a high tech company to create AI models that will decide how the remainder of the money is allocated around the state. Some suggest that this decision will help remove bias in how the funding is used and harness evidence-based decision making to leverage the funds in the most efficient and effective way. Others argue that these decisions are better left to those with real-world experience in the trenches, where gaps in services are readily evident to those who experience the shortcomings of the state’s addiction treatment system every day.

For more on behavioral health business news and management in Alabama, see: Why More People Are Opening Sober Living Homes in Alabama.

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