Opening a sober living home in New York is a great way to get started in the behavioral health industry. In our blog post on how to open an addiction treatment center in New York, we shared that over 1.9 million New Yorkers are struggling with addiction. Over 12% of the population meets the clinical criteria for SUD in New York. These high rates of addiction mean that not only are addiction treatment centers in demand, but sober living homes are easy to fill in New York state, as well.
In New York, operators find a low regulation environment. However, savvy investors are wise to keep an eye on regulation efforts in the state. To date, there have been several waves of interest in requiring certifications, forming investigatory task forces and undertaking similar rulemaking processes in New York state. It is likely that those efforts will bear fruit eventually.
Today, let’s look at some of the key pieces of information any would-be sober living home operator will want to take into consideration when planning a sober living home in New York state.
Legal Efforts in New York State Have Yet to Effectively Make Any Headway in Regulating the Sober Living Community
While there have been several efforts to introduce bills and establish official task forces in New York to regulate sober living homes, each of these pushes has failed to bring any lasting rules or certification requirements.
Assembly bill A6396, introduced by New York state Senator Thomas Croci in the 2017-2019 legislative session, is one such effort. A6396 would establish state oversight of sober living homes or half-way houses. (Confusingly, these homes are sometimes called three quarters houses in New York City.) The bill is still in committee in the senate as of late 2022 with no signs of moving forward.
With Bill A6396, Senator Croci sought to create a taskforce to count the number of existing sober living homes in the state and investigate fraud, waste and abuse in the homes. The bill would also make certification mandatory for all for-profit sober living homes. Croci has also said that catering to NIMBYism is a big priority of the bill, ensuring that property values and “public health and safety” are prioritized in any discussion of sober living home regulation.
Certification for Sober Living Homes is Not Required in New York
Because each of the pushes towards regulation have failed, New York remains an unregulated state for sober living home operators. Addiction treatment centers and addiction treatment providers must be certified by the Office of Addiction Services and Supports to operate in New York state, but sober living homes, which by definition do not provide treatment or clinical services, are exempt from this requirement.
The New York State Alliance of Recovery Residences Recently Formed to Offer Certification to New York Sober Living Homes
The New York State Alliance of Recovery Residences (NYSARR) is the New York state affiliate of the NARR, the National Association of Recovery Residences. NYSARR offers a certification program for all sober living homes that meet the stringent standards established by NARR. These certifications are not required by the state at this juncture, but if they ever do come to be required in New York, it’s likely that NYSARR will administer the certification program on behalf of the state, as other NARR affiliates do in other states.
Sober Living Home Certification is a Five Step Process in New York
For those operators that do get certification in New York despite the fact that it’s not currently required, NYSARR offers a simple five step process. The steps are:
Application and payment
Welcome packet, which includes a welcome letter, a checklist and housing level form
Submit requested documents
Host a site visit
There are three different possible outcomes of a NYSARR inspection. Those are:
Full approval: Nothing to fix, you’re approved!
Conditional approval: You need to fix a few issues before seeking full approval. You have 30 days to present proof of fixes to the NYSARR office,
Not approved: You have 30 days to correct the issues and prepare for a second site visit.
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