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REVIEW PROCESS MEASURES

Starting January 1, 2025, all recovery homes in Ohio will need to be appropriately certified in order to be on the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) registry of recovery housing residences. 

 

Only homes on this registry will be able to receive funding designated for recovery housing, referrals, or to advertise that they are recovery housing, sober living or other drug and alcohol-free housing for people with substance use disorders.  

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Ohio Recovery Housing (ORH) is the only Ohio affiliate of the National Alliance of Recovery Residences (NARR). As such, ORH maintains a review process that ensures that all recovery homes it certifies meet the standards established by NARR. 

 

NARR sets the quality standards, and ORH is the entity that determines how these standards are measured in Ohio. 

 

For example, NARR standard E.14.h states that there must be “verification that laundry services are accessible to all residents.” It is up to ORH to determine specifically what is measured to verify that a recovery home meets that standard. So, when ORH reviews a property, we ensure that each home has a working washing and dryer OR that residents have access to and the ability and means to use a local laundromat (see measures documents below for more specific details).

 

In January 2024, the ORH Board of Directors updated the measures of the quality standards. The intention was to address existing concerns and make it easier for operators to gauge whether the standard is being met in their recovery homes. The following are the standards in effect for all reviews, both new certifications and recertifications, as of January 1, 2024.​

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Complete Measures

The following are the complete measures that detail each aspect of the review process. All recovery homes must meet the standards listed in these documents:

 

Tools

The following tools have been developed to assist operators in understanding the review process and breaking down the measures by application phase. Reviewers use these tools to assess recovery homes, but they are not the official measures. Please refer to the official measures document for more detailed information.

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Policy and Procedure Checklists

An important part of the review process is a review of your organization’s policies and procedures. You can use the attached checklists to ensure that your documents are meeting the measures. If you would like ORH staff to review your documents prior to your application, we are happy to help. We are also happy to provide you with templates, answer your questions or meet with you to talk about your policies. Please reach out to us at info@ohiorecoveryhousing.org or 614-453-5133. 

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Interview Tools

When ORH reviewers visit your home, they will interview you about your program. We do this to learn more about your program and to verify that the policies and procedures that you submitted are being implemented in practice. The following tool includes the interview questions you will be asked.

 

Link to interview tools coming soon!

 

Dwelling Review

After the interview, ORH will also review each dwelling. We will want to visit any part of the property that residents have access to, including basements, garages and individual resident bedrooms. We will also ask you questions about each property, such as where naloxone is stored. You can use the following checklists to prepare for your onsite visit.

 

Agreements

As an applicant for certification, your organization must sign specific assurances and agreements.  These should be read carefully and signed by the person who has the appropriate authority to do so on behalf of the organization. 

  • ORH Assurances - a document of the assurances that each organization will need to sign and provide attestation of when applying for ORH certification

  • ORH Agreement - an agreement that organizations must sign in order to apply for certification 

  • NARR Code of Ethics - all individuals within your organization who interact with residents should read and sign the Code of Ethics. ORH requires that you keep all of the documents on file, but only requires that one document for the Director be submitted with the application.   

In these agreements, operators agree that they are including all recovery homes that are currently open and occupied in their application for certification.  If an existing certified operator opens a new home, they have three months from the date the first resident moves into the home to apply for certification for the new property.  

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Timelines and Extensions

ORH has seen a dramatic increase in the number of applications. To ensure that we are able to provide each application with the attention it deserves while also keeping certification review fees low, we have implemented the following policy with regard to extensions. Please read and understand this policy so you can be aware of the timelines that you will be expected to meet throughout the certification process.

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As a reminder, ORH offers free assistance to ensure your application is complete and you do not need to make any changes. Taking advantage of this can help you have a smooth and easy application process and not need any extensions. 

 

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