CCAR Recovery Housing Coalition of Connecticut
Standards
The CCAR Recovery Housing Coalition of Connecticut is a group of individuals and companies that provide housing for those in the recovery community. The coalition offers educational, advocacy, and organizational support for its members. Additionally, information about housing services offered by coalition members is made available to recoverees and providers through the CCAR telephone contact program, as well as its website.
A significant goal of the coalition is to help assure that recoverees have safe and habitable housing. All houses must be managed in an ethical, honest, and reasonable fashion. The coalition has drafted minimum standards for recovery housing. Owners of recovery housing who adhere to the minimum standards are entitled to be members of the CCAR Recovery Housing Coalition of Connecticut.
The process of establishing and monitoring minimum standards is an evolving one, intended to elevate the quality of recovery housing available to recoverees. There are four major components of the standards which broadly include (1) operating structure (policies / procedures); (2) physical plant; (3) evaluations and inspections; (4) ethical standards.
Policies, Procedures and House Structure
A. Each house shall have a mission statement which
promotes an environment that provides for recoverees to live as a family
unit.
B. Each house shall have published admission
criteria, which may include the right of the house owner to define the
target population for recoverees, consistent with federal, state, and
local laws, and which policy shall be implemented consistently;
C. House rules and regulations must be posted in each
house, reviewed with all residents, signed by each resident, and include
provisions on:
i. Recovery based and house meetings, including a
minimum of five (5) recovery oriented meetings per week, which may be 12
step or faith based recovery meetings, in addition to any outpatient
treatment and/or religious program attendance, and a mandatory weekly
house meeting;
ii. Immediate discharge for relapse, stealing, and/or
disruptive behavior;
iii. Curfew;
iv. Guests;
v. Overnight visits;
vi. Employment or daytime activity;
vii. Prohibition on smoking inside the house;
viii. Medication;
ix. Explanation of management structure and contact
information for staff on a 24/7 basis;
x. a written safety, fire, and emergency policy which
must be reviewed with all residents;
xi. A grievance procedure, which includes a posted
bypass procedure for direct communication to CCAR;
xii. A procedure for how and/or where to contact
tenants in the event of an emergency if tenants are not at home;
xiii. Drug and alcohol testing;
xiv. Fee’s and any additional costs or charges.
2. Minimum standards for each dwelling unit
include:
A. All living space must be finished, furnished, and
have operational locks on exterior doors and first floor windows;
B. Every dwelling unit must have:
i. a fully functional kitchen, including a stove,
microwave, sink, and refrigerator;
ii. A fully functional bath room including a toilet,
sink, and bathtub or shower, with no more than six (6) people sharing a
bathroom;
iii. and central heat, including a prohibition on
portable heating units;
C. Each bedroom must be limited to no more than two
residents, must meet minimum state standards as to size, (and local
standards as to size, if any), and must not require passage through
another room to gain entry;
D. Each house must comply with applicable
governmental standards with respect to smoke detectors, carbon monoxide
detectors, and fire extinguishers. On floors with kitchens, the fire
extinguishers shall be located in the kitchen;
E. Furniture must be:
i. Complete, clean, and in good repair;
ii. Replaced at reasonable intervals
iii. Curb appeal
iv. Outside appearance must be neat, clean, and well
maintained;
v. Outside appearance must, at a minimum, be
consistent with neighborhood.
F. Each house must have a maintenance program to
address routine and emergency repairs and maintenance in a timely
fashion
3. Inspections and Evaluations
A. Surveys
i. Recoverees;
ii. Providers
B. Inspection by CCAR outside evaluator or two
members of executive committee shall be performed at least one time per
year at each house and additionally, may include random inspections and
inspections related to specific issues or complaints.
4. Ethical Standards
House Owners / House Managers should under no circumstances engage in sexual activities or sexual contact with current clients, whether such contact is consensual or forced.
House Owners / House Managers should not engage in
sexual activities or sexual contact with clients’ relatives or other
individuals with whom clients maintain a close personal relationship
when there is a risk of exploitation or potential harm to the client.
Sexual activity or sexual contact with clients’ relatives or other
individuals with whom clients maintain a personal relationship has the
potential to be harmful to the client and may make it difficult for the
House Owner / House Manager and client to maintain appropriate
professional boundaries. House Owners / House Managers—not their
clients, their clients’ relatives, or other individuals with whom the
client maintains a personal relationship—assume the full burden for
setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries.
House Owners / House Managers should not engage in
sexual activities or sexual contact with former clients because of the
potential for harm to the client. If House Owners / House Managers
engage in conduct contrary to this prohibition or claim that an
exception to this prohibition is warranted because of extraordinary
circumstances, it is the House Owners / House Managers—not their
clients—who assume the full burden of demonstrating that the former
client has not been exploited, coerced, or manipulated, intentionally or
unintentionally.
House Owners / House Managers should not provide
clinical services to individuals with whom they have had a prior sexual
relationship. Providing clinical services to a former sexual partner has
the potential to be harmful to the individual and is likely to make it
difficult for the House Owner / House Manager and individual to maintain
appropriate professional boundaries.
House Owners / House Managers should not engage in physical contact with clients when there is a possibility of psychological harm to the client as a result of the contact (such as cradling or caressing clients). House Owners / House Managers who engage in appropriate physical contact with clients are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries that govern such physical contact.
House Owners / House Managers should not sexually harass clients. Sexual harassment includes sexual advances, sexual solicitation, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
House Owners / House Managers should not use derogatory language in their written or verbal communications to or about clients. House Owners / House Managers should use accurate and respectful language in all communications to and about clients.
Membership
Owners of recovery housing who agree in writing to adhere to the minimum standards are entitled to be members of the CCAR Recovery Housing Coalition of Connecticut. Membership privileges include a preferred listing on the CCAR recovery housing website, referrals of potential residents, educational, advocacy, and organizational support for its members, including the ability to network and collaborate with colleagues, and up to date information on recovery support programs.
Meetings
Meetings are open and interested parties are welcome to attend. Regular monthly meetings serve as a forum on topics and issues important to the recovery housing community. Special or emergency meetings may be scheduled as necessary and with reasonable notice to all members.
Governance
There shall be a chairperson, a vice chair, and secretary. To be eligible to serve as the chairperson, the individual must have been an active participant of the recovery housing coalition for a period of at least one year. Positions shall be by nomination and majority vote and elected individuals shall serve for a period of one year, or until a successor is elected. CCAR shall provide administrative and technical support. There shall be an executive committee consisting of five (5) members, including the chairperson, vice chair, secretary, one member at large appointed by the chair, and the designated administrative support person from CCAR. In the event of a conflict of interest or scheduling conflict, the chair may appoint one or more members at large to serve temporarily.
Response to critical and non-critical incidents,
including response to failure to meet minimum standards.
The CCAR Recovery Housing Coalition of
Connecticut
Critical incidents, include, but are not limited to, any facts or circumstances which could harm a recoveree. Some examples are drug or alcohol use, threatening or violence, intimidation, illegal activities, inappropriate discharge……
Non-critical incidents include, but are not limited to, interpersonal conflicts, disputes over finances, and minor complaints about houses.
Failure to meet minimum standards is a separate category.
In the case of critical incidents, members shall be notified by telephone and e-mail and required to respond within 72 hours. Executive committee members shall also be notified. Non-critical incidents will be communicated in the same fashion, but the required response shall be 30 days. Executive committee members will be notified at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
In the event there is a complaint about the failure to meet minimum standards, an evaluator will perform an onsite inspection.
In the event the executive committee believes a critical incident is not remedied in 72 hours, or in the case of a determination that minimum standards are not being met, the executive committee shall
hold a special meeting to determine if the offending member shall be suspended from active membership in the CCAR Recovery Housing Coalition of Connecticut.
The decision to suspend a member shall be based upon whether the critical incident poses a continuing risk to recoverees and/or exposes the housing coalition and its members to disrepute. Failure to remedy the cause(s) leading to a finding that a member’s house does not meet minimum standards, within an applicable remediation time period, shall be cause to suspend an owner’s active membership.