Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Adopts Statewide Levels of Recovery Residences

By: Jeffrey Lynne May 16, 2024 1:20 am

Time to read: 5 Minutes

On May 13, 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 1065 into law (adopted as Chapter No. 2024-176, Laws of Florida), another step forward in making Florida a leader in behavioral healthcare nationwide.

With significant input from FARR (the Florida Association of Recovery Residences) and the State Attorney Addiction and Recovery Task Force (Dave Aronberg, State Attorney for Palm Beach County), HB 1065 accomplishes the following:

• Adopts NARR levels of support (I – IV), as influenced by the nuances of the Florida Model of treatment, into law.
• Recognizes and declares that a recovery residence providing housing as part of a treatment program is to be staffed and supervised at the highest Level IV level of support.
• Declares that the “Community Housing” component of a PHP license must be certified to the Level IV standard.
• Increases from 30 days to 90 days the time allowed to replace a certified recovery residence administrator (CRRA) who has been terminated or has otherwise left the employment of the housing provider.
• Further increases the allowable resident oversight by a CRRA from 100 to 150 residents, if specific criteria are met.
• Adopts the federal standard under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), recognizing that recovery residence providers may not deny housing to an individual solely on the basis that person has been prescribed FDA approved and physician prescribed Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT).
• Places a temporary moratorium on the passage of any local zoning ordinances which attempt to regulate certified recovery residences in multifamily zoning districts based upon length of resident stay.

With the signing of HB 1065, Florida appears to be the first state in the nation to adopt into law and recognize the NARR/FARR standards as “best practices”. This comes directly on the heels of recognition from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the NARR standards as “best practices” in recovery residential housing in 2023, coupled with the recent inclusion by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) of the four NARR levels of housing support into the ASAM Placement Criteria, 4^th Edition (2023), which collaboration started back in 2018.

Of particular significance in HB 1065 is the recognition of the highly effective “Florida Model” of outpatient care, which pairs outpatient services with a certified recovery residence, and which combined modality has been proven to further sustain early gains in sobriety and recovery.  Further, the determination that FARR Level IV standards must be applied to the residential component of the “Day or Night Treatment with Community Housing” license (ASAM 2.5, often referred to in Florida as “PHP” or “Partial Hospitalization”) may potentially be the first step towards securing reimbursement for statutorily-required “room and board” services at that specific level of care, and as required under the federal Parity Act of 2008.

HB 1065 is yet another in the successful line of legislation dating back to 2016 from the original “Sober Homes Task Force,” with the first adoption of standards for recovery residences in the State of Florida. Florida continues to lead the nation in effective and comprehensive behavioral healthcare services, with an educated, dedicated, and highly experienced workforce, in both addiction and mental health treatment, and in the essential recovery residence aspect of care.