Recovery residences are under the microscope of Grayson County government as official certification for such businesses must be requested by July 1, 2024, and received by county government no later than October 1, 2024, or risk being fined and/or closed and prosecuted.
County Attorney for Grayson County Jeremy Logsdon, at the request of Grayson County Fiscal Court, has authored a proposed nine-and-a-half-page ordinance intended to regulate and monitor recovery residences (aka sober living residences, recovery homes) in unincorporated areas of the county.
The intent of the ordinance is not to preclude recovery residences from operating in Grayson County, according to Judge-Executive Kevin Henderson – who clearly stated that he is “not against these facilities” — but rather to ensure the for-profit businesses are properly certified (and therefore presumably operating within the bounds of the law), and not taking financial advantage of those recovering from addiction.
Logsdon said he based the ordinance on Kentucky Revised Statutes (222.500 and 222.510), which went into effect on June 29, 2023, and among other provisions, requires certification of recovery residences. Logsdon also closely crafted the proposed ordinance on legislation enacted by Hardin County and Elizabethtown governments that necessitates certification and other requirements of recovery homes.
A recovery residence is defined in the ordinance as any premises, place or building that:
- Hold itself out as a recovery residence, recovery home, sober living residence, alcohol, illicit drug, and other intoxicating substance-free home for unrelated individuals, or any other similarly named or identified residence that promotes substance use disorder recovery through abstinence from intoxicating substances;
- Provides a housing arrangement for a group of unrelated individuals who are recovering from substance abuse disorders or to a group of parents who are recovering from a substance abuse disorder or their children, including peer-to-peer supervision models; and
- Is not licensed or otherwise approved by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or any other agency of state government to provide any medical, clinical, behavioral health, or substance use treatment service for which a license or other approval is required under state law.
Beginning July 1, 2024, no individual, except those properly licensed and/or certified, shall establish, operate, or maintain a recovery residence, according to the proposed ordinance. However, the county will allow currently operating recovery residences that have not received the proper certification to continue to operate until October 1, 2024, “if the recovery residence provides the County with proof that it initiated a certification process with a certifying organization prior to July 1, 21024.”
The ordinance further states that a recovery residence that begins operations after July 1, 2024, is permitted to stay open for no more than six months “if the recovery residence provides the County with proof that it has initiated the certification process with a certifying organization.”
Entities that are acceptable “certifying organizations” are The Kentucky Recovery House Network, The National Alliance for Recovery Residences and the Oxford House, according to the ordinance.
Additionally, “any other organization that develops and administers professional certification programs requiring minimum standards for operation of recovery residences that has been recognized and approved by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services,” is also acceptable, per the ordinance.
Judge-Executive Kevin Henderson will appoint a part-time compliance officer to enforce the provisions of the proposed ordinance “with the prescribed procedures of the County and with the concurrence of the judge-executive,” the ordinance states.
The compliance officer will be charged with issuing all necessary notices, citations or orders to ensure the recovery residence is in compliance with the ordinance.
“Any person failing to comply with a notice of violation or order … shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor or civil infraction or violated as determined by the County consistent with state law, and the violation shall be considered a strict liability offense,” the ordinance states.
Other penalties include a $500 fine for every day a recovery residence is not in compliance. And a $1,000 per day fine for a second, separate offense. The penalties enacted by Grayson County are in addition to any pertinent federal or state penalties.
Grayson County Fiscal Court will presumably vote on the proposed ordinance at the next regularly scheduled meeting on June 20.
(Photo: Recovery residence, courtesy of the Hansen Foundation)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
