Many kinds of congregate care facilities are licensed by California in residential neighborhoods, including homes for the elderly, the dying, the cognitively disabled, and foster care. In addition, case law has concluded that up-to-six adults, potentially unrelated, can be considered a family when living together in a home. If residents are under licensed residential care, employees may also be allowed on site overnight, bringing the total in-house population to as many as 8 or 10. How can you distinguish between a Residential Care facility, and particularly a Recovery Residence, and a home with six residents, such as a true Sober Living Home, where the tenants are maintaining their sobriety while re-integrating with society?
Features of Residential Care Facilities
A distinguishing feature of Residential Care is a house manager, an employee who is on site when the residents are on site. Does vehicular traffic suggest a changing of shifts: 7:00 am, one car arrives, another leaves, even on weekends? This is likely some kind of Residential Care.
Long term Residential Care typically occurs in average neighborhoods, where the rental charge to the tenants is commensurate with that of a room rented in a similar home in the neighborhood, keeping the cost of living manageable. Rentals are long in duration, with the tenants averaging easily over a year. Tenants and employees may be friendly with neighbors because they desire to be part of the community. Tenants may go for walks in the neighborhood. With 6+ adults sleeping on a property, the number of trash cans outside the home on trash day will be likely be greater than the average number of trash cans for a home on that street.
Long term Residential Care typically occurs in average neighborhoods, where the rental charge to the tenants is commensurate with that of a room rented in a similar home in the neighborhood, keeping the cost of living manageable. Rentals are long in duration, with the tenants averaging easily over a year. Tenants and employees may be friendly with neighbors because they desire to be part of the community. Tenants may go for walks in the neighborhood. With 6+ adults sleeping on a property, the number of trash cans outside the home on trash day will be likely be greater than the average number of trash cans for a home on that street.
Features of Recovery Residences and Detoxes
Recovery Residences and Detoxes, subcategories of Residential Care for addiction rehabilitation, often differ from the homes described above, in every way except for the number of trash cans and the changing shifts. This chart can help describe differences between types of Recovery Residences and Detoxes when categorized by their relationship to the neighborhood. Unlike traditional Residential Care homes, a hallmark of these residences in Orange County is that they can charge exorbitant fees. These fees may be bundled with the cost of treatment. Detoxes in the state of California are required to be licensed. Recovery Residences may be licensed and supervised, unlicensed and supervised, or unlicensed and un(der)supervised. Sober Living Homes are considered families and are therefore not licensed.
You will want to answer the following questions:
• Do the tenants smoke excessively? Could be a Detox, Recovery Residence or Sober Living Home.
• Do the tenants and employees almost exclusively keep to themselves as though they are hiding something?
- Likely a Detox or Recovery Residence.
• Does a large van, capable of comfortably seating six or more adults, come and go and sometimes park in the driveway?
- Likely a Recovery Residence, possibly a Detox.
• Do people seem to be coming and going at all times of the day and evening?
- Potentially a Detox or an Unsupervised Recovery Residence.
• Are there numbers of people at the house during the day?
- Likely a Detox House, possibly an Unsupervised Recovery Residence.
• Do emergency vehicles frequently visit the house?
- Potentially a Detox House, possibly an Unsupervised Recovery Residence.
• Have people died at the house?
- Potentially a Detox House, possibly an Unsupervised Recovery Residence.
• Are the tenants there overnight, but hardly there during the day?
- Likely a Supervised Recovery Residence
• Given the above, are there almost no visitors and residents do not walk around the neighborhood?
- Likely a Supervised Recovery Residence
• Is there excessive parking?
- Likely an Unsupervised Recovery Residence or Sober Living Home.
• Given the above, does the parking spill over the sidewalk, as if the drivers don’t care about the neighborhood?
- Likely an Unsupervised Recovery Residence or a Detox.
To determine with certainty if a property on your street is a licensed Recovery Residence or Detox, go to:
http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/provgovpart/Pages/Facility_Certification.aspx
At the top of the section called “Resources,” select the link Residential & Outpatient Licensed & Outpatient Facilities List. It is organized by county.
You will want to answer the following questions:
• Do the tenants smoke excessively? Could be a Detox, Recovery Residence or Sober Living Home.
• Do the tenants and employees almost exclusively keep to themselves as though they are hiding something?
- Likely a Detox or Recovery Residence.
• Does a large van, capable of comfortably seating six or more adults, come and go and sometimes park in the driveway?
- Likely a Recovery Residence, possibly a Detox.
• Do people seem to be coming and going at all times of the day and evening?
- Potentially a Detox or an Unsupervised Recovery Residence.
• Are there numbers of people at the house during the day?
- Likely a Detox House, possibly an Unsupervised Recovery Residence.
• Do emergency vehicles frequently visit the house?
- Potentially a Detox House, possibly an Unsupervised Recovery Residence.
• Have people died at the house?
- Potentially a Detox House, possibly an Unsupervised Recovery Residence.
• Are the tenants there overnight, but hardly there during the day?
- Likely a Supervised Recovery Residence
• Given the above, are there almost no visitors and residents do not walk around the neighborhood?
- Likely a Supervised Recovery Residence
• Is there excessive parking?
- Likely an Unsupervised Recovery Residence or Sober Living Home.
• Given the above, does the parking spill over the sidewalk, as if the drivers don’t care about the neighborhood?
- Likely an Unsupervised Recovery Residence or a Detox.
To determine with certainty if a property on your street is a licensed Recovery Residence or Detox, go to:
http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/provgovpart/Pages/Facility_Certification.aspx
At the top of the section called “Resources,” select the link Residential & Outpatient Licensed & Outpatient Facilities List. It is organized by county.