3.G.24.a. RSS

Rule

Provide structured, scheduled, curriculum-driven, and/or otherwise defined support services and life skills development. Trained staff (peer and clinical) provide learning opportunities.

Levels

This rule applies to level IIIs and IVs.

Guidance

This is an important rule in that is one of the delineating factor between high levels of support and lower levels of support.

Recovery support services (RSS) are nonclinical services that support recovery. Although the peer-to-peer or resident-to-resident mutual aid that is cultivated within recovery housing is a form of RSS, this rule is specifically referencing recovery support services that are delivered in structured, scheduled and measurable units. They are curriculum based or have some other form of structure to ensure they are delivered with uniformity and fidelity. They have measurable outputs, defined objectives and performance evaluations. Examples include:

• A peer specialist meeting weekly with a resident for the first 6 months of their stay to support them in a person-centered recovery or wellness plan
• A peer specialist facilitating a weekly nonclinical group exercise
• A certified yoga or physical trainer leading movement activities
• An individual trained to deliver a job readiness curriculum supports new residents until they get a job

Providing this form of recovery support services alone does not qualify a recovery residence as a level III or IV. There must also be appropriate workforce development, which is highlighted in the following rule 3.G.24.a. by a trained and/or credentialed individual.

While NARR has not yet established a minimum number of RSS hours to be eligible for Level III or Level IV accreditation, the state affiliate and/or funders may establish a threshold.

If RSS is only provided to residents of a particular property for a limited time, that property may have multiple programs operating within it. For example, if residents only received intensive RSS for the first 90 days starting from the time they moved in, the property may have newcomer residents in a level III program and the senior residents in a level II program. While some recovery residences prefer to keep residents in the same property as they move across levels of support, others may prefer to invite residents to move to a “step down” property.

Evaluation

How many hours of structured scheduled, curriculum-driven, and/or otherwise defined support services and/or life skills development do residents receive each week?

Evidence

Evidence that this rule is upheld should be documented in the resident packet and leadership manual.

Resources

• Recovery Housing Support and Service Plan, RecoveryPeople, 2019