State Rep. Tina Davis will be hosting a public hearing next week in Bristol Township on the topic of a revised recovery home regulation bill.
The bill, HB 355, is similar to the previous piece of legislation that Davis introduced last year which aims to hold recovery facilities to a “certain level of care and safety.”
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The public hearing will be held Monday, April 10 in the Ben Franklin Middle School’s auditorium at 6401 Mill Creek Road in Levittown. The hearing will start at 2 p.m. and wrap up around 4 p.m.
Davis’ new bill states that recovery homes which register with the state should report incidents, be regularly inspected for safety, have a refund policy, fee schedule, code of ethics, insurance, safety and health policies, rules for residents, intake policies and a system to deal with sexual offenders and sexual predators. In addition, the recovery home owners, director and chief financial officer would have to undergo background screening.
The bill from the Bristol Township-based Democrat would establish the State Board of Recovery Residences within the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. The new oversight body would develop and administer the voluntary certification program and code of ethics for recovery residences.
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“Recovery residences are an important resource for helping those fighting addiction but vary in quality. Recovering addicts, their families and communities should be able to expect a certain level of care and safety from these facilities,” Davis said in a letter posted online.
“Davis requested the hearing to collect testimony about how local communities are handling recovery residences and to discuss additional safeguards that she believes would protect the recovery system and community,” the state representative’s office said in a statement.
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Davis’ district covers all of Bristol Township, Hulmeville, Penndel and a portion of Middletown. Within the borders of the district, there are about 100 recovery homes of varying states.
Below is the agenda for the hearing:
The current agenda is:
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2 p.m. Welcome and opening remarks
2:10 p.m. Panel One:
- Jessica Scheiber Blackburn, parent
- Angelina Mundy, parent
- Leonard Spearing, parent
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2:30 p.m. Panel Two:
- Diane Rostai, executive director, Bucks County Drug & Alcohol Commission
- Bryan Kennedy, owner/operator, Freedom Lodge
- Micki Kaisinger, owner/operator, Emilie House
3:10 p.m. Panel Three:
- Howard Allen, councilman, Bristol Township
- Tom Tosti, supervisor, Middletown Township
- Amy Strouse, supervisor, Middletown Township
- Mike Clarke, solicitor, Falls Township
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3:50 p.m. Closing remarks
