Orange County Municipal Code Art. 1 Voluntary Certification of Sober Living Facilities

The purpose of this article is to establish a program for voluntary certification of residential facilities providing drug-free and alcohol-free living environments, but not treatment, for persons who are recovering from alcohol or drug abuse or addiction, in order to promote public safety and to provide access to quality recovery environments.

(Ord. No. 01-017, § 1, 12-18-01; Ord. No. 04-005, § 1, 3-9-04)

(a) Certification guidelines. Guidelines adopted by resolution of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, which set out the requirements for certification by the Sheriff-Coroner of sober living facilities. The certification guidelines also shall provide for procedures for applications for certification, inspections of facilities, issuance of certifications, and renewals and revocations of certifications.

(b) Director and Head of Administrative Staff. The manager of a sober living facility who is responsible for supervision of all residents and of all staff employed by, or volunteering for, the facility, and for approving all progress reports about residents' recovery that are provided to courts, county or city agencies, or other providers of recovery services. He/she is responsible for overall management of the sober living facility.

(c) House manager. A person who resides at a sober living facility, or any of multiple persons who collectively are present at the facility between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on weekdays and 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on weekends, and who is/are in charge of the day-to-day operation of the facility. The house manager is responsible to ensure the safety of the building(s) and grounds; to collect fees from residents; to maintain compliance by residents and staff with facility rules and the certification guidelines; and to provide support and referral information, but not counseling or treatment, to residents of the facility.

(d) Peer coordinator. A paid or volunteer staff member who assists the house manager. The peer coordinator may oversee the household chore list and schedule; help to facilitate facility meetings; and report concerns regarding the behavior of residents and the maintenance of the facility to the house manager or director.

(e) Sober living facility. A facility offering an alcohol and drug free residence for unrelated adults who are recovering from alcohol or drug abuse or addiction. No drug or alcohol treatment services are provided on site. The State of California, Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs does not license such a facility to offer residential treatment for drug or alcohol abuse or addiction.

(Ord. No. 01-017, § 1, 12-18-01; Ord. No. 04-005, § 1, 3-9-04)

(a) The Sheriff-Coroner is authorized to certify sober living facilities in unincorporated and incorporated areas throughout the County of Orange when such facilities have complied with the certification guidelines.

(b) Obtaining certification shall be voluntary. No sober living facility shall be required to apply for or obtain certification under the certification guidelines. No sober living facility shall be required to cease operation on account of its not being certified under the certification guidelines.

(c) By resolutions of their city councils, cities within the County of Orange may become participants in the certification program established by this article. The Sheriff-Coroner is authorized to rely on personnel appointed by participating cities when determining whether those portions of the Certification Guidelines relating to buildings and grounds have been met by sober living facilities in those cities.

(d) Effective on the date indicated in the certification guidelines, and except as otherwise provided in the certification guidelines or as required by law or contractual obligations, County of Orange personnel, when referring a person to a sober living facility within the County of Orange, other than a facility operated by a State agency, shall refer a person who qualifies for admittance to a certified sober living facility only to a certified facility, if the referring County personnel determine that space is available in a certified facility that is suitable for the person being referred.

(Ord. No. 01-017, § 1, 12-18-01; Ord. No. 04-005, § 1, 3-9-04)

(a) In order to maintain environments in certified sober living facilities that maximize the opportunities for residents' recovery from drug or alcohol abuse or addiction, it is necessary that such facilities be operated by persons who have not engaged in criminal behavior in the recent past and who have not engaged at any time in certain types of criminal behavior that could endanger residents.

(b) In order to fulfill his certification duties, the Sheriff-Coroner is authorized, pursuant to Penal Code sections 11105(b)(10) and 13300(b)(10), to obtain access to and to utilize State summary criminal history information and local summary criminal history information pertaining to the personnel of drug and alcohol recovery facilities who are referenced in this section.

(c) The certification guidelines may contain additional requirements, unrelated to criminal activity, for owners, operators, managers, staff and volunteers of sober living facilities.

(d) No sober living facility shall be certified if any of its staff, paid or volunteer, have been convicted of any of the following offenses:

(1) Sex offenses for which the person is required to register as a sex offender under Penal Code section 290;

(2) Arson offenses. Violation of Penal Code sections 451, 451.1, 451.5, 452, 452.1, 453, 454, or 455;

(3) Violent felonies as defined in Penal Code section 667.5, which involve doing bodily harm to another person, for which the staff member was convicted within five years prior to employment.

(e) No sober living facility shall be certified if any of its staff, paid or volunteer, participates in the criminal activities of a prison gang and/or a criminal street gang, as defined in Penal Code section 186.22 (f).

(f) The Sheriff-Coroner is authorized to approve individual exceptions to the requirement of subdivision (d)(3) of this section for staff of sober living facilities, including the director and head of administrative staff, house manager, or peer coordinator, upon finding appropriate justification for such an exception.

(g) No alcohol or drug recovery facility shall be certified if its director and head of administrative staff:

(1) Does not meet the requirements of subsections (d) and (e) of this section; or

(2) Is currently under parole or formal probation supervision.

(h) No sober living facility shall be certified if its house manager:

(1) Does not meet the requirements of subsections (d) and (e) of this section; or

(2) Is under parole or formal probation supervision on the date of the facility's application for certification or the house manager's employment by the facility, whichever is later.

(i) No sober living facility shall be certified if its peer coordinator:

(1) Does not meet the requirements of subsections (d) and (e) of this section; or

(2) Is under parole or formal probation supervision for a violent felony, as defined in Penal Code section 667.5, on the date of the facility's application for certification or the peer coordinator's employment by the facility, whichever is later.

(j) A sober living facility shall not be disqualified from certification on account of its peer coordinator's being under probation or parole supervision solely for a non-violent offense(s), if the peer coordinator otherwise meets the requirements of subsection (i) of this section.

(k) In the following circumstances, a certification previously granted to a sober living facility shall be revoked and a pending application for certification shall be denied:

(1) (i)

Any of the staff of the facility or a peer coordinator are found to have been convicted, prior to the application for certification, of any offense that would have disqualified the facility from certification;

(ii) Any of the staff of the facility is convicted, while the application is pending or during the period of certification, of any offense that would have disqualified the facility from certification if the conviction had occurred earlier; or

(iii) It is discovered that any of the staff of the facility is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to Penal Code section 290 or currently participates in the criminal activity of a prison gang and/or a criminal street gang, as defined in Penal Code section 186.22(f); and

(2) The staff member's conviction, sex offender registration requirement or participation in the criminal activities of a prison gang and/or a criminal street gang would have disqualified the facility from certification if it had occurred or had been discovered earlier.

(Ord. No. 01-017, § 1, 12-18-01; Ord. No. 04-005, § 1, 3-9-04)