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West Virginia Recovery Houses & Sober Living: Resources & Directory

Find recovery residence and sober living resources for West Virginia: state registration with the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification (OHFLAC), voluntary certification from the West Virginia Alliance of Recovery Residences (WVARR), help lines, and organizations that serve the state. Browse the guide below or choose your county.

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West Virginia recovery house rules at a glance

Registering agency
Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification (OHFLAC), West Virginia Office of Inspector General
State registration
Required for every recovery residence before it operates (W. Va. Code 16-59-4)
Certification
Voluntary, from the West Virginia Alliance of Recovery Residences (WVARR), the state's contracted certifying agency
Referrals and state money
Only WVARR-certified residences may take referrals from corrections, courts or state-funded providers, or accept rent paid from state benefits

Step by step

How to open a recovery house or sober living home in West Virginia

Every recovery residence in West Virginia must register with the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification (OHFLAC) before it opens, one registration per address, renewed each year. To open one, check local zoning, write your resident application and agreement, register with OHFLAC, and decide whether to seek certification from the West Virginia Alliance of Recovery Residences (WVARR), which you need to take referrals from corrections, courts or state-funded providers.

The steps most new operators follow to open a recovery house in West Virginia, in order. Each one links to the official form or rule behind it.

  1. 1

    Decide whether you'll seek WVARR certification

    State requirement

    Every recovery residence must register with OHFLAC. Certification from the West Virginia Alliance of Recovery Residences (WVARR) is voluntary, but you need it to take referrals from the Division of Corrections, parole, probation, day report centers, municipal courts or state-funded providers, or to accept State Treasury funds or rent paid from Medicaid, TANF or SNAP.

  2. 2

    Check local zoning and occupancy

    Local requirement

    Call the city or county zoning office before you sign a lease. The federal Fair Housing Act and the West Virginia Fair Housing Act protect people in recovery from discriminatory land-use decisions.

  3. 3

    Write your resident application and agreement

    State requirement

    OHFLAC asks for copies of your recovery residence application and resident agreement with the registration. Write house rules and policies you will follow in practice; WVARR reviewers check that written policies match what happens in the house.

  4. 4

    Register each address with OHFLAC

    State requirement

    Submit the registration application with the $250 fee by check or money order, one registration per physical address. The registration lists your contact person and federal employer identification number (FEIN). Register before you open: operating unregistered carries a civil penalty of up to $20,000 a day.

  5. 5

    Set up referral and data records

    State requirement

    Keep a record of where each referral comes from: kickbacks or split fees for referrals are a felony under the Patient Brokering Act. Plan for the data reports OHFLAC requires: they are due quarterly, by April 15, July 15, October 15 and January 15 (69CSR15, section 7).

  6. 6

    Apply for WVARR certification

    Voluntary certification

    WVARR generally asks residences to be open 60 days at 60% capacity before applying. The process runs from a pre-application call through policy review, an on-site review of each residence and a quality improvement plan. Certified residences appear in WVARR's public directory.

  7. 7

    Stay registered and in good standing

    State requirement

    Renew the OHFLAC registration every year and amend it for a name or address change. If certified, fix immediate-jeopardy findings before WVARR reviewers leave and other deficiencies within 30 days, and admit no new residents after a suspension or revocation notice.

Startup checklist

  • Decide whether you'll take referrals or rent paid from state benefits
  • Call the local zoning office about group living rules
  • Write your resident application, agreement and house rules
  • Get a federal employer identification number (FEIN)
  • Register each address with OHFLAC and pay the $250 fee
  • Set up a referral-source log
  • Plan for OHFLAC's quarterly data reports
  • Read WVARR's certification preparation packet
  • Apply for WVARR certification once open 60 days
  • Renew the OHFLAC registration every year

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