Director talks about recovery home concerns

I license and certify programs. My division, we don’t place the patients, that’s up to the programs who admit them, ¼ but the sex offenders, ¼ we have no jurisdiction over that. I can’t answer those questions. [But] it’s not going to be a sex offender [coming to Newport Beach].

Addiction is a chronic disease, so our folks are seeking treatment, and that’s what we’re providing. By the statutes of California, we need to make sure that there’s enough treatment that there’s enough access so the folks that are seeking treatment have somewhere to go. That’s our main purpose. Otherwise we’re taxed on the other side. . . .  The data shows that for every dollar that’s pumped into treatment it saves the taxpayer $4 in the long run.

Q: Residents say they think the clients of drug recovery homes may be selling drugs, using drugs, or stealing.

A: Those are not our folks, they’re the college kids that are renting the homes, and sometimes I think the community mixes those folks up.

To be in a residential treatment, if you relapse, the program refers them out. They will not tolerate someone that relapses. Everyone in treatment has to be sober or not using drugs, period.

Q: Why do you think Newport Beach residents are so concerned, and how can your department respond?

A: I think that the only way I can answer that is what the complaints are from Newport Beach, that there’s many residential treatment programs and there’s many sober living programs in their areas, and those are the complaints that we get. It’s the over-concentration, I guess — my statutes say when we receive an application and once it’s complete, then we license that provider.