The modern trend for dealing with alcohol and drug abuse in California is to provide rehabilitation services and treatment in contrast to incarceration, especially for those individuals whose drug offenses are nonviolent. Drug courts within California’s collaborative court system rely on the services provided by California rehabilitation facilities.
In California, any facility that provides 24-hour residential nonmedical services to adults recovering from alcohol or other drug misuse or abuse must be licensed. The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has the sole authority to license these rehabilitation facilities under California law. In addition to meeting state law requirements, facilities may be subject to other types of municipal and county permits, clearances, local taxes or fees required where the facilities are located.
Facilities that provide one or more of the following services are subject to DHCS licensure:
- detoxification,
- alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment planning,
- individual, group, and educational sessions (related thereto), or
- incidental medical services (related thereto).
California alcohol and drug rehabilitation facilities that are licensed by the DHCS, may also be certified by the DHCS. The DHCS offers a voluntary facility certification to programs that offer outpatient, intensive outpatient, and nonresidential detoxification services. Most of the facilities licensed by DHCS are also certified.
Such certification identifies California facilities that exceed minimum levels of service quality and are in substantial compliance with California State program standards, such as the state’s Alcohol and Drug Certification Standards. Certification is available to both residential and nonresidential programs.
A list by county of all non-medical alcoholism and drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities licensed and/or certified by the California Department of Health Care Services is available here.
If you are experiencing problems with substance abuse and have been charged with a crime, the resolution of your matter through the Riverside County Drug Court may be an option. Drug diversion programs allow some defendants charged with simple, non-violent drug possession crimes to complete drug treatment rather than serve jail time. John Patrick Dolan is a California State Bar Certified Specialist in Criminal Law, the highest achievement awarded by the State Bar of California to attorneys in the field of criminal law. Call today at (760) 775-3739 or find out more online here.
