PETRIE-NORRIS HOLDS SOBER LIVING HEARING IN COSTA MESA

WAKE UP!

As most of you who read this blog know, I placed it into a coma many months ago, hoping to spend my time having fun with my wife - traveling and just enjoying ourselves.  However, I withheld the option to resurrect it if something really important seemed to justify it.  I’ve continued to express myself on local issues in Facebook snippets.  This event required slapping the blog awake - the issue is just too darn important to all of us.  So, here we go…

PETRIE-NORRIS HOLDS A HEARING

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, Chair of the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee, held an informational hearing in the Costa Mesa City Council Chambers today, the subject of which was Substance Abuse Treatment Industry Regulation.  Also on the dais were Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva and State Senator Pat Bates.

MEDIA STARS COVERING THE MEETING

Luke Money, Assistant City Editor of the Daily Pilot, and Teri Sforza, ace reporter on this issue for the Southern California News Group (Orange County Register) both attended.  You can read Luke’s story HERE.  You can read Teri's excellent piece, published Thursday morning, HERE.

NOT TELEVISED, BUT LIVE-STREAMED

This meeting, while not televised by CMTV, was live streamed by members of the State Assembly staff.  The archive of that nearly 3-hour streaming video can be found by navigating at THIS LINK.

EXCELLENT MEETING

From my position in the cheap seats - my old seat in the back row - I thought this was an excellent meeting.  Of the 60 or so attendees, I estimate that around 10 were residents.  The remainder were panelists, staffers or representatives of the sober living industry.  Following opening comments by the Chair and other elected representatives there were four panel presentations.  

IMPACTS?

The first one, long time, highly respected Costa Mesa sober living operator Nancy Clark and former addict and sober living operator Sal Landers shared their stories and wisdom on the issue - The Recovery Experience: How have clients, their families, and providers been impacted?  This discussion took about 40 minutes, including questions by the legislators.  I won’t attempt to cover all their comments - the streaming video is available for your review.  I will say, thought, that the predominant thread through it all was money - the fact that this industry generates lots of money.

REAL TREATMENT?

The second panel - the subject of which was Industry Experts: What is the real treatment? -  consisted of Jennifer Lohse, Vice President and General Counsel, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and Dr. Randolph Holmes, Chair, Public Policy Committee, California Society of Addiction Medicine.  Lohse spoke of the need for establishing mandatory standards for sober living operators.  Holmes emphasized that sober living operators should be licensed, not just certified.

During this segment Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris observed that California is the only state with total lack of oversight of this industry.

WHAT ABOUT BAD OPERATORS?

The third panel consisted of Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley; Tracy Hughes, Senior Deputy District Attorney, Orange County District Attorney’s Office and Jeff Hallock, Assistant Sheriff, Orange County Sheriff’s Department.  The subject of this panel was Law Enforcement: How can we respond to unscrupulous operators?

Foley led off with an explanation of what Costa Mesa has been doing in this regard, augmented by an excellent PowerPoint presentation, which I have provided below.

Hughes explained the current status of enforcement within the District Attorney’s Office, including a discussion of the 7-person task force.  She discussed a couple cases of medical abuses, including one in which multiple unnecessary urine samples that generated $22 million in fraudulent insurance claims.

Hallock spoke of how bad operators, and their practice of curbing clients, has a negative impact on homelessness.  He addressed the growing Fentanyl addiction problem.

The common thread through these presentations was the need for stronger legislation on the subject to improve the ability of states and municipalities to regulate the sober living industry.

JARROD’S LAW

The final panel consisted of  Wendy McEntyre, Public Safety Advocate and founder of Jarrod’s Law and Jacklyn, a young woman who lost her twin brother to malfeasance at a sober living facility.  McEntyre spoke of her son, who died in 2004 in a drug-related incident.  She spoke of the need to change laws to make the State Department of Mental Health more accountable - the need for tougher standards for sober living operators.

HER DEAD TWIN
Jacklyn told us of her twin’s death - the misdiagnosis of his condition and improper treatment and lack of supervision of that treatment that caused his death.  She and McEntyre were on their way to Santa Ana to court on the case.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

During the final segment thirteen (13) people stepped up to address the legislators on this subject.  Unfortunately, Quirk-Silva and Bates left before they could hear the speakers.

The speakers included several parents who had bad experiences with the sober living industry, activists who cover this issue, a lobbiest who shills for the sober living industry, staff members from local and national legislators offices and Huntington Beach councilwoman Barbara Delgieize. 

MY THOUGHTS

Luke Money covered the issue well.  The thoughts I took away from this meeting is the need for stronger legislation and greater oversight to permit greater enforcement of the rules on Bad Operators.  It is clear that greed is driving many of them, not the care of their “clients”.  

NOW LET’S GET THE LEGISLATION NECESSARY

Thanks to Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris for holding this hearing locally, to permit those of us directly impacted by this scourge to attend and participate.  I was pleased and impressed with the presentations.  I was also impressed that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office sent a half-dozen staffers to this hearing - they sat adjacent to me.  Let’s hope the necessary legislation can finally be passed that permits us to exercise the necessary control over this industry.

SNOOZE TIME AGAIN
I'm putting the blog back into a deep sleep again.  Thanks for reading.  You cannot comment here - you'll have to return to my Facebook page if you wish to comment.  Good night, all...