becoming certified

The South Carolina Alliance for Recovery Residences assures quality and safe recovery housing through provider compliance with the national standards as developed by the National Alliance for Recovery Resources.

When a residence is ready to become SCARR-certified, they are paired with a member of our team who will help the recovery residence operator through compliance with both state and national standards.

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Frequently asked certification questions:

How long does it take to become certified?

The length of time it takes to become SCARR-certified is dependent on how prepared a residence is and the willingness and flexibility of the provider.

How much does it cost?

To begin the process of becoming certified, a nonrefundable application fee of $50 is required.

Once the compliance process is completed, the provider will pay $200 and $5 per bed over 10 beds to complete certification. Please note, this payment is due before issuing the Certificate of Compliance.

What are the three phases of certification?

1. Document Compliance

During the application process, SCARR will require supporting documentation. The first phase of accreditation is reviewing these documents carefully for evidence of compliance with SCARR and NARR standards. If the supporting documentation aligns with standards, the applicant’s primary contact will be notified and an onsite visit will be scheduled. If the supporting document is insufficient or we need additional information the applicant’s primary contact will be notified to resolve the issues before scheduling an onsite visit.

A full document checklist can be found here.

2. Onsite Compliance

Unrestricted access to interview management, staff, and residents is required during the onsite compliance phase of accreditation. Interviews are conducted to ensure that policies, procedures, and protocols are implemented as described in the documentation. Onsite visits are also utilized to ensure the residence offers recovery-supportive housing that blends into the surrounding community.

3. Continuing Compliance

After completing onsite compliance, receipt of the certification dues, and residence owner, manager, and staff training have been satisfied, SCARR issues a certificate of compliance.

Staff will complete the recovery housing module upon issuance of the certificate of compliance.

Following certification, certified residences must embed a link to the SCARR Grievance form to their website, and post “Resident Rights & Responsibilities” in each location.

Audit and grievance inspections may be conducted without advance notice to ensure continued compliance.

SCARR, an emerging affiliate of the National Alliance of Recovery Residences (NARR), utilizes the “Standards” created by NARR as its guiding document for certifying Recovery Residences in South Carolina. The NARR Standards ensure the integrity of program services and quality of environment of care.

NARR Standards 3.0 are available below.

	Level I Peer-Run	Level II Monitored	Level III Supervised	Level IV Service Provider
Administration	Democratically run Manual or P& P	House manager or senior resident Policy and Procedures	Organizational hierarchy Administrative oversight for service providers Policy and Procedures Licensing varies from state to state	Overseen organizational hierarchy Clinical and administrative supervision Policy and Procedures Licensing varies from state to state
Services	Drug Screening House meetings Self help meetings encouraged	House rules provide structure Peer run groups Drug screening House meetings Involvement in self help and/or treatment services	Life skill development emphasis Clinical services utilized in outside community Service hours provided in house	Clinical services and in house programming are provided Life skill development
Residence	Generally single family residences	Primarily single family residences Possibly apartments or other dwelling types	Varies — all types of residential settings	All types — often a step down phase within care continuum of a treatment center May be a more institutional in environment
Staff	No paid positions within the residence Perhaps an overseeing officer	At least 1 compensated position	Facility manager Certified staff or case managers	Credentialed staff

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