Strengthen Collegiate Recovery Programs

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Introductory Paragraph

Collegiate Recovery Programs
Collegiate recovery is a field, profession, and community. Collegiate recovery involves thousands of students across the country, their supporting staff mentors and allies, researchers learning more about recovery every day, and their collective experiences. Although the first collegiate recovery program started in the 1970s, the field as a whole is one that is young and blossoming.

Collegiate recovery is anchored to the personal development of students in recovery and their communities, the prevention of substance use disorders and their related impacts, and the healing of the wounds that may have led to or resulted from maladaptive behaviors. All of this leads to ensuring that students impacted by addiction can access the full benefits of higher education without having to put their recovery at risk.

Recovery High Schools
Recovery High Schools are secondary schools created specifically for students who are in recovery from a substance use disorder or co-occurring disorders. The purpose of recovery high schools is to offer students who are in recovery a safe place to earn their diploma while also focusing on their recovery. Just like other secondary schools, recovery high schools are staffed with teachers, counselors, support staff, administrators, and mental health professionals.
The main difference between recovery high schools is that they provide students in recovery with the opportunity to separate themselves from situations and peers who might have impacted their prior use. Recovery high schools also provide opportunities for group therapy, meetings with addiction counselors, and an environment where they are encouraged to be open about their struggles.

 

Key Information

History of Collegiate Recovery
The first collegiate recovery program emerged in 1977 at Brown University when a professor who was in recovery saw the need to help students find recovery as well. His title soon switched to, “Dean of Chemical Dependency” and he spent over 25 years serving students by helping them find counseling, meetings, offering non-clinical support, and academic advising.

The next school to recognize the need for recovery support services was Rutgers, who in 1983, hired the school’s first ever Alcohol and Drug Counselor. This ultimately led to the opening of the first recovery house on a college campus in the world in 1988.

In 1986 the Center for Collegiate Recovery Communities (CCRC) opened at Texas Tech. Their primary focus was conducting research, offering students academic support, and providing a space for meetings. Texas Tech remains one of the strongest programs in the country.

Later, in 1997, Augsburg University launched their StepUp program, which remains one of the largest CRPs in the country.
Unfortunately, it would take years for the collegiate recovery field to gain notoriety and to this day it is still not widely accepted or offered. Due to a grant program that Transforming Youth Recovery offered throughout the 2010s, many programs began to emerge. Today, there are over 250 communities and programs across the country.

Prevalence
Less than 5% of universities offer collegiate recovery programsdespite the evidence that proves their need. Furthermore, fewer than 5% of four-year institutions and less than 1% of community colleges and trade schools offer true recovery support for students.

Types of Collegiate Recovery
Due to the unique culture, structure, and needs of each university, there is significant diversity among recovery support programs and initiatives. Among these differences, most initiatives can be understood as being a collegiate recovery program (CRP) or a collegiate recovery community (CRC), with additional support services giving each their own unique approach.

Collegiate Recovery Program: Institutionally supported program offered at institutions of higher education that provide safe, supportive learning environments for students in recovery from substance misuse or dependency, and often behavioral addictions and mental illness. The primary components of collegiate recovery programs are:

• Mutual aid support groups
• Physical space for students to gather
• Institutional acceptance and support of the CRP
• Staff, counselors, and/or student leaders
• Peers, recovery coaches, and/or counselors for recovery support
• Social events and programming

• As of 2017, 37.8% of university recovery support initiatives were designated as CRPs
  Collegiate Recovery Community:Efforts energized by students to create recovery-supportive learning environments at an institution of higher education. The primary difference between a CRP and a CRC is that CRCs are often student-led and not always recognized or supported by the institution. The key components of collegiate recovery communities are:

• Mutual aid support groups
• Students and/or other committed individuals who gather socially
• Peer recovery support

• As of 2017, 59.84% of university recovery support initiatives identified as being a CRC
  Recovery support referral:Colleges and universities that offer some level of substance misuse prevention services and referral-based recovery support resources for enrolled students. Although this level of support can differ widely from campus to campus, the key components of recovery support referrals are:

• Dedicated Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) professional on staff
• Referrals to local treatment centers
• Continuum of care built into student conduct protocols

*As of 2017, 28.3% of collegiate recovery initiatives included recovery support referrals.
Collegiate recovery residency programs: Collegiate recovery programs that offer recovery housing options for students in recovery enrolled at an institution of higher education. Examples of these programs include:

• Rutgers
• Augsburg University
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• University of Houston

Take note that recovery housing options differ from campus to campus. Some options include a building dedicated strictly to students in recovery and often have commitment requirements while others involve a sober living floor in a dorm building or a Living Learning Community framework.
 
*As of 2017, 11% of collegiate recovery initiatives also have a collegiate recovery residency program.
 
Additional support services:
A small number, less than 1% of the 5% of universities with collegiate recovery, offer transitional living, recovery housing education programs, young adult IOPs, or treatment and education programs.
 
History of Recovery High Schools
Although the first recovery high school was opened in the 1970s, recovery high schools did not gain a lot of traction or notoriety until roughly 2008. Today, there are approximately 45 recovery high schools across the nation with this number increasing each year.
Effectiveness of Recovery High Schools
According to the research available to date, students who attend a recovery high school are much less likely to return to use compared to their peers who are either out of school or return back to a traditional high school. 

Funding of Recovery High Schools
Given the smaller nature and more involved education that recovery high schools offer, they tend to be more costly than traditional public high schools. Funding often comes from private donors, partnerships with other nonprofit organizations/agencies, and insurance. In some cases, there is state funding available.

Best Practices:
Each institution is unique, so best practices should be adapted to fit the needs of students. Generally speaking, the field of collegiate recovery recommends the following:

• Dedicated space on campus
• Dedicated staff
• Institutional financial support

Common Practices:
In addition to the above, the following are common in many different types of programs and communities:

• Sober social activities
• Advocacy efforts for student needs
• Awareness events
• Mutual aid meetings (of any kind)
• Conference attendance
• Peer mentoring
• Registered student organizations
• Academic advisement and/or early registration
• Educational and training opportunities
• Service opportunities
• Recovery ally training
• Counseling
• Career readiness

• As of 2017,87.4% of collegiate recovery supports focus on peer support, 74.0% focus on social activities and sober fun, and 34.7% focus on counseling or clinical support.

Relevant Research

In this section, please capture any recent findings, reports, or data on the topic. Please also highlight any gaps or existing disparities. Please include references and links to the information so that we may add a footnote for the reader to find further information. Do we have any available research about discriminatory practices? Is there information about the value of access to educational opportunities?

Impactful Federal, State, and Local Policies

Please list any federal, state, or local laws, policies, or regulations that support this topic or ones that could be a possible barrier. Are there laws or policies other states should know about and replicate for success?

Available Tools and Resources

Oftentimes, there are already great resources in the field that have been developed, but they are not housed in a single place. Please use this section to share information about those resources and drive the reader to that resource. It may be a worksheet, toolkit, fact sheet, framework/model, infographic, new technology, etc. I suggest no more than 5 really good links and a corresponding description for the reader. We also can use this section to highlight some of the great resources and programs at SAFE Project.

Promising Practices

Please link to any best practice models or case studies that highlight creative/innovative or successful efforts in support of this strategy. Is there a community that does a really good job in this area that other communities should replicate? Please write a brief description and provide a link.