EDITORIAL: A good sober-home idea

Too many "sober homes" have been more about profits for the owners than sobriety for the residents. And there's no real government regulation to fix that. So a new effort in Suffolk to act as a catalyst for the growth of a network of reliable homes is worth a try.

For addicts, a stint in rehabilitation, often just 30 days, is only the start of recovery. When they return to the people and places they left behind, they're at risk for relapse. But without a job or a place to go, they often end up in subpar sober homes, where the absence of programs and the presence of drugs and alcohol undo what they achieved in the 30 days. That wastes the taxpayer or insurance money that paid for rehab, stalls recovery, and blights neighborhoods.

In 2003, the county passed a law to regulate the homes. But this year, a federal judge struck it down. In 2006, Albany passed a law directing the state's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to set up a pilot regulation program in Suffolk. But Gov. George Pataki vetoed it. OASAS is still uninterested in statewide regulation of sober homes.

So Legis. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley) is proposing a bill to require the county's Department of Social Services to seek qualified operators who can constitute a network of good homes. The legislature should pass it tomorrow, and the agency should give this idea its best shot. Nothing else is working. So what do we have to lose by trying this approach? hN