Editorial: DAs right to look at sober homes

The problem of unsafe sober homes remains as hard to overcome as the iron grip of addiction that they're supposed to help combat.

A well-run home, with a real connection to treatment and smart supervision of the residents, can be a useful step toward sobriety. But, as a Newsday/News 12 Long Island report last week reminded us, too many sober homes offer subpar conditions and overcrowding, but no treatment.

In the worst of them, a squalid, drug-available environment is a strong temptation to slip back into addiction. At a Mastic home, a 27-year-old addict died of a heroin overdose in February. Another addict said a Medford home was like a heroin "shooting gallery."

Despite all that, there's still a stunning lack of regulation. Suffolk passed a regulation bill in 2003, but a federal judge slapped it down. One agency with an obvious stake, the state's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, has been reluctant to regulate.

Last year, Suffolk Legis. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley) passed a bill designed to create a network of well-run homes that could get greater reimbursement by agreeing to comply with county regulations. Its implementation, though, is still incomplete.

It's encouraging that Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice is looking into it. So is Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota. In the absence of regulation, maybe prosecution can turn up something that starts us on the road to a solution.