Virginia Law

Article 31. Substance Abuse Services Council.

A. The Virginia Addiction Recovery Council (the Council) is established as an advisory council, within the meaning of § 2.2-2100, in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the Council is to advise and make recommendations to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services on broad policies and goals and on the coordination of the Commonwealth's public and private efforts to control substance abuse, as defined in § 37.2-100, and problem gambling, as defined in § 37.2-314.2.

B. The Council shall consist of 32 members. Four members of the House of Delegates shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates, and two members of the Senate shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. The Governor shall appoint one member representing the Virginia Sheriffs' Association, one member representing the Virginia Drug Courts Association, one member representing the Substance Abuse Certification Alliance of Virginia, two members representing the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards, two members representing the problem gambling recovery community, one member representing the board of directors of the Opioid Abatement Authority established pursuant to § 2.2-2367, and two members representing statewide consumer and advocacy organizations. The Council shall also include the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; the Commissioner of Health; the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles; the Superintendent of Public Instruction; the Directors of the Departments of Juvenile Justice, Corrections, Criminal Justice Services, Medical Assistance Services, and Social Services; the Chief Executive Officer of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority; the Executive Director of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth or his designee; the Executive Director of the Commission on the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program or his designee; and the chairs or their designees of the Virginia Association of Drug and Alcohol Programs, the Virginia Association of Addiction Professionals, and the Substance Abuse Council and the Prevention Task Force of the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards.

C. Appointments of legislative members and heads of agencies or representatives of organizations shall be for terms consistent with their terms of office. Beginning July 1, 2011, the Governor's appointments of the seven nonlegislative citizen members shall be staggered as follows: two members for a term of one year, three members for a term of two years, and two members for a term of three years. Thereafter, appointments of nonlegislative members shall be for terms of three years, except an appointment to fill a vacancy, which shall be for the unexpired term. The Governor shall appoint a chairman from among the members for a two-year term. No member shall be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms as chairman.

No person shall be eligible to serve more than two successive terms, provided that a person appointed to fill a vacancy may serve two full successive terms.

D. The Council shall meet at least four times annually and more often if deemed necessary or advisable by the chairman.

E. Members of the Council shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Funding for the cost of expenses shall be provided by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

F. The duties of the Council shall be:

1. To recommend policies and goals to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services;

2. To coordinate agency programs and activities, to prevent duplication of functions, and to combine all agency plans into a comprehensive interagency state plan for substance abuse and problem gambling services;

3. To review and comment on annual state agency budget requests regarding substance abuse or problem gambling and on all applications for state or federal funds or services to be used in substance abuse or problem gambling programs;

4. To define responsibilities among state agencies for various programs for persons with substance abuse or problem gambling and to encourage cooperation among agencies; and

5. To make investigations, issue annual reports to the Governor and the General Assembly, and make recommendations relevant to substance abuse and problem gambling upon the request of the Governor.

G. Staff assistance shall be provided to the Council by the Office of Substance Abuse Services of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

1976, c. 767, § 37.1-207; 1977, c. 18; 1978, c. 171; 1979, c. 678; 1980, c. 582; 1984, c. 589; 1990, cc. 1, 288, 317; 1998, c. 724; 1999, c. 614; 2005, cc. 713, 716; 2009, cc. 424, 554, 813, 840; 2011, cc. 691, 714; 2012, cc. 803, 835; 2015, cc. 38, 730; 2023, c. 466.

A. On or before December 1, 2005, the Council shall forward to the Governor and the General Assembly a Comprehensive Interagency State Plan identifying for each agency in state government (i) the substance abuse treatment program the agency administers; (ii) the program's objectives, including outcome measures for each program objective; (iii) program actions to achieve the objectives; (iv) the costs necessary to implement the program actions; and (v) an estimate of the extent these programs have met demand for substance abuse treatment services in the Commonwealth. The Council shall develop specific criteria for outcome data collection for all affected agencies, including a comparison of the extent to which the existing outcome measures address applicable federally mandated outcome measures and an identification of common outcome measures across agencies and programs. The plan shall also include an assessment of each agency's capacity to collect, analyze, and report the information required by subsection B.

B. Beginning in 2006, the Comprehensive Interagency State Plan shall include the following analysis for each agency-administered substance abuse treatment program: (i) the amount of funding expended under the program for the prior fiscal year; (ii) the number of individuals served by the program using that funding; (iii) the extent to which program objectives have been accomplished as reflected by an evaluation of outcome measures; (iv) identifying the most effective substance abuse treatment, based on a combination of per person costs and success in meeting program objectives; (v) how effectiveness could be improved; (vi) an estimate of the cost effectiveness of these programs; and (vii) recommendations on the funding of programs based on these analyses.

C. All agencies identified in the Comprehensive Interagency State Plan as administering a substance abuse treatment program shall provide the information and staff support necessary for the Council to complete the Plan. In addition, any agency that captures outcome-related information concerning substance abuse programs identified in subsection B shall make this information available for analysis upon request.

2004, c. 686, § 37.1-207.1; 2005, c. 716.