Federal Policy & Advocacy Priorities
At Faces & Voices, we are committed to creating a better-equipped society to address the complexity of addiction. Our federal policy efforts for addiction recovery prioritize building a recovery-ready nation to better support people and families impacted by substance use disorder.
By expanding access to community-based support services, harm reduction practices, and evidence-informed treatment, we can help people stay safer. At the same time, they work toward their recovery goals. We also invest in prevention initiatives and work with communities to create solutions that work for everyone so that we can reduce the impact of addiction on families, workplaces, and communities.
A recovery-ready nation is good for people and families impacted by substance use disorder and for America as a whole. By reducing the prevalence of addiction, we can create a healthier society. This can lead to reduced healthcare costs, fewer lost workdays, and a stronger economy.
At Faces & Voices, we proudly lead the charge in building a recovery-ready nation that benefits everyone. Our policy agenda creates comprehensive support services, accessible social determinants of care, and ensures that people with lived experience are at the forefront of every decision that impacts them.
Expand Addiction Recovery
Increase accessibility of recovery supports and services.
Diversify funding streams for recovery support services across federal and state agencies, including a dedicated 10% Recovery Set-Aside within the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant.
Establish a standardized set of recovery outcomes measurements with federal and state agencies and partners, to guide government agencies and providers.
Increase funding for research initiatives that promote recovery support practices in specific populations, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, as well as the adolescent community, and impacted families with children.
Enact federal and state funding for recovery support service providers led by or serving Black, Indigenous, and People of Color populations.
Ensure laws and regulations reflect harm reduction principles, especially within recovery spaces, including permitting medications for addiction treatment in recovery residences.
Nurture Social Determinants of Recovery
Remove barriers and affirm low-barrier initiatives for housing, health, education, employment, and social support.
Expand access to safe housing and transportation assistance for addiction recovery, including patient protection from discharge from programs and services without additional connections to appropriate levels of care.
Increase access to vocational training, recovery schools, and higher education programs, and eliminate conviction barriers to student aid and grant programs.
Expand Recovery-Ready Workplace (RRW) models and strengthen the peer recovery support workforce, including eliminating arbitrary penalties for past criminal convictions.
Expand related and easy-to-navigate services, and bolster the role of the peer recovery workforce and harm reduction practices within systems.
Expand programming to support diversion and deflection, avenues for expungement of low-level drug offenses, and increase reentry support for incarcerated people.
Protect and Restore Civic Engagement & Liberties
Harness passion and action for grassroots engagement.
Protect the right to vote for people who use drugs, and reverse felony voting bans in states.
Protect patient privacy rights for people who use drugs as well as people and families seeking addiction treatment and recovery supports, including strengthening patient health information safeguards that prevent unauthorized disclosure.
Ensure people with lived experience, including people who use drugs, participate in research and policymaking, and have a voice in regulations and legislation that directly impacts them, including establishing best practices for research relating to people with addiction.
Increase the prevalence of people in addiction recovery in government and policymaking roles through fellowships and internships.
