Start with the person, then the plan
The return from residential treatment is a transition, not the finish line. Families can help by making the next steps clear, reducing practical obstacles, and offering connection without taking control of another adult’s recovery.
Use this guide with your loved one and their treatment team. Adapt it to their discharge instructions, needs, and preferences. It does not replace clinical care, a safety plan, or a recommended step-down setting. If home is not safe or appropriate, ask the discharge team about alternatives before leaving.
Keep this accessible
When the checklist should wait
Call 911 for suspected overdose, slow or absent breathing, inability to wake someone, seizures, or immediate danger. If an opioid overdose is possible, give naloxone if available, follow its instructions and the dispatcher’s directions, and stay with the person if safe. Emergency care is still needed if they wake up.
Call or text 988 for U.S. suicide or mental health crisis support. Use 911 for immediate danger.
Ask the care team about withdrawal and overdose risks. Alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal can be life-threatening; do not attempt withdrawal management without medical guidance. Opioid tolerance can fall during treatment, making a return to a previously used amount dangerous.
Before leaving treatment
Confirm the essentials
Review the discharge plan together. The treatment team’s instructions come first.
Get the plan in writing
Confirm medications, the next appointment, and who to call after hours.
Arrange the return home
Confirm a safe place to stay, transportation, and access to prescribed medications. Ask about naloxone if opioids may be involved.
Know where you are going, what happens next, and who to call.
Day 1
Keep it calm
Focus on safety, rest, and basic needs.
Keep the welcome simple
Offer food, water, and quiet. Skip surprise visitors and difficult family conversations.
Follow the discharge instructions
Use medications only as prescribed. Agree on one supportive check-in and follow any safety plan.
You do not need to solve everything on the first day.
Day 2
Connect with support
Make sure the next steps are actually in place.
Confirm follow-up care
Check the appointment time, location, and ride. Follow earlier timing if the treatment team directed it.
Ask what would help
Listen without judgment. Help connect with a trusted person or recovery group that fits the care plan.
If an appointment or medication is unavailable, contact the treatment team.
Day 3
Plan a simple week
Aim for a workable routine, not a perfect schedule.
Write down the basics
Include appointments, meals, sleep, and agreed check-ins. Be clear about what family members can realistically offer.
Adjust if needed
If symptoms worsen, cravings increase, or home does not feel safe, contact the care team. Do not wait until day three to ask for help.
The first 72 hours are a starting point, not the end of recovery support.
Use together • Print and keep
The family handoff checklist
Six things to confirm with your loved one and the discharge team. Checkmarks are not saved or sent to Fortis.
For discharge planners and support professionals
Share this public guide or print it for a family handoff. Use it as a conversation aid alongside your organization’s discharge process, not as a clinical protocol or a substitute for individualized assessment. Confirm the receiving provider, appointment arrangements, consent, and who owns each follow-up task.
Further help and reading
- SAMHSA: Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit
Overdose recognition, prevention, and response information.
- SAMHSA National Helpline
Treatment referral and information: 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Not an emergency service.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 for U.S. crisis support; call 911 for immediate danger.
Prepared by Fortis Care Collective as a general educational resource. No endorsement by the organizations linked above is implied.
Need practical help with the transition?
Explore nonclinical sober companionship for routines, appointments, and care coordination alongside your treatment team. Fortis is not an emergency or medical detox service.