Belanger et al., 2026
Baseline Recovery Capital and Substance Use History as Determinants of Recovery Residence Length of StayThe science of recovery capital
How do we measure recovery outcomes?
First we have to measure recovery.
For decades the field measured it by its absence: recurrences of use, readmissions, days abstinent. Recovery capital gave us a way to measure it: the personal, social, and community resources a person draws on to initiate and sustain recovery. REC-CAP is not only how we measure it, but also how a program sees a person’s strengths, and what’s standing in the way.
30,000+
REC-CAP assessments completed
400+
organizations
5
countries
17
research publications
The definition
The personal, social, and community resources a person draws on to initiate and sustain recovery: recovery capital.
Sociologists Robert Granfield and William Cloud named it in 1999. It shifts the question from what is wrong to what a person can build on. Read more about recovery capital.
Personal
Social
Community
From measurement to practice
Measure, Plan, Engage
Measure
A REC-CAP assessment shows a person’s strengths and barriers.
Plan
Those results shape an individualized recovery care plan.
Engage
Peer support carries the plan forward, and reassessment shows what has changed.
The Recovery Capital Management System (RCMS) brings all three together in one platform.
Who we work with
Built for people doing the work
Treatment courtsProgress tracking and reports for stakeholders and grant compliance.Recovery residencesMeasure resident growth and show impact to referral sources.Recovery community organizationsData-informed tools for peer staff and community-level outcomes.Collegiate recovery programsAge-appropriate assessments and semester-by-semester tracking.Peer support specialistsAssessment results that guide conversations and goal-setting.Researchers and evaluatorsValidated instruments, longitudinal data, and research exports.
The research
Peer-reviewed studies, each with a plain-language summary.
Best et al., 2025
An ‘Outside In’ Model of Recovery Capital GrowthBest & Hennessy, 2022
The Science of Recovery Capital: Where Do We Go From Here?Training
Learn to put recovery capital into practice
On-site training
Customized in-person sessions for an organization, conference, or network.
Foundations of Recovery Capital
A live, 4-hour virtual workshop. Coming soon.
Recovery Capital 101
A self-paced, 16-hour online course. Coming soon.