Virginia Courts Affirm Newport Healthcare's Right to Operate Mental Health Treatment Programs, Helping Safeguard Access to Care

LEESBURG, Va., Dec. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Newport Healthcare today announced a decisive legal victory that helps safeguard access to life-saving mental health care for the nearly one in three young adults who have a mental health disorder. The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld Newport's position in a landmark decision that reinforces both state and federal protections for individuals with disabilities and establishes a statewide precedent for inclusive, community-based mental health care.

After years of opposition from neighbors near Leesburg, Virginia, Newport Healthcare prevailed at every level of the state court system. The courts confirmed that Newport's residential treatment homes for young adults with mental health disorders are lawful uses within residentially zoned areas under Virginia law.

"This decision is a powerful affirmation of the state of Virginia and Newport's mutual commitment to access to mental health care," said Newport Healthcare CEO Brian Setzer. "By upholding our right of small, licensed group homes to operate in residential areas, the Court has ensured that individuals seeking healing can do so in safe, supportive, community-based environments that have proven so successful."

At issue in the case was whether Newport's licensed group homes for young adults with mental health disorders could lawfully operate in a residential district zoned as "Agricultural Residential." Virginia code enacted in 1990 ensures that group homes serving eight or fewer residents are treated as "residential occupancy by a single family." The federal Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988 prohibit local governments from imposing conditions not applied to conventional single-family homes. The Virginia Court of Appeals ruled decisively in Newport's favor, holding that its homes qualify as single-family detached dwellings rather than congregate housing, and that clients residing for 30–90 days are considered residents entitled to state and federal fair-housing protections. The Court dismissed unfounded arguments that a history of substance use among residents could exclude the homes from legal protection. This is the first appellate interpretation of Virginia's group-home zoning statute, establishing clear guidance for courts and municipalities across the Commonwealth.

Mark Covall, Interim President and CEO of the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, the field's leading advocacy organization, said in response to this news, "NABH applauds our member Newport Healthcare for its exhaustive efforts and the Virginia Court of Appeals decision that together will help improve access to effective treatment and recovery services for all who need them. Demand for behavioral health services in America continues to increase, and this legal decision helps provide a solution to this growing problem."

Newport retained Relman Colfax PLLC as civil rights counsel and McGuireWoods LLP as land use, regulatory and appellate counsel.

Newport Healthcare is committed to increasing access to behavioral health care, operating nationwide programs for youth, young adults, and families, and offering in-network coverage with most major insurance providers.  For more information, visit www.newporthealthcare.com.

About Newport Healthcare

Newport Healthcare is the nation's leading provider of evidence-based behavioral health treatment for youth, young adults, and families. Its full continuum of care includes residential services, partial hospitalization programs (PHP), and intensive outpatient programs (IOP) for mental health and substance use disorders, as well as psychiatric inpatient services. Newport's family-centered, integrated approach fosters sustainable healing from a foundation of compassionate care, clinical expertise, and unconditional love, with a primary mission to empower lives and restore families.

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SOURCE Newport Healthcare