Questions to Ask When Touring Assisted Living in California

In California, assisted living communities and board and care homes hold the same kind of state licence. Regulators call both an RCFE, the licence category for residential care homes that serve older adults. The Community Care Licensing Division of the California Department of Social Services issues the licence and inspects the home.

The state's consumer guide says the licence must be posted where the public can see it, so look for it when you walk in. The department also keeps a public facility search with about five years of information on each home, including complaint investigation reports. The department itself warns families never to rely on that record alone and to visit in person. Our guide on how to check an RCFE licence walks through the search step by step.

Go at a mealtime or mid-morning if you can, when residents are up and staff are busy. A second, shorter visit at a different time of day is worth the drive.

• Look: are the rooms, bathrooms, kitchen and yard clean, safe and in good repair? Are hallways clear for a walker or wheelchair?
• Look at the residents: are they dressed, groomed and doing something, or parked in front of a television?
• Listen: do staff speak to residents by name, in a respectful and caring tone? Are call bells or calls for help answered?
• Smell: a lasting odor of urine in rooms or hallways is worth asking about. So is heavy air freshener.
• Taste: ask to see this week's menu, and try a meal if one is offered.
• Talk: if residents or visiting families are willing, ask what they like about the home and what they would change.

California law does not set a staff to resident ratio for these homes. Health and Safety Code section 1569.618 requires enough staff to provide the care in each resident's record, an administrator, manager or designated substitute on the premises 24 hours a day, and at least one staff member with CPR and first aid training on duty at all times.

Section 1569.625 requires 40 hours of training for staff who help residents with personal care: 20 hours before they work alone with residents and 20 more in the first four weeks, then 20 hours every year. Those are legal minimums. What a home does beyond them is yours to ask.

• How many caregivers are on duty during the day, in the evening and overnight, and for how many residents?
• Is the overnight caregiver awake, or asleep and on call?
• Who is in charge when the administrator is not here?
• How long have the administrator and the main caregivers worked here?
• What training do new caregivers get before they work alone, and what do they get each year?
• Is a nurse on staff or on call? If so, how many hours a week?

Most homes charge a base rate plus extra for more care, often through a points or levels system. According to California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), a general rate increase needs 90 days' written notice, but an increase tied to a change in care level can take effect within days if the agreement allows it. Our guide to board and care costs in California covers how pricing usually works.

• What exactly is included in the base monthly rate?
• How do you assess care needs, who does it, how often, and can we see the assessment?
• What does each care level cost, and what would move my mother from one level to the next?
• When did you last raise rates, and by how much?
• Is there a fee before move-in, and what does it cover?

The state lists help with taking prescribed medications among the basic services every RCFE must provide. How a home stores, gives and records medication varies, so ask to be shown.

Ask early what happens if your parent needs more care. CANHR's fact sheet, updated in February 2026, lists five legal reasons a home can evict a resident. One is that, after a formal assessment, the home finds it can no longer meet the resident's changing care needs. The home must generally give 30 days' written notice, can only use a 3-day notice with the licensing agency's approval, and must go to court before it can remove a resident who stays past the date on the notice.

• Who helps with medication on each shift, and what training have they had?
• Where are medications kept, and how do you record each dose and any missed dose?
• Can we keep using our own pharmacy?
• Which health conditions can you not care for here?
• If my father falls more, becomes incontinent or develops memory loss, can he stay? At what cost?
• Can a resident stay here on hospice? Do you have a dementia program, or would he have to move to memory care?

The admission agreement is a contract. CANHR notes that a home must make blank copies available to the public, so ask for one and read it at home. The state's consumer guide suggests checking that extra fees, refund terms and eviction policies are clearly spelled out. An elder law attorney can review it if anything is unclear.

• May we take a blank copy of the agreement and the house rules home?
• What are the refund terms if my parent moves out, goes to the hospital or dies?
• How much notice must we give to move out?
• Does the agreement require arbitration, and can we decline that part?
• May we see your most recent licensing inspection report?

Hamssa Benrekia is a senior living placement specialist in Torrance. After a conversation about care needs, preferences and monthly budget, she puts together a short list of homes, schedules the tours and goes on them with you. She refers families only to homes licensed by the State of California, whether that means assisted living placement or a smaller board and care home.

Her placement help is free for families. You can read how the process works or contact Hamssa to talk through what to ask at the homes on your list.