Glossary

Senior care terms, explained plainly

The jargon families run into most often while searching for care — no acronyms left unexplained.

RCFE
Short for "Residential Care Facility for the Elderly" — the official California license category covering both assisted living communities and smaller board-and-care homes. If a home is licensed to provide non-medical care and supervision to seniors in California, it's operating as an RCFE, whatever it calls itself on its sign.
Board and Care
A small, home-style RCFE — usually six residents or fewer, often in a converted single-family house — offering the same core services as larger assisted living communities in a quieter, more personal setting. See our full care comparison.
ADLs (Activities of Daily Living)
The basic self-care tasks used to assess how much help someone needs: bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring (getting in and out of a bed or chair), and mobility. The number of ADLs someone needs help with is often the clearest signal of which type of care fits.
Memory Care
A secured care setting — meaning residents cannot leave unsupervised — staffed by caregivers specifically trained in Alzheimer's and dementia care. Available within both large communities and smaller board-and-care homes.
Respite Care
A short-term stay, often days to a few weeks, used after a hospital discharge, while a family caregiver travels, or simply to give a caregiver a break. Usually available at the same homes that offer longer-term placement.
CCLD (Community Care Licensing Division)
The division of the California Department of Social Services that licenses and inspects RCFEs statewide. You can look up a home's current license status and inspection history directly through CCLD.
Level of Care Assessment
An evaluation — sometimes done by the home, sometimes by a placement advisor — of how much help someone needs across each ADL. This assessment usually determines both which homes are appropriate and what the monthly rate will be.
Placement Fee
The fee a licensed community pays a placement service like ours when a family we've referred moves in. It's built into how the community already budgets for filling vacancies — it is never billed to the family. See our full FAQ for more on how this works.

Still not sure which term applies to your situation? Just call — we'll sort it out together.

Call (949) 424-7524