Step 1: Confirm the license
Every legitimate care home for older adults in California holds a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly license. Search by the home's name, address, or license number on the Department of Social Services Care Facility Search. Check that the status is licensed, that the address matches, and that the capacity matches what you were told. Every home in our directory shows its license number so you can look it up.
California law makes it a misdemeanor for a placement agency to refer someone to an unlicensed facility. If a home cannot show you a license, walk away.
Step 2: Read the reports
The state's search shows facility visits and complaint investigation reports going back about five years. For each one, look at:
- What kind of visit it was. Routine inspections are normal. Several complaint investigations deserve questions.
- Whether allegations were substantiated. A complaint can be unfounded, inconclusive, or substantiated.
- The type of deficiency. A missing form is different from inadequate supervision or a medication error.
- Whether it was corrected, and whether the same problem keeps coming back.
For more detail on a citation, the state suggests calling the local Community Care Licensing regional office.
Step 3: Ask the home about it
A good home will talk openly about a past citation and what changed. A home that gets defensive, or says it has never had a single issue in years, deserves a closer look.
Step 4: Visit
The state itself advises families not to rely on online records alone. Visit in person, ideally at a mealtime, and ask to see the current license posted in the home. Bring our touring checklist and the red flags checklist.