The goal of the ALW Program is to:

1) facilitate a safe and timely transition of Medi-Cal-eligible seniors and persons with disabilities from a nursing facility to a community home-like setting in a Residential Care Facility (RCF), an Adult Residential Care Facility (ARF), or public subsidized housing, utilizing ALW services; and

2) offer eligible seniors and persons with disabilities, who reside in the community, but are at risk of being institutionalized, the option of utilizing ALW services to develop a program that will safely meet his/her care needs while continuing to reside in a RCFE, ARF, or public subsidized housing.

Participants in the ALW have access to the following services:

Assisted Living Services: The following is a list of some of the services that must be provided to ALW participants. These services may be provided in an RCFE, or by a licensed Home Health Agency to residents in public housing.

– Assisting in developing and updating an individualized care plan for each resident

– Personal care and assistance with activities of daily living

– Laundry

– Housekeeping

– Maintenance of the facility

– Providing intermittent skilled nursing care

– Meals and snacks

– Providing assistance with self-administration of medications

– Providing or coordinating transportation

– Providing recreational activities

– Providing social services

Care Coordination: These services include identifying, organizing, coordinating and monitoring services needed by participants.

Nursing Facility Transition Care Coordination: These services help transition participants from a nursing home to the community.

SEE MORE AT THE CANHR WEBSITE.

To be eligible an ALW Participant, an individual must meet all of the following ALW eligibility criteria:

• Age 21 or older;

• Have full-scope Medi-Cal eligibility with zero share of cost; **If you have a Share of Cost (SOC), contact your local Medi-Cal office or an outside agency for assistance.

**We do not endorse but recommend calling one of the following agencies or locating one of your choosing to assist

- Meeting Seniors’ Needs Hotline - http://msnhglobal.org

- Senior Care Advocates - https://seniorcareadvocate.com

- The Light for Seniors - https://www.lightsourceis.com/index.php/founder

• Have care needs equal to those of Medi-Cal-funded residents living and receiving care in Nursing Facilities;

• Willing to live in an assisted living setting as an alternative to a Nursing Facility;

• Able to reside safely in an assisted living facility or public subsidized housing;

• Ability and willingness to pay the rental fee charged by ALW facility (through social security or another form of income)

• Willing to live in an assisted living setting located in one of the following counties providing ALW services:

– Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sonoma counties

**Medi-Cal members who are enrolled in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, the PACE program, and Medi-Cal members who are enrolled in The Senior Action Network Health Plan SCAN are not eligible to enroll in ALW, or any of the 1915c Medi-Cal Waivers.• PACE and SCAN are both comprehensive care plans that cover all of an individual’s medically necessary needs, including home and community-based services.

Room and Board Rates

The average rate of all ALW facilities is $1,398.07 per month for SSI recipients.

– The Assisted Living Waiver does not pay for participants’ Room and Board. Waiver participants are responsible for making Room and Board payments (aka rent) to Adult Residential Facilities (ARF), Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE), or Public Subsidized Housing property owners. Most ALW participants use their Social Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) to pay for rent. Each year, the federal Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes maximum SSI benefits available to beneficiaries in different living arrangements. The annually published information is available on the Department of Social Services’ website.

– For 2024, the maximum SSI/SSP benefits available to beneficiaries living in a Non-Medical Out of Home Care payment is $1,575.07 ($177 of which is reserved for personal and incidental needs).

NOTE: Recipients who have income in addition to their SSI/SSP check (for example, a pension, Social Security retirement, or disability benefits) can be charged the $1,398.07 amount for basic services plus an additional $20. Because federal rules do not count the first $20 of a recipient's income against his/her SSI/SSP grant, an SSI/SSP recipient with other income has an extra $20 that people who receive only an SSI/SSP check do not have. Neither federal nor state law restricts the recipient in how this additional $20 amount is spent. Thus, if the recipient agrees in the admission agreement to pay the additional $20 for basic services, the facility may charge the additional amount.

You must apply through a Care Coordinating Agency for the ALW program.

• The ALW program operates in the following counties:

Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Fransisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma.

All Hours Adult Care services ALL participating counties.