Resident and Facility Characteristics of Adult Family Home, Adult Residential Care and Assisted Living Settings in Washington State

Data describing resident and facility characteristics were obtained from a questionnaire mailed to three types of licensed residential care settings in Washington State: adult family home (AFH), adult residential care (ARC), and assisted living (AL). The overall disability of residents was high, with AFHs serving a more impaired clientele than ARCs or ALs. ALs were more likely to serve private pay residents and had the highest occupancy rates. Although hourly caregiving staff wages were similar, AFHs reported greater difficulties in hiring and retaining caregiving staff and were more likely to report difficult residents contributed to staffing problems. AFHs also reported the greatest dissatisfaction with state reimbursement rates. These findings underscore the need to carefully match resident impairment to provider capacity, especially among AFHs.