Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly provide room, board, housekeeping, supervision, and personal care assistance with basic activities like personal hygiene, dressing, eating, and walking.

This level of care and supervision is for people who are unable to live by themselves but who do not need 24 hour skilled nursing care. They are considered non-medical facilities and are not required to have nurses, certified nursing assistants or doctors on staff. Other terms used to refer to this level of care are assisted living facilities, board and care homes, and rest homes.

Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly or Assisted Living Facilities must meet care and safety standards set by the State and are licensed and inspected by the Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing (CCL).

In California, facilities describing themselves as assisted living and offering personal care and supervision are licensed as Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly.

Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly are dominated by smaller (i.e., 6 to 15 beds), locally owned facilities with private and shared rooms. "Assisted Living" is used to describe a philosophy of care (e.g., freedom to choose among service plans and "aging-in-place"). Assisted Living Facilities usually offer private apartments in larger, corporately owned facilities (e.g., 75 to 100 plus beds) with different fee options depending on the level of care needs. Unfortunately, most large facilities don't provide the ratio of caregivers to guests that Skyhill demands.

Yes. Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly or Assisted Living Facilities must meet care and safety standards set by the State and are licensed and inspected by the Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing (CCL).

Senior housing complexes, retirement villages or retirement hotels that provide only housing, housekeeping and meals are not required to be licensed as Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly.