Daytona Beach Senior AdvisorWhat is a Florida adult family care home?
An adult family care home (AFCH) is a full-time, family-style living arrangement in a private home, licensed by AHCA under Part II of Chapter 429, Florida Statutes, where the licensee lives in the home and provides room, board and personal care to as many as five unrelated frail elders or adults with disabilities.
AHCA lists 19 adult family care homes in Volusia and Flagler, 12 in Palm Coast, 3 in DeLand, 2 in Deltona; every one is on the adult day and family care roster. Flagler County has more of them than Volusia, which is unusual given its smaller population; most are in Palm Coast neighborhoods.
How is an AFCH different from a six-bed ALF?
The AFCH provider must live in the home and may care for no more than five residents, while a small ALF can be run by employees who live elsewhere and is licensed under Part I of Chapter 429 with its own admission, staffing and fire-safety rules.
Many small care homes on residential streets in Deltona and Palm Coast are ALFs, not AFCHs. Our roster shows which license each one actually holds, and the difference matters for who is in the house overnight.
Who does well in an adult family care home?
An older adult who needs supervision and help with personal care, prefers a household to a building, and needs no more nursing than a visiting home health agency can provide is the typical fit.
The trade-off is depth: fewer activities and less backup when someone is sick or a storm knocks out power. Ask who covers when the provider is away, and what the plan is for a medical emergency at night.
Do OSS or Medicaid pay for an adult family care home?
Florida's optional state supplementation (OSS) covers eligible AFCH residents as well as ALF residents, under the same income standard in rule 65A-2.036, and some Medicaid long-term care plans contract with AFCHs.
Ask the home whether it takes OSS residents and whether it contracts with your parent's Medicaid long-term care plan. Rates are usually lower than in large buildings, but they are not published anywhere.
What should we check before choosing one?
Check the AHCA license and capacity on FloridaHealthFinder, ask to see the latest inspection or monitoring report, meet the licensee who lives there, and confirm how medications are handled and whether a fixed generator or other backup power is in place.
Visit at a mealtime and again in the evening: in a five-person home, the household's daily rhythm is the care.
At a glance
| An adult family care home has | An adult family care home does not have | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Five residents at most | Rotating shifts of outside employees |
| Provider | A licensee who lives in the home | An owner who lives elsewhere |
| Care | Room, board and personal care | On-site nursing |
Sources: Chapters 408, 429 and 651, Florida Statutes; Florida Administrative Code chapters 59A-36 and 65A-2; publications of AHCA, DCF, OIR and the Department of Elder Affairs; and the CareScout and VA tables named on the page. See our editorial standards for how figures are checked.
