How to Choose an Adult Family Home: Tour Checklist
Choosing an Adult Family Home is a high-stakes decision you usually make under time pressure. This tour checklist gives you the same questions experienced placement professionals ask — on staffing, safety, costs, and contracts — so you can compare homes side by side instead of relying on first impressions. Bring it on every tour.
Before you tour
- Shortlist 3–5 licensed homes through the Washington directory and verify each license status.
- Write down the care needs (transfers, dementia, behaviors, night needs), the monthly budget, and whether Medicaid may be needed later.
- Call ahead: confirm they are accepting new residents and ask for the current monthly rate in writing before you visit.
Staffing and care questions
- Who is awake and on-site overnight? Every night?
- How many caregivers are present during the day and evening for how many residents?
- What is staff turnover like — will we see the same caregivers week to week?
- Is nurse delegation available for medications or treatments?
- How do you handle increasing care needs — at what point would you ask a resident to leave?
- What dementia or behavioral training does staff have?
Safety questions
- Are sprinklers and smoke/CO detection installed and inspected?
- Show me the emergency and evacuation plan. When was the last drill?
- How do you prevent and respond to falls?
- May I see your most recent inspection report?
Cost and contract questions
- What exactly does the monthly rate include? What is billed extra? (Compare with our what’s-included table on the Washington cost guide.)
- How often have rates increased, and how much notice do you give?
- What is the discharge policy — how many days’ notice, and for what reasons?
- What happens to prepaid amounts if the resident leaves or passes away?
Medicaid questions
- Do you hold a Medicaid contract today?
- If private funds run out, can the resident convert to Medicaid and stay? What is that process?
Daily life questions
- What do meals look like — sample menu? How are special diets handled?
- What activities happen on a typical day?
- What are visiting hours and the overnight-guest policy?
- Is there outdoor space residents actually use?
Red flags
- The home will not put the rate and what’s included in writing.
- No awake overnight staff despite residents with high needs.
- Reluctance to show the license or inspection history.
- Very high turnover, or no one can name the regular caregivers.
- Pressure to sign or pay a deposit on the first visit.
After the tour
Score each home against the same questions within 24 hours, call two references, and re-verify the license in the directory. If two homes tie, the one with steadier staffing usually wins. For cost questions, see our guide on whether Medicare pays.
Frequently asked questions
How many Adult Family Homes should I tour?
Three to five. Fewer and you cannot calibrate; more and the details blur. Use the same checklist each time.
What questions should I ask when touring an Adult Family Home?
The checklist above: overnight staffing, turnover, nurse delegation, what’s included in the rate, rate-increase history, discharge policy, Medicaid conversion, and inspection reports.
Should I use a senior placement agency?
Agencies can shortlist homes fast and usually cost families nothing (homes pay them). Still tour with this checklist and verify the license yourself — the decision stays yours.