Group Home - Licensed Congregate Care

Group homes, also called Community Care Facilities, are privately owned single family homes with a for-profit or non-profit operator. They are licensed by the state of California, and typically have three bedrooms, housing up to six developmentally disabled adults, or about 1 to 2 residents per bedroom. Regional Centers pay the operator a monthly rate that covers both housing and staff services. Tenants can attend day programs outside of the group home, funded by Regional Centers.
Based upon the types of services provided and the persons served, each CCF vendored by a regional center is designated one of the following service levels:
Based upon the types of services provided and the persons served, each CCF vendored by a regional center is designated one of the following service levels:
- Service Level 1: Limited care and supervision for persons with self-care skills and no behavior problems. (These are not vendorized by Regional Centers)
- Service Level 2: Care, supervision, and incidental training for persons with some self-care skills and no major behavior problems.
- Service Level 3: Care, supervision, and ongoing training for persons with significant deficits in self-help skills, and/or some limitations in physical coordination and mobility, and/or disruptive or self-injurious behavior.
- Service Level 4: Care, supervision, and professionally supervised training for persons with deficits in self-help skills, and/or severe impairment in physical coordination and mobility, and/or severely disruptive or self-injurious behavior. Service Level 4 is subdivided into Levels 4A through 4I, in which staffing levels are increased to correspond to the escalating severity of disability levels.
Pictured: The Cypress home in San Jose operated by nonprofit Life Services Alternatives, Inc., houses five young men with mild to moderate developmental disabilities. Despite some successes, some group homes have been highly impacted or have had to close due to inadequate vendor rates that fail to cover rental and staff costs, particularly in the expensive Bay Area, and insufficient supply of properties.