Glossary
Residential care home
Also called: Board and care home, Six-bed home
A residential care home, or board and care home, is a small assisted living setting licensed for six or fewer residents, usually in a converted single-family house with live-in or shift caregivers.
The care is the same category as a large assisted living community, and in California the license is the same (RCFE). What differs is scale: a handful of residents, a home kitchen, and one or two caregivers on duty.
Rates are commonly below those of large communities in the same city, and a large share of the communities that accept the Medi-Cal Assisted Living Waiver are small homes.
Related terms
Assisted living
Assisted living is a licensed residential setting where older adults live in their own apartment or room and receive help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, meals and medications, without the medical supervision of a nursing home.
RCFE
RCFE stands for Residential Care Facility for the Elderly, the California license category that covers assisted living, memory care and board and care homes for residents aged 60 and over.
Licensed capacity
Licensed capacity is the maximum number of residents a care facility is permitted to house under its state license.
Assisted Living Waiver
The Assisted Living Waiver (ALW) is a California Medi-Cal program that pays for assisted living care for eligible Medi-Cal members who would otherwise qualify for nursing-home care, in communities enrolled in the program.
Definitions reviewed September 5, 2026. Rules vary by state and change over time; confirm specifics with the community and the licensing agency.