What happens in the 60 days after the state releases an ALW opening

The state has released an opening (the state calls it a slot) to your family member. Call Beta today. Under current state policy, Beta's ALW team generally has 60 days to send the state a complete application: the nurse assessment, the care plan and your choice of home.

Important: An opening means Beta can now send the state the person's application. It is not final approval, a Medi-Cal decision, a bed at a particular home or a move-in date. Those come from the official steps that follow, and Beta can't promise how any of them will turn out.

What we need from you in the first week

This week is part of how to apply for ALW. Do these as soon as you can.

1. Call us back. Call (747) 293-5777 the same day if you can. Tell us which number and which person to reach.
2. Check Medi-Cal. It must be active and full scope, with no monthly share of cost. How to check.
3. Tell us where the person is now and which county.
4. Tell us who signs for the person, such as a power of attorney or conservator.
5. Book the nurse assessment by phone with your Beta care coordinator. Have someone there who knows the person's daily needs.
6. Gather a current medication list and any recent hospital or doctor paperwork.
7. Start thinking about the home: which county, what kind of room, and how the monthly payment will be made.

The 60-day window

Under current state policy, the agency generally has 60 days from the state's notice to send a complete application package or to tell the state the person is no longer interested. Beta is your Care Coordination Agency (CCA).

This is not a 60-day promise of move-in. The policy letter itself has no pause or extension. One temporary emergency rule, for people affected by the Orange County chemical leak, is explained on the waitlist page. An opening is lost in three ways: the person declines it, Beta cannot reach you after three documented attempts, or no complete application reaches the state within 60 days.

Don't move until the state approves enrollment and the home confirms admission in writing. Then use the move-day checklist.

If we can't reach you

One missed call does not cost the opening by itself. Before the state can close an opening for no contact, current policy requires Beta to document at least three attempts: once a week over three weeks, at different times and on different days. Call back when you see a missed call.

What Beta is doing meanwhile

Your Beta care coordinator works on four things.

• Assessment and care plan. A nurse assesses whether the person needs the level of care a nursing home gives. We write the care plan, the Individualized Service Plan (ISP), with you. Understand the assessment
• Finding a home. We help you find homes that take ALW and, with your permission, share the assessment with the ones you pick. A home may say no, be full or need more information. See homes on the state list
• The document package. Medi-Cal proof, the assessment and care plan, state forms and the home's physician report. Open the document checklist
• The money conversation. What the person pays the home each month, what they keep for personal needs and any extra charges. ALW does not pay room and board (the room and meals). The state sets the monthly amount only for residents on SSI/SSP. See current costs and room and board

Tell us right away if something changes

Some changes can delay the application or cost the opening:

• A hospital stay.
• Medi-Cal going inactive. The application needs a Medi-Cal eligibility printout.
• A change of representative, such as a new power of attorney.
• The person deciding not to go ahead. Declining is one of the three ways an opening is lost.

Sharing information safely

If a call about an opening doesn't feel right, hang up and call the number on our Contact page. Don't send medical records or ID numbers by ordinary email. Beta tells you how to send them when they are needed.

Call us as soon as you've read this, or ask us to call you. Then start on the week-one list.