ALW waitlist readiness checklist

Waiting for an Assisted Living Waiver (ALW) opening has no set length, and nothing you do can speed the list up. Keep five things current: how to reach you, Medi-Cal, one page of care facts, your home preferences and the monthly payment plan. Then nothing on your side holds things up if an opening is released to you.

Important: Being ready can't create an opening (the state calls it a slot). No agency can move you up the list. The state controls both. Checking this list monthly is our suggestion.

The checklist

Contact details

If we can't reach you when an opening is released, we can't start the application. Before a released request can be closed for no contact, current state policy requires Beta to try at least three times: once a week over three weeks, at different times and on different days. Call back when you see a missed call. Check:

The phone number Beta has for you is the one you answer, and voicemail works.
Mailing address and email are current.
The person who speaks for the applicant is named, with any power of attorney or conservatorship papers.
A backup contact is on file.
You have your Beta contact's number and the written waitlist confirmation.

Medi-Cal

ALW needs full-scope Medi-Cal with no monthly share of cost, active the whole time you wait. How to check yours

Medi-Cal is active and full scope, with no share of cost.
Every county renewal or verification notice is answered right away.
The county has your current address and knows about income or household changes.

Care and safety information

The assessment goes faster when the facts are written down. Keep one page with:

The medication list, with doses and times.
Doctors and other providers, including home health or hospice.
The diagnoses that affect daily care.
What the person needs help with: bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, moving and transfers.
Memory, behavior and supervision needs, including at night.
Hospital or nursing-home records from the last year.

Thinking about the home

You'll choose a home once an opening is released, but you can narrow it down now. See homes on the state list

Which counties or areas would work, and what needs to be nearby.
The care the home must be able to provide.
Accessibility, room, language and cultural preferences, and what the person themselves wants.
If you've spoken with a home: being on the state's list is not a reserved bed, so note who told you what and when.

Planning the monthly payment

ALW pays for care services, not room and board (the room and meals). The person pays the home each month. See current costs and room and board

The person's income and benefits, including SSI/SSP (the monthly federal and state benefit for people with low income).
This year's monthly amount and the personal-needs amount the person keeps. The state sets both only for residents on SSI/SSP.
Possible extra charges, and who will help if needed.

One folder

Keep everything in one folder, paper or digital. Open the full document checklist

Call us if the person's situation changes

Tell your Beta contact about a hospital stay, a nursing-facility or assisted-living move, a change of county or housing, or a big change in health. Where the person lives, and when they moved, can change which part of the waitlist applies. Under current state policy, first priority goes to people in a nursing facility or other institutional setting for at least 60 days when the waitlist request is submitted. How the waitlist works explains the groups. Request a callback if you'd rather we call you.

Tell Beta's ALW team when something on this list changes. Not on the waitlist yet? Start with the quick fit check.