What happens after you refer a patient or client to ALW

Beta's ALW team calls you, then the patient or their representative. The Assisted Living Waiver (ALW) is the patient's own application, so Beta's team must talk with them, not only with you. Under state policy, Beta screens the waitlist request within 7 calendar days of receipt. The applicant then gets written confirmation within 3 calendar days after screening. Those are screening deadlines, not approval or slot-release dates.

Call (747) 293-5777

Important: A referral does not by itself create eligibility, a waiver slot, facility admission or an enrollment date. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) keeps the master waitlist and controls slot release. Beta is a Care Coordination Agency (CCA), the state-listed organization that does the ALW paperwork and care planning with the applicant. Beta does not decide eligibility or timing. If the person is being harmed or neglected at home, also report it to Adult Protective Services (APS); in an emergency, call 911.

The six steps

1. Beta receives the referral. You send it from the referral portal and keep the receipt, or you call. A coordinator calls you within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.
2. Beta asks you for anything it still needs: the setting, the county, Medi-Cal status, institutional dates and the care picture. Records go only by the route Beta names.
3. Beta contacts the applicant or their authorized representative. ALW is person-centered, so the CCA must talk with the applicant.
4. Beta screens the waitlist request under current DHCS policy. Policy Letter 24-002 requires screening within 7 calendar days of receipt and written confirmation within 3 calendar days after screening. The confirmation gives the effective date: the day the form reached DHCS. How the waitlist works.
5. The applicant waits, and you help keep the case current. Until a slot is released, keep contact details and Medi-Cal current, and tell Beta about any change of setting. No one can give a facility or a date at this stage.
6. DHCS releases a slot, and Beta coordinates enrollment. Beta generally has 60 days from DHCS's notice to submit a complete application. That covers the nurse assessment, the care plan (the Individualized Service Plan, or ISP), the facility search and the enrollment documents. The policy letter itself names no pause; the one temporary exception is the Orange County emergency rule, explained on the waitlist page. Each facility decides its own admission. What happens after a slot opens.

On the portal each referral shows its status, its history and any question Beta has for you. How the referral portal works

What you can still do

Call Beta's ALW team when something changes. That includes a new contact number or representative, a hospital or nursing-facility admission or discharge, a Medi-Cal change, or a slot notice or facility option. Get the applicant's consent before you ask Beta for an update. Do not send protected health information by ordinary email; records go only by the route Beta names.

Everything to have ready for a referral is on the referral checklist.

What to tell the family meanwhile

"The referral has been made to a Care Coordination Agency. It is not a guarantee of eligibility, a waiver slot, facility acceptance or a move-in date. Beta's team will contact you directly, and the plan for right now stays in place."

To ask about a referral you have already made, call. To refer a new patient, use the referral form.