Beta Hospice Care is a Care Coordination Agency listed by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS).Beta is listed by DHCS. Here’s how to check
  1. Find Beta on the DHCS list. Beta is listed as a participating Care Coordination Agency under the name Beta Hospice Care. How to verify Beta
  2. No charge for care coordination. Medi-Cal pays Beta. Residents pay room and board. Costs and room and board
  3. Your choice. You may choose any Care Coordination Agency listed by DHCS and any participating home. Rights and complaints
Español (inicio)
Assisted Living Waivercare coordination
(747) 293-5777Mon–Fri, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Menu
Request a callbackRefer a patient or client

Job aids

Assessment and care tiers: the steps to remember

The short step lists from each lesson of The ALW assessment and the five care tiers, on one page. Print it for the station or the break room. Each list points back to its lesson, where the sources are linked.

Open the coursePrint a poster with a QR code

Decision guide

Someone asks about a tier: what do you say next?

Has a qualified CCA nurse or social worker completed the ALW Assessment Tool for this person?

  • Yes

    Has DHCS reviewed the assessment and made its final determination?

    • Yes

      Do the person's care needs seem to have changed since the last assessment?

      • Yes

        Record what changed, and arrange a reassessment with the same tool through your agency's procedure. The tier will follow the new score and DHCS review. Do not predict it.

      • No

        Is the question about what the person pays or what the home is paid?

        • Yes

          Explain the two payments: the tier sets ALW's daily rate to the home for care (check the current DHCS rate table), and the participant pays the facility directly for room and board. Send rate questions to the contact on the DHCS ALW page.

        • No

          Does the person disagree with a DHCS decision that denied, reduced or ended services?

          • Yes

            Point them to the Notice of Action DHCS mailed: it gives the reason and explains how to ask for a State Fair Hearing within 90 calendar days. The choice to appeal is theirs; do not give legal advice.

          • No

            Explain the tier in plain words: the level of help the assessed needs call for, which sets ALW's daily pay to the home for care. Offer an ISP review if they want one; the participant may ask for one at any time.

    • No

      Say the assessment is with DHCS, which reviews every assessment and makes the final determination. Do not present the tool's tier as settled.

  • No

    Say no one can name a tier yet: the tool's score sets it, and DHCS makes the final determination. Explain the steps: a phone pre-screen, then the assessment. Give no tier, rate or date.

This guide sorts what you say next. It does not set a tier or decide level of care, enrollment or payment: the Assessment Tool scores, and DHCS makes the final determination.

Step through it one question at a time: alwbeta.com/training/courses/alw-assessment-and-tiers#decision-guide

Lesson 1

What the ALW Assessment Tool is and what it measures

Every ALW enrollment and every reassessment runs through one tool. Before you sit down with a participant, know what it measures and what it produces. This lesson prepares the first decision of any assessment: which questions the tool answers, and which ones the person still answers for the plan.

  1. The ALW Assessment Tool: based on the MDS, scored electronically
  2. It measures ADLs, IADLs and seven functional categories
  3. One score answers two questions: level of care and tier
  4. The tier sets the daily rate paid for care
  5. The plan needs the person's preferences on top of the scores

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/alw-assessment-and-tiers#lesson-tier-the-tool

Lesson 2

Who completes the assessment, and when

An assessment is due, and the scheduler asks who goes and by when. The waiver answers both questions. This lesson prepares you to send a qualified, trained person, keep the six-month schedule, and know what happens to the tool after your agency submits it.

  1. Who: a qualified CCA RN or social worker with the DHCS tool training
  2. New applicant: phone pre-screen, then the assessment
  3. Assess with the participant and family
  4. Reassess every six months (30 days either side, 7 more days for the ISP), sooner on a change
  5. DHCS reviews every assessment and makes the final determination
  6. The CCA keeps originals at least ten years; the home gets the current ISP and RN assessment

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/alw-assessment-and-tiers#lesson-tier-who-and-when

Lesson 3

How the score sets a tier from 1 to 5

After the visit, the score comes out and a tier fills in. People will ask why it is that tier and whether it could be higher. This lesson prepares you to read what each tier means as DHCS describes it, and to see why no one picks a tier by hand.

  1. The score sets the tier; never hand-write one
  2. Tier 1: lowest support need, about NF-A
  3. Tiers 2 to 4: more significant needs, in that order (steps of NF-B)
  4. Tier 5: TBI plus all six criteria; see the tool's Tier 5 tab
  5. Eligible to enroll: a tier plus safe living with waiver services; Medi-Cal, Freedom of Choice and room in the program still count

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/alw-assessment-and-tiers#lesson-tier-score-to-tier

Lesson 4

What a tier changes, and what it does not

A home, a family and a participant each hear "tier" and think of something different: money, care or status. This lesson prepares you to say what the tier sets, which services depend on it, and what stays the person's own at any tier.

  1. The tier sets ALW's daily rate for care (2026 maximum: $95.69 to $270.80)
  2. Room and board: the participant pays the facility directly
  3. Residential Habilitation: any tier, with DHCS prior approval
  4. Augmented Plan: tiers 4 and 5, with DHCS prior approval
  5. The plan follows assessed needs and the person's choices
  6. Tier changes come from reassessment and DHCS review

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/alw-assessment-and-tiers#lesson-tier-what-it-changes

Lesson 5

Explaining a tier without promising one

Families, homes and referrers ask the same thing: "What tier will she get?" Your answer can build trust or set up a broken promise. This lesson prepares you to explain the tier plainly, give no tier, rate or date in advance, and send a disagreement to the right route.

  1. No tier, rate or date before the score and DHCS review
  2. Plain words: the level of help the needs call for; it sets ALW's daily pay to the home for care
  3. Room and board is a separate payment
  4. Tiers change with needs: reassessment every six months, or sooner
  5. Enter only what you observe and confirm; correct any promised tier
  6. Disagreement: ISP review, grievance, or the Notice of Action's hearing route

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/alw-assessment-and-tiers#lesson-tier-explaining

Beta’s ALW team, course version 2026.10.3, text checked against its sources on October 22, 2026. Educational only. Not continuing-education, licensure or regulatory credit. Follow your employer’s current procedure and the person’s current plan. Call 911 for a medical emergency.

Call the ALW teamFit check