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
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What ALW is: the steps to remember

The short step lists from each lesson of What ALW is, and who it is for, 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

Could ALW be worth asking about?

Is the person 21 or older?

  • Yes

    Does the person have full-scope Medi-Cal with no share of cost?

    • Yes

      Does the person need daily hands-on help, like someone living in a nursing home?

      • Yes

        Has the person said they want to live in assisted living in one of the 15 ALW counties?

        • Yes

          The person may meet the published criteria. Help them contact the Care Coordination Agency of their choice from the DHCS list. Ask about a pre-screen and a waitlist request. Keep other care plans going.

        • No

          Ask the person first, in their own words. Wanting to live in assisted living in a listed county is a criterion, and the choice is theirs.

      • No

        ALW may not fit. If you are not sure, an agency can do a short pre-screen by phone. An agency nurse or social worker assesses, and a DHCS nurse decides.

    • No

      Call the local county office. It handles Medi-Cal and share-of-cost questions. A share of cost bars ALW as written, so ask the county before you call an agency.

  • No

    The published ALW criteria start at age 21. ALW does not fit as written, so ask the person's doctor or social worker about other kinds of help.

This guide helps you decide whether to ask. It does not decide eligibility, a waitlist place or a home: the county, the agency, DHCS and the home each decide their own part, and the person chooses.

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

Questions to ask

Questions worth asking

  1. To the county office: Is her Medi-Cal full scope, and does it have a share of cost?
  2. To the agency: When will you do the phone pre-screen and the assessment, and who will do them?
  3. To the agency: On what date did you send the waitlist request to DHCS, and when will we get your letter?
  4. To the agency: How will you reach us if a slot is released, and what do you need from us then?
  5. To the home: Do you take part in ALW, and how much will you charge her each month for room and board?
  6. To the home: How will you decide whether you can meet her needs?
  7. To the care coordinator: Who writes her service plan, and how often will you meet with her?
  8. To the agency or DHCS: If ALW is denied, cut or stopped, where is the notice, and how do we ask for a State Hearing?

Lesson 1

What ALW pays for, and what it does not

You may have heard that ALW can help someone you love move to assisted living. Before you plan a move, it helps to know what the program pays for. This lesson gets you ready to answer one question in your family: what will ALW pay, and what will we still pay?

  1. ALW is a Medi-Cal program for care in assisted living
  2. ALW pays for care services and care coordination
  3. The person pays the home for room and board
  4. Care happens in an RCFE, an ARF or public subsidized housing
  5. Ask the home what it charges for room and board

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/what-alw-is#lesson-fam-alw-what-it-pays

Lesson 2

Who may qualify, and where ALW is offered

DHCS publishes the criteria for ALW, so you can read them yourself. Reading them helps you see whether ALW is worth asking about. It does not decide anything. This lesson gets you ready to check your loved one's situation against each criterion and to see which ones are still open.

  1. 21 or older
  2. Full-scope Medi-Cal with no share of cost (ask the county)
  3. Care needs like a Medi-Cal nursing home resident (DHCS decides)
  4. Able to live safely in assisted living
  5. Willing to live in assisted living in one of the 15 counties
  6. Say "may meet the criteria" until the decision is made

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/what-alw-is#lesson-fam-alw-who-may-qualify

Lesson 3

The waitlist: what it means and what it does not

Most families meet ALW as a wait. The wait is real, and no one can tell you how long it will be. This lesson gets you ready for two things: to understand what "on the waitlist" means, and to plan your loved one's care while you wait.

  1. A slot is a place in the program; slots are limited
  2. On the waitlist is not in ALW
  3. Keep the agency's letter with your waitlist date
  4. Priority changes the order, not the decision
  5. No one can give a date; keep your phone number current
  6. Keep other care plans going while you wait

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/what-alw-is#lesson-fam-alw-waitlist

Lesson 4

Who decides each step, and what the agency does

Many people take part in ALW, and each one decides a different thing. Knowing who decides what saves you calls and false hopes. This lesson gets you ready to ask the right person each question, and to know where to go if you disagree or have a concern.

  1. The person: ALW or not, the agency, the home; may stop at any time
  2. The agency: assessment, application, care plan, monthly visits
  3. The county: Medi-Cal and share of cost
  4. DHCS: level of care, waitlist, slots, enrollment
  5. The home: admission, with the person's consent
  6. Denied, cut or stopped? Read the Notice of Action; legal aid is listed

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/what-alw-is#lesson-fam-alw-who-decides

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