How to choose a memory care home and check it
Choosing a memory care home: check the licence, read the inspection record, cost questions, and what the checklist on this site covers.
Updated
This directory lists licensed homes; it does not rank or recommend them. The steps below are the checklist a family can work through in the same order, on this site and elsewhere.
1. Check the licence first
Every listing here shows the licence number, the body that issued it and the date the record was read. Before anything else, verify the licence on the register the listing names: the Washington DSHS lookup for adult family homes, or the CQC website for English care homes. A licence says the home is legally allowed to operate. It is not a review and not a quality rating.
2. Read the inspection record
A licence check tells you the home may operate. The record can tell you more:
- In Washington, the DSHS record links each home's reports and inspection history.
- In England, the CQC page for each home shows the latest rating and the full inspection reports.
Read the most recent inspection findings yourself. Patterns across several inspection dates matter more than a single snapshot.
3. Ask about dementia care specifically
A home that lists people with dementia among the people it serves is not the same as a home designed around memory conditions. Ask about staff dementia training, how residents with memory conditions spend the day, how the home manages residents who wander, and how care is adjusted when needs change. The Alzheimer's Association and Alzheimer's Society guides are a good place to prepare these questions.
4. Cost questions
Memory care is paid for privately or partly publicly, depending on the place and the person's assets. Before you compare costs, get the same set of answers from every home:
- The base monthly fee and exactly what it includes.
- The level-of-care add-ons and their prices.
- The deposit, what it covers, and the refund terms.
- How much notice is needed to leave, and what the notice period costs.
- Whether the fee is guaranteed for a period or can rise, and by how much.
The care-cost checklist on this site turns these into a single sheet you can fill in per home.
5. Visit, twice, at different times
A home that looks calm at 11am may look different at mealtime. Visit at a time when residents are up and moving, ask to see the activity programme, and take the same extended family member on both visits.
This is general information, not legal or medical advice; confirm current rules and fees with the home and the regulator.