The dataset
Every licensed residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) in California, compiled from the state’s own public records into one complete, neutral, free reference.
What this dataset is
Covelight Care maintains a statewide compilation of California’s RCFE licensing records: 8,511 licensed homes across 49 counties, within a full roster of 9,194 records including formerly licensed homes (kept visible with their closed status, because “is this home licensed?” deserves an honest answer either way). The most recent successful pipeline refresh completed September 28, 2026; pipelines run on a weekly cycle.
No home pays to appear, rank, or soften its record. Where a state record is silent, the site says “not on file” — never “no.” The site carries no scores, star ratings, or reviews.
What’s in it, field by field
| Field | What it is | Source |
|---|---|---|
| License number | The state facility/license number — the stable key for every record on this site | CDSS |
| Facility name, address, county, city | As carried on the state licensing record | CDSS / CalHHS facility layer |
| License status | The state’s own status word, verbatim (licensed, probation, closed, …), with its date | CDSS |
| Licensed capacity | Beds the license permits — not a vacancy count | CDSS |
| Care designations | Dementia, hospice, non-ambulatory, bedridden — tri-state: yes on record / no on record / not on file | CDSS client-served designations + license comments, copied without rewording |
| Citations & substantiated complaints | Counts and dates as the state’s transparency records carry them | CDSS |
| Inspection & complaint reports | Dated report catalog per facility; complaint narratives quoted verbatim where the state publishes the document | CDSS |
| Medi-Cal / ALW participation | Whether the home appears on the DHCS Assisted Living Waiver participant list, with the list’s own as-of date | DHCS |
| Phone on file | The number on the state licensing record (used for operator verification; shown masked pre-claim) | CDSS / CalHHS facility layer |
| Coordinates | Map position, labeled by origin — state facility layer where available, otherwise geocoded from the state-record address | CalHHS facility layer / geocoder (derived) |
Deliberately excluded: vacancy or availability claims (never inferred from silence), operator marketing copy, and any derived quality score. Operator-provided facts (photos, rates, amenities) appear only on facility pages, labeled operator-provided with their date — they are not part of the state-record layer described here.
How to use it today
The dataset is published as browsable pages: the county-by-county directory, a page for every facility, the Medi-Cal / Assisted Living Waiver directory, and a license-record check for any specific home. A machine-readable bulk export (CSV/JSON) is planned but does not exist yet — we would rather say so than link a download that isn’t there. If you need the data for research or reporting, write to us. Errors: the corrections process re-checks any disputed field against the state’s own systems and logs the outcome publicly.
Reuse & attribution
The underlying facts are public records and facts are not copyrightable. Our compilation — the cleaned, cross-checked, and continuously refreshed presentation of those records — is offered under CC BY 4.0: reuse it, with attribution to Covelight Care and a link. If you republish, please keep the “not on file” distinction intact — turning an absent record into a “no” is the one error class this dataset exists to prevent.
Source data: California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division public records (ccld.dss.ca.gov); facility layers published through the California Health and Human Services Agency Open Data Portal (data.chhs.ca.gov / data.ca.gov); California Department of Health Care Services Assisted Living Waiver program lists. Used per the CalHHS Open Data Portal terms of use, which require this attribution.
This site presents a modified compilation of those source records. It is not the official record of, and is not endorsed by, the State of California or any of its agencies. For the official record of any facility, consult the CDSS Care Facility Search at ccld.dss.ca.gov.