How we work
Covelight Care lists every licensed care home for the elderly in California, built from the state’s public records. Here is where the facts come from, how homes are ordered and how we are paid.
Where do the facts come from?
- License, capacity, address and the care a home is licensed for
- California Department of Social Services (CDSS), Community Care Licensing Division.
- Citations, complaints and inspection reports
- CDSS public reports. Their words are quoted as the state wrote them.
- Medi-Cal (Assisted Living Waiver)
- The Department of Health Care Services list of homes in the program.
- Prices, photos and daily life
- The home itself, its website, a listing site or Google, each named where it appears.
- Cost ranges by county
- Published cost-of-care surveys. A range describes a county, never one home’s price.
We update from the state every week, most recently on November 11, 2026. Each fact on a home’s page shows its own date. When you check a home’s license, we ask the state at that moment. If the state does not answer, we show the record on file with its date and do not call it a live check.
What does “not on file” mean?
The record we hold says nothing on that point. It never means “no.” We show what is missing instead of guessing, and we give homes no scores or star ratings.
Covelight Care does not show which homes have an opening. Openings change daily, so Covelight asks the homes you pick and emails you each home’s answer.
How are homes ordered?
Search results put the homes with the most information on file first, or the nearest first if you choose. Guided search puts the homes with the most of what you asked for on file first, then the homes with the most information on file; distance never orders it. No home can pay to appear, rank higher, be recommended or change its record.
How is Covelight Care paid?
Families never pay us. When a family we introduce moves into a community of more than 15 beds, that community pays us a fee. Homes of 15 beds or fewer never pay. There is no fee when Medi-Cal, the Assisted Living Waiver or SSI pays for any part of the stay. The fee never changes which homes we show or their order.
How are the guides checked?
Each guide links the laws and official pages it relies on, and shows the date we last checked it against them.
How do I correct a fact?
Anyone can report an error, whether a family or a home. We confirm each report within 2 business days and check the fact against the state’s records. Confirmed fixes are logged publicly. Suggest a correction.
This is not medical or legal advice. Coverage, updates and reuse terms: Our data and sources.