Assisted Living Settings

Abstract Assisted living (AL) is a term applied to a wide array of residential facilities for older adults. In the broadest sense, AL includes all group residential programs not licensed as nursing homes, which provide personal care in activities of daily living and can respond to unscheduled needs for assistance. In a more restrictive sense, it refers to the values underlying the manner in which that care is provided. Thus, AL has come to refer to both a setting of long-term care that combines housing and supportive services in a homelike environment, and a distinct philosophy of residential care provision. This chapter discusses assisted living as a setting and a philosophy of care, assisted living regulation, assisted living funding, issues in assisted living, and the social worker in assisted living.