Questions families ask us

We introduce your family to licensed care homes in Hawaii that may fit your person. That is our whole service. Once you are introduced, the care home takes it from there: visits, questions about care and cost, admission, and the care itself.

We are not a case management agency. We do not manage, coordinate, or monitor care, and we do not check in on your person after they move. We do not meet families in person or go on visits. After the introduction, your family works directly with the care home. Questions about care go to the home and your person's doctor. For Medicaid community care, the case manager comes from a case management agency, not from Hale Kōkua.

Hale Kōkua does not meet families in person. We talk with you by phone or email, then introduce you to homes. You set up visits directly with the home and meet the people who run it there. If you are still on the mainland, you can start with us by phone or email.

We work statewide: Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi. We also help families moving from anywhere in the United States. If the State lists show no licensed home of the right kind on a smaller island, we say so on the first call.

No. Hale Kōkua is a private referral service that introduces families to licensed care homes. It is not a State agency and not a case management agency. Licenses, inspections, and Medicaid decisions belong to the State of Hawaii and the agencies it names. We explain the public rules and link to the official pages.

That is a normal feeling, and many families feel it. Most start when something changes, like a fall, a hospital stay, or more help needed at night. Start by telling us about your mom or dad: the island, and what a normal day looks like. We explain the kinds of homes and introduce you to licensed homes that may fit.

Nothing. You do not need anything ready to reach out. If you have them, a medication list, recent doctor notes, and a rough monthly budget help. We will ask about your person, what a normal day needs, the house rules that matter to your family, and how care will be paid, so we know which homes to introduce you to.

We keep our own up-to-date list of licensed care homes across the islands, built from State of Hawaii licensing records. It helps us see which homes may fit the care you describe. We can ask a home about openings, then introduce your family. The home tells you about cost and whether it can meet your person's care.

No. There is no cost to your family and no pressure. Take the time you need. If none of the homes fit, tell us. We can introduce you to others, or tell you plainly what is possible right now.

An adult residential care home, called an ARCH, is a state-licensed house that gives adults a room, meals, and help with daily living. It is the Hawaii license closest to a small mainland care home. Type I is for five or fewer residents, and the Department may allow a sixth. Type II is for six or more.

An expanded ARCH is licensed to admit people who need a nursing-home level of care. A nurse is part of the care. A Type I expanded home is generally limited to two residents at that level. A Type II expanded home is generally limited to 20 percent of its beds. The Department can allow more, including so a person who already lives there can stay.

An ARCH is a house with a small number of residents. An assisted living facility is a larger licensed building with apartments or dwelling units, meals, and staff available around the clock. Hawaii licenses them separately. The Office of Health Care Assurance writes the rules for both.

A community care foster family home, or CCFFH, is a small certified home, often two or three beds, for adults in Medicaid community care. The Department of Health holds the authority. Community Ties of America does the licensing and certification work.

The State asks an applicant to be a Hawaii resident, at least 21, and at least a nurse aide, with Department-approved ARCH training and at least one year of nurse aide work in a licensed nursing facility, home health agency, or hospital. The house itself has to meet the building, fire, zoning, and care rules in Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 11, Chapter 100.1.

Yes. Memory care is not one of the Hawaii license names on this site. Tell us about the memory loss, including night wandering, and we introduce you to licensed homes that say they care for it. Ask each home how they do it. The home and your person's doctor decide whether it is the right level of care.

It depends on the license. Aging in place is written into the assisted living rules. An ARCH has a ceiling. An expanded ARCH is licensed for nursing-home level care, and the Department can allow a person who already lives there to stay when that level begins. Ask the home about this before you sign anything. After move-in, those decisions are between your family, the home, and your person's doctor.

Medicare pays for medical care such as hospital stays, doctor visits, and skilled nursing when the rules are met. The monthly rate for an ARCH or an assisted living apartment is paid privately, with long-term care insurance, or through another program when the person qualifies. Medicaid, through Med-QUEST, is often the path into a community care foster family home. The State decides eligibility.

No. Families pay nothing to search, and nothing to be introduced to a home. When a family we introduced moves into a home, that care home pays Hale Kōkua a referral fee. The monthly rate is between your family and the home.

California licenses non-medical assisted living and board-and-care homes as a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly, an RCFE. Hawaii does not issue an RCFE license. A family leaving that kind of home is usually looking at an ARCH, an expanded ARCH, or an assisted living facility. We explain the Hawaii names and introduce you to licensed homes. Confirm the license with the State before anyone flies.

Residential assisted living is a mainland name for a small care home, often about six beds. In California that home is still licensed as an RCFE. In Hawaii the matching license is an adult residential care home, Type I or Type II.

Ask to see the license, then confirm it with the State Licensing Section at (808) 692-7400. The Department also publishes vacancy reports and facility lists. Hale Kōkua does not issue licenses or inspect homes.

As of August 1, 2026, the Department asks the public to file complaints through the Kahua Ike portal. You can also call the State Licensing Section at (808) 692-7400. For a community care foster family home, Community Ties of America takes complaints at (808) 234-5380. Complaints go to the State, not to Hale Kōkua.