How Haven works: free senior-living research for families

How to use the research tools

Families often begin this search during a difficult week. A careful process starts with public records and written questions, not a promise that a particular building has space or can meet one person's needs.

Use Haven's records to create a small shortlist, then ask each community for a dated answer about the residence, all-in price, assessment process, and care it can safely provide. Keep those answers in writing.

The assessment is educational guidance, not a clinical assessment or a placement service. Bring a physician, hospital care team, elder-law attorney, or fiduciary into the decision when the situation requires one.

• Step 1 — Care level. Start with what is actually happening: falls, wandering, medication errors, incontinence, or a hospital discharge order. Haven's 2-minute assessment can help you begin; ask the treating clinician to assess a close or high-acuity call.
• Step 2 — Budget, honestly. Work out what is sustainable per month and for how many months. Include long-term-care insurance, VA benefits, Medicaid waivers, a bridge loan, and home-sale proceeds where relevant. See how to pay for senior care and veterans benefits.
• Step 3 — The shortlist. Compare the source-labeled records available for your market — CMS evidence for eligible nursing homes and verified state-license records where coverage is published — alongside geography and budget. A partial roster is never presented as a complete roster unless the page says so. For a Salt Lake County decision, use the Salt Lake County senior-living research path to connect the public-record roster, written-price questions, and direct-community contact plan. It is research guidance, not a local office, live availability desk, or care-fit opinion.
• Step 4 — Availability and price check. Ask for the unit type, base rent, care-level charge, community fee, medication or second-person fee, and move-in conditions in writing. Record when the answer was confirmed; availability and price can change quickly.
• Step 5 — Tours. Visit at least two or three options if time permits and use the questions to ask on the tour. Watch ordinary meals and evening or weekend staffing, not only the scheduled sales tour.
• Step 6 — Paperwork and the move. Read the residency agreement before signing. Focus on rate increases, care reassessments, discharge or transfer triggers, deposit refunds, and what happens after a hospital stay, then use the free printable assisted-living move-in checklist to organize documents, medications, packing, move day, and the first weeks.
• Step 7 — Recheck the fit. A move-in does not end the decision. Keep the written care plan, pricing, and contacts, and speak up promptly if the agreed care is not being delivered.

When a discharge is urgent

A hospital case manager telling you that discharge is Thursday is a real emergency, not a marketing timeline. The hospital's discharge planner and treating team are responsible for the immediate plan. Haven's public guides can help you understand records and questions, but do not provide a response-time or bed-placement service.

Use the urgent-placement guide to gather the clinical packet, clarify discharge rights, and identify what a receiving community must confirm. Do not rely on an online directory as proof of an opening or care acceptance.

• Start now — Ask the hospital team for the exact care needs, discharge date, medication list, physician orders, therapy needs, and any restrictions. Ask whether the patient is an inpatient or under observation, because that can affect Medicare coverage.
• Build the list — Use source-labeled regulator records to identify possible communities, but call each one. Ask whether it can accept the specific needs: two-person transfers, insulin, oxygen, wound care, dialysis transport, exit-seeking, or behavioral symptoms.
• Get facts in writing — Ask for the all-in cost, required assessment, earliest possible move-in, deposit/refund terms, and the decision-maker who can confirm it. Note the contact's name and date.
• Choose safely — A respite stay, short-term rehabilitation, or in-home support can be a safer bridge than signing a permanent lease under pressure. Discuss alternatives with the clinical team.

How fee-bearing placement services work

Many placement or referral services are paid by a community after a resident moves in, while the family is told the service is free. That arrangement can be lawful, but it creates a conflict that families should understand before sharing any information.

Haven does not currently operate a placement-fee, family-referral, or payment service through this deployment. Its public research tools are free to use, and they do not create an obligation for a family or a community.

If you use any fee-bearing service, ask for the exact fee formula, who pays it, when it is owed, whether care charges or deposits are included, and what happens if a move does not work out. Ask for the answer in writing before relying on it.

• Ask whether the family will ever be charged or quoted a different rate because a service was involved.
• Ask whether the service shows every relevant licensed community or only communities with commercial agreements.
• Ask whether the service can verify each current opening, all-in price, and care-acceptance statement directly with the community.
• Treat a future commercial program as unavailable until its written terms, secure operations, and applicable legal review are actually in place.

The conflict to evaluate in any referral model

Many "free" senior living referral or placement services are paid by the communities they recommend. Families should ask whether the service has an incentive to show a contracted list rather than the complete set of relevant licensed communities.

The typical fee across the industry runs from about 50% to 100% of the first month's rent, most commonly cited in the 70–80% range, which works out to roughly $3,000 to $5,000 per placement depending on the market. The largest national services publish that they are compensated by participating communities and that their service is free to families. That part is straightforward and true.

The part that matters more is scope. The structural weakness of this model is that a service only earns money from communities that have signed a contract with it, which creates an incentive to show families the contracted list rather than the complete list. Federal scrutiny in 2024 focused on exactly this: a Senate Aging Committee statement noted that the listings families were shown by one large national service were limited to facilities from which it received a commission, and a Washington Post investigation reported that more than a third of highly recommended facilities across 28 states had been cited by regulators.

Several states have responded with disclosure laws. Arizona (A.R.S. § 36-446.14) requires an agency to disclose the fee amount or a good-faith estimate, as a dollar figure or a percentage of first-month charges, before making a referral, with civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation. Washington's Elder and Vulnerable Adult Referral Agency Act (RCW 18.330.050) requires a written disclosure statement covering fees and how they're computed, how often the agency tours facilities and whether it recently toured the one being referred, any ownership interest in a referred provider, the refund policy, your right to stop using the agency without penalty, and how to complain to the attorney general. Colorado, Maryland, and Oregon have compensation-disclosure requirements as well.

How Haven keeps public research separate from commercial claims

This deployment does not make placement recommendations, accept referrals, or collect a family's private details. Its purpose is to make the underlying public records and decision questions easier to use.

The relevant test is visible on each record: the source and date should be clear, a missing fact should remain missing rather than inferred, and a time-sensitive answer should be confirmed directly with the community.

• CMS-backed nursing-home records keep CMS overall stars, staffing, inspections, quality measures, abuse citations, Special Focus status, and federal fines separate and source-labeled. State-license records remain separate rather than being converted into a federal-style score. Read the source limits on our methodology page.
• The public directory order is neutral source-name order, not a Haven score, partner list, quality rank, or care-fit decision.
• A community cannot use a public correction request to rewrite an official record, erase an unfavorable inspection finding, or change neutral directory order.
• A public record is not a live opening, all-in quote, or individual care assessment. Ask each community for current written details before deciding.

Source-labeled records, not a pay-to-play directory

This is the most important line to test.

Haven begins with public records, not commercial relationships. CMS data applies to eligible nursing homes. Assisted living and memory care are state-licensed, so we use those records only where we have verified a regulator source and disclose its geographic and care-type scope. Browse current coverage at all markets.

Commercial participation does not determine whether a qualifying record appears in a shortlist. The research tools compare the records available for the relevant market and identify the source and coverage limits. If the record coverage is incomplete, the page says so and points you to the regulator or community directly.

No directory is complete nationwide, including ours. Do not treat a market count as a complete local roster unless the page identifies verified official-roster coverage. When we have not verified something, we label the limit rather than dress it up as a fact.

Current research-only boundaries

The public tools are intentionally useful without creating a private intake or commercial relationship. They do not replace a clinician, a hospital discharge team, an attorney, or a community's own assessment process.

• No public family form is shown while secure family routing is unavailable.
• The research tools do not ask for a name, phone number, email address, health details, medical documents, or a story about a loved one.
• Haven does not send a family to a community, confirm a current opening, or decide whether a community can safely accept an individual.
• The site does not provide medical, legal, or financial advice. When a decision needs a physician, an elder-law attorney, a fiduciary, or a hospital team, use that qualified professional.
• For direct information, use each community's public contact details and its own secure process for care assessment.

What to ask a referral service before you share information

Use these questions with any referral or placement service you consider. A service that answers clearly in writing is easier to evaluate than one that asks for private details before explaining its compensation and scope.

Do not provide a phone number, email address, health information, or medical documents until you know exactly who will receive them and why.

• "How exactly are you paid, and by whom?" You want a number or a formula, not "our partners support us." In Arizona and Washington, agencies are legally required to give you this.
• "Do you show me every licensed community in my area, or only ones you have contracts with?" This is the single most important question. Ask for it in writing.
• "Which of the communities you're recommending pay you, and which don't?" A service showing you only paid options should say so plainly.
• "Who will receive my phone number and email, and when?" Ask how many communities, and whether you approve each one first.
• "Can I stop working with you at any time, at no cost?" Washington law requires agencies to disclose that you can. The answer should be an immediate yes.
• "Have you personally toured the communities you're recommending, and how recently?" Washington's disclosure statute requires this. Everywhere else, ask anyway.
• "Do you or your owners have any financial stake in the communities you're recommending?" Ownership interest is a different and larger conflict than a referral fee.
• "Will I pay more at this community because you referred me?" The answer should be no, and it should be a written term of their agreement with the community.
• "What happens if the placement doesn't work out in the first month?" You're listening for whether anyone gets to keep a fee on a failed move-in.

Services that cost nothing and earn nothing — use these too

Many referral services are paid by the industry they recommend. There are public alternatives with no financial stake at all, and you should use them alongside any private research source.

The Eldercare Locator is a free public service of the U.S. Administration for Community Living, administered by USAging. Call 1-800-677-1116, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET, or enter a zip code at eldercare.acl.gov. It connects you to your local Area Agency on Aging, which can help with in-home care, caregiver respite, Medicare counseling, and long-term care options at no cost and no commission.

Your state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman program advocates for residents of nursing homes and assisted living communities, investigates complaints, and is free. Your Area Agency on Aging can connect you.

And CMS Care Compare at medicare.gov is the same federal source we use for skilled nursing ratings. You can read the raw inspection data yourself, and we think you should.

A family that checks its own homework is better prepared to ask fair, comparable questions.

Start with public research

No phone tree, no sales sequence, and no obligation. Use the data first and keep control of private information.

Take the free 2-minute care assessment for educational guidance and a starting care category. For an immediate discharge or safety emergency, work with the hospital team or emergency services first.

If you'd rather look around first, start with all markets, compare public records, or read how we use public records.