Guides

California RCFE guides and resources

Plain-English guides to running a licensed California residential care facility for the elderly — written by RCFE administrators, free to read, and useful whether or not you ever use our software.

Every guide links to the agency that issued the rule, because these pages are summaries and the regulations are the regulations. Where something is genuinely unsettled, we say so rather than picking the answer that suits us.

Medications

The area California licensing visits cite most often — almost always for documentation rather than for the medication itself.

RCFE medication management in CaliforniaThe four records that have to agree, assisting versus administering, PRN documentation, refusals, destruction, and staff training.RCFE eMAR requirementsWhether you can replace the paper MAR with an electronic one, what an eMAR must be able to do, and how to switch without a bad month.LIC 622 explainedThe centrally stored medication and destruction record, column by column — including the two different retention periods printed on the form.

Inspections and compliance

California licensing visits are unannounced, so readiness has to be a standing condition rather than a project.

California RCFE inspection checklistA printable readiness checklist covering resident records, medications, personnel, the physical plant, and facility administration. No email required.Ask CareMAR — Title 22 answers with citationsLook up what a regulation actually says, with the section cited and CDSS handbook guidance kept separate from binding text.

Admissions and forms

Get the resident record right on day one and most of a licensing file review takes care of itself.

California RCFE admission checklistEvery document an admission needs, who signs each one, and the two forms that keep expiring after the resident moves in.LIC 602A explainedWhat the medical assessment covers, who completes it, and why it is measured from the exam date rather than the filing date.Electronic signatures for California RCFEsWhat UETA and ESIGN establish, where wet signatures are still required, and the open question about retaining an 'original'.

Medi-Cal and billing

Relevant if you take waiver residents — and decisive for how your facility gets paid if you do.

The Medi-Cal Assisted Living WaiverWhat the waiver covers, why room and board stays with the resident, what a Care Coordination Agency does, and how a facility enrolls.ALW billing in CareMARAuthorized tiers, the service-day log, previewing a month, and printing the UB-04 so it lands in register on the red form.Resident statements and the family portalRoom-and-board billing, year-end summaries, and a read-only portal for families.

Running the facility

The operator's side of the job — the parts the certification training doesn't cover.

The RCFE administrator's guideCertification, the 80-hour training program, CEU renewal, and what the day-to-day job actually involves.Choosing RCFE softwareWhat to evaluate at six beds, the questions to ask any vendor, and where CareMAR is the wrong answer.California LIC formsThe licensing forms CareMAR generates and prefills from your resident records.

Go straight to the source

For anything consequential, read the agency's own material rather than ours:

The software behind the guides

CareMAR is the eMAR and compliance platform we built for our own six-bed California home: LIC forms prefilled, medication records that print, and a licensing readiness view that finds gaps before an analyst does.