Assisted Living in Delaware

Assisted living in Delaware provides residential community living combined with services designed to support the needs of adults 55+ who may require help with personal care tasks, mobility, and health monitoring. The median cost of assisted living is about $5,800 per month in Delaware, which comes out to about $69,600 per year, according to A Place for Mom’s internal data.

In Delaware, assisted living is a more affordable senior living option than memory care or nursing homes. And while it’s more expensive than independent living communities, assisted living offers personal care to residents.

Despite Delaware’s small size, it offers a large variety of outdoor and historical attractions. With its proximity to major Eastern cities such as Philadelphia and Washington D.C., assisted living residents in Delaware enjoy access to vibrant communities and opportunities for an active lifestyle.

Delaware’s median assisted living prices range from about $4,500 to $8,700 per month, which is around $1,200 higher than the national median, according to A Place for Mom’s internal data. This monthly cost range is based on what referred families actually paid at our partnering Delaware assisted living facilities. However, these costs are comparable to the median prices of assisted living at our partner communities in the larger region. For example, in Philadelphia, the average price of a one-bedroom unit in an assisted living community is $6,000 and in Washington D.C., it’s close to $8,000 each month.^[01]

The cost of assisted living fluctuates based on a number of factors including location, services and amenities, and the specific care needs of an individual. Communities located in areas with a high cost of living tend to be more expensive. Luxury amenities, specialized services, and programming such as physical therapy or on-site educational classes can elevate monthly costs.

Room and board at assisted living communities is typically paid for out of pocket. However, Medicare, Medicaid, or veteran’s benefits and private insurance policies may help seniors offset the care costs associated with assisted living.

There are numerous ways to pay for assisted living in Delaware. It’s common for families to blend a variety of payment methods to pay for assisted living. Keep in mind that early planning often provides a wider range of payment options. The following section has information on several resources including private pay, public and private insurance, and veteran’s benefits. For an overview, visit our complete guide to paying for long-term care.

Assisted living facilities in Delaware are required to be licensed by the state’s Division of Health Care Quality (DHCQ). The division conducts annual inspections of facilities and also responds to complaints by conducting investigations as necessary. The division’s mission is to protect Delaware citizens in long term-care health settings by enforcing compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.

Inspections create a system of accountability for assisted living facilities and aim to ensure they adhere to regulations that address the following categories.^[02]

• General requirements
• Waivers to provide temporary services not normally required
• Medication management
• Specialized care for memory impairment
• Infection control
• Resident contracts
• Health and needs assessments
• Required services
• Services agreements
• Resident rights
• Quality assurance
• Staffing
• Physical environment
• Emergency preparedness
• Record keeping and reporting

The division’s detailed assisted living facility regulations along with a list of currently licensed assisted living facilities in Delaware are available on its website.

The Division of Health Care Quality’s website also has completed annual inspection and complaint investigation reports, which they call surveys, for families to review before choosing an assisted living facility. Be aware that many of the facility surveys on the site are not current. It is unclear however if the data has not been updated or if the inspections have not been performed.

Accessing assisted living records in Delaware

We developed a system to rate each state on how easy – or difficult – it is to find important assisted living records and reports, and compiled tips to help you in your search.

States with the most transparent records allow you to look up important information about each assisted living facility online, including inspections, complaints, survey results, violations, capacity, and whether the facility accepts Medicaid.

Access to Delaware assisted living records: Moderate

Public access to assisted living records and reports for the state of Delaware is moderate. Key findings that informed this rating include:^[04]

• Delaware has inspections and violations information online but not all information is up to date.  
• Delaware conducts inspections of communities on at least an annual basis.

How to look up Delaware assisted living licenses and records

• Visit Delaware’s Licensed and Certified Long Term Care Facilities to verify a community is licensed.

• Visit the Survey Reports site for inspections results. For recent inspections, contact the Delaware Division of Long Term Care Residents Protection.
• Contact the Aging and Disability Resource Center for questions or additional information about providers.

How we arrived at our Delaware rating

We developed a standard methodology for state data collection and evaluation, and based our rating primarily on the objective, state-specific accessibility criteria outlined in these questions:

1. Are licensed assisted living communities listed online in any form? Yes
2. If Yes to #1, is the information updated frequently? No
3. If Yes to #1, is the list of licensed communities searchable? No
4. Does the state post inspections, complaints, survey results, or violations online? Yes
5. If Yes to #4, is the information updated frequently? [within 90 days] No or N/A
6. If Yes to #2 and #4, is the enforcement information included in the same place as licensed communities? No or N/A
7. If Yes to #4 and No to #6, are violations / inspections searchable at all? Yes or N/A
8. Is information about special licensing for care shown? No or N/A
9. Capacity shown? Yes
10. Payment types shown, [e.g. Medicaid, private pay]? No
11. Administrator / Contact name shown? No
12. State may fine facility? Yes
13. Frequency of inspections? Every 12 months
14. Website includes pricing of facility? No