Boise Senior AdvisorWhat is a certified family home in Idaho?
A certified family home (CFH) is a private home certified by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to care for between one and four adults who cannot live on their own; certification is required whenever a paid caregiver provides services to a vulnerable adult living in the caregiver's home.
IDHW describes the CFH as a family-style setting for adults who need help with daily activities but not a more restrictive institutional setting. Residents may be vulnerable because of age, mental illness, developmental disability or physical disability. The provider may or may not be related to the resident.
How do certified family homes differ from assisted living in Boise?
A CFH serves at most four residents in the provider's own home, while a RALF is a licensed facility for three or more unrelated adults with staffing policies, administrators and IDHW surveys under IDAPA 16.03.22.
CFHs are certified by a separate IDHW certifying team rather than the RALF survey team, so they do not appear in the RALF facility search or in our assisted living roster. IDHW publishes regional CFH vacancy lists on its certified family home page, and the certifying agents can be reached at cfhcc@dhw.idaho.gov.
Who pays for a certified family home in Idaho?
Every CFH resident pays the provider a monthly room and board charge negotiated in the admission agreement, and care itself can be paid privately, by insurance, or by Idaho Medicaid for residents who qualify.
IDHW sends Medicaid applicants to its Benefits Customer Service Center at (877) 456-1233. Before admission each resident is assessed for functional, medical and behavioral needs, and the provider and resident write a plan of service. A RALF discharge notice in Idaho must include a list of certified family homes among the alternatives, which shows how often families move between the two.
When is a certified family home a better fit than assisted living?
It often suits a parent who wants a quiet household, one consistent caregiver and a small number of housemates, and who does not need a secured dementia unit or a building with on-site activities.
Ask who covers when the provider is sick or on vacation, how emergencies at night are handled, and how the plan of service is updated. For families comparing, our RALF versus CFH comparison sets the two side by side.
Side by side
| A certified family home is | A certified family home is not | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | One to four adults in the provider's home | A facility with staff shifts |
| Oversight | IDHW certification | A RALF license or RALF survey |
| Payment | Room and board plus private or Medicaid care | Free of a monthly room and board charge |
Drawn from IDAPA 16.03.22, Idaho Code 39-33, IDHW and Idaho Commission on Aging publications, CareScout, CMS and the VA; our editorial standards explain how we check them.
