My brother and I toured 15 homes before deciding, an agency doesn't have the ability to discern whether it will be a good fit or not. Personalities do come into play! Good Luck!
You can ask the advice of others who have their persons in group homes.
Organizations such as NAMI and Special Needs, Alzheimer's/Dementia hold support groups who discuss these placements, whether support for you, or a group for the person needing placement.
If you cannot attend a support group, maybe ask the group moderator before going.
Ask a social worker at the Senior Center, or the Area Agency on Aging. The AAA is often located at the Senior Centers in your area.
You can also search online for accredited homes. RCFE. Often called six-packs, a certified residential care home can be found online. Board & Care homes (B&C), sometimes called group homes or care homes, are (in California), state licensed Residential Care for the Elderly (RCFE) facilities.
If you feel that it would be helpful to try an agency, go ahead.
I don’t think it is necessary though. You can easily find facilities in your area with an internet search. Make arrangements to visit them at your convenience.
I just looked at your profile. I see that your mom has Alzheimer’s disease, so you may not be bringing her to your first visit to tour the facility.
If you are going to bring your mom to see the facility before moving in, many of them will allow you and your mom to have lunch with them.
You may want to check to see if the facility also has a memory care unit in case you need these services later.
Best of luck finding a suitable facility for your mother.
My brother used one when his ex had alcoholic encephalopathy and needed care. Back in that day they used to TAKE YOU and explain each place and as I understand it there is not nearly the care now so I would check it out and ask how it works. Seems now they just send in the vultures in three piece suits to find out how much money you have. When my brother needed to move into care we went on our own, and were able to do so. You can start with virtual tours, know what you want, know what questions to ask, such as what are the levels of care, how much does it cost with each move up, what are the expected raises per year, under what circumstances may I be asked to leave, and on and on. We even demanded to have a change of flooring without carpet, rather than the old "cleaned carpet" and it was done for us. We came down to two choices, one with better gardens and one with better gourmet food and chose the former as he loved the outside.
If there's time I would do it myself. If not, consider an agency. You don't pay is the good news (and never go with one where you do); the facility that snags your loved one pays. The bad news is that questions are intrusive about finances (I basically started to say my brother was about a million on the hoof; for those who are into farm auctions you understand). They have to be. But you can let them know also what kind of care you need/want/expect.
Join Nextdoor.com, which is an intranet of your actual local neighbors in your community, and non-anonymous. Post a request for suggestions for local AL or Group homes that people have actual experience with. I recently posted a request for recommendations and info on cremation services and got many responses almost immediately. Nextdoor admin sent me an email saying that 6.6K people looked at that post. It's a great resource for certain things.
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Organizations such as NAMI and Special Needs, Alzheimer's/Dementia hold support groups who discuss these placements, whether support for you, or a group for the person needing placement.
If you cannot attend a support group, maybe ask the group moderator before going.
Ask a social worker at the Senior Center, or the Area Agency on Aging.
The AAA is often located at the Senior Centers in your area.
You can also search online for accredited homes. RCFE.
Often called six-packs, a certified residential care home can be found online.
Board & Care homes (B&C), sometimes called group homes or care homes, are (in California), state licensed Residential Care for the Elderly (RCFE) facilities.
There are lists online.
I don’t think it is necessary though. You can easily find facilities in your area with an internet search. Make arrangements to visit them at your convenience.
I just looked at your profile. I see that your mom has Alzheimer’s disease, so you may not be bringing her to your first visit to tour the facility.
If you are going to bring your mom to see the facility before moving in, many of them will allow you and your mom to have lunch with them.
You may want to check to see if the facility also has a memory care unit in case you need these services later.
Best of luck finding a suitable facility for your mother.
When my brother needed to move into care we went on our own, and were able to do so. You can start with virtual tours, know what you want, know what questions to ask, such as what are the levels of care, how much does it cost with each move up, what are the expected raises per year, under what circumstances may I be asked to leave, and on and on.
We even demanded to have a change of flooring without carpet, rather than the old "cleaned carpet" and it was done for us. We came down to two choices, one with better gardens and one with better gourmet food and chose the former as he loved the outside.
If there's time I would do it myself. If not, consider an agency. You don't pay is the good news (and never go with one where you do); the facility that snags your loved one pays. The bad news is that questions are intrusive about finances (I basically started to say my brother was about a million on the hoof; for those who are into farm auctions you understand). They have to be. But you can let them know also what kind of care you need/want/expect.
So it's personal choice.
Good luck.