Memory care facility ratings, explained.
How we grade every licensed memory care facility from state inspection records — no referral fees, no paid placements, no invented data.
The public record no one else publishes.
Every state that licenses memory care facilities must inspect them and publish the findings. Those published findings — called deficiencies, citations, or statements of deficiency depending on the state — are the raw data behind our ratings.
We ingest inspection records directly from each state’s licensing portal and parse them into a searchable database. A facility’s “rating” on StarlynnCare is an index of its published government inspection record — not a consumer review, not an advertiser- sponsored ranking, and not a survey result.
Referral services like A Place for Mom and Caring.com earn revenue when a family chooses a facility through them — which creates a structural conflict: they cannot publish inspection-derived ratings that penalize their paying customers. StarlynnCare earns no referral fees or commissions from any facility, so we can publish the full record for every facility including those that would never pay to be listed.
Four signals, not one grade.
We do not publish a single composite letter grade or star rating — doing so collapses four meaningfully different signals into one number that obscures more than it reveals. Instead, we show each signal independently.
Citation severity
How serious were the violations? Type A (immediate risk) citations carry more weight than Type B (lesser violation) citations. Compared against local peers.
Citation frequency
How often does this facility accumulate citations per inspection? A facility inspected twice with zero citations is different from one inspected twice with ten.
Repeat citations
The same violation recurring across multiple inspection cycles is a strong signal that the underlying issue is not being corrected — it weights heavily against a facility.
Inspection recency
How current is the data? A facility last inspected three years ago has a weaker signal than one inspected six months ago. We flag limited-history facilities explicitly.
Full formula details, peer-comparison logic, and tier thresholds: read the methodology.
Ratings in every state we cover.
Each state licenses and inspects memory care differently. Here is what the inspection record looks like in each of the 6 states we currently cover.
California
CARegulator: CDSS Community Care Licensing · License type: Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE)
CDSS inspects every RCFE on an unannounced basis and publishes every deficiency finding in one of two classes: Type A (immediate health or safety risk) and Type B (lesser violation). Each finding includes the regulation violated, an inspector narrative, and the facility's plan of correction. We index every published finding for every licensed facility.
Oregon
ORRegulator: Oregon DHS LTC Licensing · License type: Memory Care Endorsed ALF or Residential Care Facility (RCF)
Oregon DHS licenses and inspects Assisted Living Facilities with a Memory Care endorsement and Residential Care Facilities. Inspection findings are published with rule citations and detailed narratives. We index every published inspection and deficiency for Oregon's memory care licensed facilities.
Washington
WARegulator: DSHS Aging and Long-Term Support Administration · License type: Specialized Dementia Care ALF
Washington DSHS licenses Specialized Dementia Care programs within Assisted Living Facilities and publishes findings from both routine surveys and complaint investigations. We index inspection findings from the DSHS ALF Reports portal for every licensed Washington memory care facility.
Minnesota
MNRegulator: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) · License type: Assisted Living Facility with Dementia Care (ALFD)
Minnesota's 2021 ALF law created the Assisted Living Facility with Dementia Care (ALFD) licensure category. MDH inspects every ALFD and publishes statements of deficiencies. We index MDH findings for all licensed Minnesota memory care facilities.
Texas
TXRegulator: HHSC Long-Term Care Regulation (LTCR) · License type: Alzheimer Certified Assisted Living Facility
Texas HHSC licenses Alzheimer-certified ALFs and publishes inspection findings through the Long-Term Care Regulation (LTCR) portal. We index findings for Alzheimer-certified facilities where published. Note: Texas ALF license types (A/B/C) denote capacity class, not deficiency severity — this differs from California's Type A/B deficiency classification.
Pennsylvania
PARegulator: PA Department of Human Services, Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) · License type: Personal Care Home (PCH) or Assisted Living Residence (ALR)
Pennsylvania DHS licenses Personal Care Homes and Assisted Living Residences that provide memory care services. PA DHS publishes inspection findings including severity scores and Immediate Jeopardy findings. We index every published finding for Pennsylvania's memory care facilities.
Common questions.
How does StarlynnCare rate memory care facilities?
StarlynnCare rates facilities using only official state inspection records — we do not accept paid placements, referral fees, or operator submissions that could bias rankings. Each facility is scored on four independent signals derived from its state inspection file: citation severity (how serious), citation frequency (how often), repeat citations (the same problem recurring), and inspection recency (how current the data is). These signals are compared against the facility's local peer set so a rural facility is not penalized for having fewer inspections than a large urban community.
What does 'rated by inspection records' mean?
Every state that licenses memory care facilities must inspect them on a regular basis and publish the findings. Those published findings — called deficiencies, citations, or statements of deficiency depending on the state — are the raw data behind our ratings. We ingest these documents directly from each state's licensing portal and parse them into a searchable database. A facility's 'rating' on StarlynnCare is therefore an index of its published government inspection record, not a consumer review or an advertiser-sponsored ranking.
Do you use star ratings or letter grades?
No. We do not publish a single composite letter grade or star rating because doing so would collapse four meaningfully different signals into one number that obscures more than it reveals. Instead, we show the individual signals — severity tier, frequency tier, repeat-citation status, and recency — so a family can weigh the specific risks that matter most for their situation. Full scoring methodology is at /methodology.
Why are these ratings better than A Place for Mom or Caring.com?
A Place for Mom, Caring.com, and similar referral services earn revenue by connecting families to facilities — which creates a structural conflict: they cannot publish inspection-derived ratings that penalize their paying customers. StarlynnCare earns no referral fees or commissions from any facility, so we can publish the full inspection record for every facility including those that would never pay to be listed.
How often is the inspection data updated?
We re-ingest state inspection records regularly — the exact cadence varies by state based on how frequently each licensing portal publishes new data. Each facility profile displays a 'refreshed' date showing when its data was last updated from the source.
Does a clean inspection record mean a facility is safe?
No. A clean inspection record means no documented violations were found during the inspections we have on file. State inspections do not capture every incident, they are periodic and not continuous, and some regulators have longer inspection cycles than others. A clean record is a positive signal — but it is not a guarantee. We always recommend families conduct their own tours and interviews. Our 37-question tour checklist is at /library/37-questions-to-ask-on-a-memory-care-tour.
Ready to look up a specific facility?