Honolulu Senior AdvisorWhat does a foster family home offer?
A community care foster family home offers 24-hour care, personal care and homemaker services in the caregiver's own home for two adults (three with approval) at nursing facility level of care, with a licensed case management agency overseeing each resident.
The March 2026 roster lists 1,111 certified homes on Oahu, most in Waipahu, Ewa Beach and Honolulu. See foster family homes by town.
Who is a foster family home right for?
A foster family home is right for an adult at nursing facility level of care, usually on Med-QUEST, who would do better in a quiet household than in a nursing home, and whose care can be safely given by one trained caregiver with a nurse case manager.
It is less suited to someone who needs frequent skilled nursing or who wanders persistently, and private-pay placements are possible only in limited cases.
How do we arrange a foster family home placement?
Arrange a foster family home placement through a licensed case management agency or, for Med-QUEST members, through the QUEST Integration plan's service coordinator, who matches the resident with a certified home that has an open bed.
The case manager assesses your parent, proposes homes and stays involved after the move. Ask how often they visit and how to reach them after hours.
What does a foster family home cost?
For Med-QUEST members, long-term care through a QUEST Integration plan pays for the care in a foster family home and the resident's income goes toward room and board; private-pay placements are possible only in limited cases, and each home's private rate is set with the case management agency.
Ask the case manager to explain the monthly amount your parent would contribute before the move, and what happens if income changes.
What can't a foster family home do?
A foster family home cannot take more than two residents (three with department approval), cannot care for adults who are not at nursing facility level of care under its certificate, and is not designed for frequent skilled nursing or secured dementia care.
It also offers little privacy from the caregiver's household and little company beyond one or two other residents. For many people that quiet is the point; for others it is isolating.
At a glance
| A foster family home offers | A foster family home does not offer | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Two or three residents | A group of peers |
| Level | Nursing-level care at home | Light-care placements |
| Oversight | A case management agency | A walk-in admission |
| Payment | Built around Med-QUEST | Open private-pay beds by default |
Sources include Hawaii Administrative Rules chapters 11-100.1, 11-90 and 11-800, HRS 321-481 and 321-1.8, Office of Health Care Assurance rosters and pages, the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines, CMS, CareScout and VA rate tables as cited above; see our editorial standards.
