The Bay Area Care Home Score
We rate every licensed board and care home (RCFE) in the Bay Area on a 0–100 scale using official California CDSS inspection data, violation history, license standing, and listing quality signals.
Our goal: give families an honest, transparent snapshot of each facility so they can make better decisions faster — without spending weeks reading through inspection reports.
Score tiers
Excellent
Top-tier facility with outstanding inspection history, clean record, and complete information.
Good
Solid facility with good compliance history. Minor concerns may exist but are well within normal range.
Fair
Some compliance concerns or limited inspection data. Families should review full inspection history before choosing.
Poor
Significant violations on record or license concerns. Families are urged to review the CDSS report carefully and ask the operator direct questions.
How the score is calculated
The Care Home Score combines five components, each worth a specific number of points. Total possible: 100.
Violation Rate
We calculate the ratio of substantiated complaints to total CDSS inspection visits. A home with zero violations earns 30/30. A high complaint rate can score as low as 0/30. We also subtract 5 points for any Type A citation — immediate safety risks that California classifies as the most serious.
| 0 violations | 30 points |
| < 10% complaint rate | 25 points |
| 10–20% rate | 18 points |
| 20–35% rate | 10 points |
| > 35% rate | 0 points |
| Any Type A citation | −5 point penalty |
Recency of Violations
A violation from 5 years ago matters less than one from last month. We examine when the most recent substantiated complaint was approved by CDSS. Facilities with no recent incidents earn full marks.
| No violations in last 2 years | 20 points |
| Last violation 1–2 years ago | 14 points |
| Last violation 6–12 months ago | 7 points |
| Violation in last 6 months | 0 points |
Inspection History
More inspection visits mean more oversight — and more trustworthy data. A facility that has been inspected 20+ times over its history gives families (and us) a much clearer picture than one inspected only once.
| 20+ CDSS visits | 15 points |
| 10–19 visits | 10 points |
| 5–9 visits | 6 points |
| Under 5 visits | 3 points |
License Standing
A clean, active license from the California Department of Social Services is the foundation of any licensed care home. We verify current status and note any qualifications, pending actions, or revocations.
| Licensed — no pending actions | 20 points |
| Licensed with a qualifier | 10 points |
| Not currently licensed | 0 points |
Listing Completeness
Operators who provide complete, transparent information are more accountable. We reward listings that include verified photos, contact information, capacity details, and verified status. These signals indicate an operator who wants families to see the full picture.
| Has verified photos | +5 points |
| Capacity listed | +3 points |
| Direct phone number on file | +3 points |
| Featured / Verified listing | +4 points |
Data sources
California CDSS Licensing & Certification: All violation and inspection data comes directly from the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division via their public transparency API. We do not modify or interpret the underlying data — only the scoring weights and thresholds are our own.
License standing: Current license status is verified against CDSS records. We check for active licenses, pending actions, and any revocation history.
Score updates: Scores are recalculated whenever new inspection data becomes available from CDSS. Individual listing scores are also updated when operators add photos or complete their profile.
Important limitations
- • The Care Home Score is a data-driven heuristic, not a professional health inspection.
- • A high score does not guarantee a perfect facility. Always visit in person and ask questions.
- • Newer facilities may have fewer inspections, resulting in lower inspection history scores even with a clean record.
- • CDSS inspection data may have a lag of several months before appearing in our system.
- • We strongly recommend reading the full CDSS report for any facility you are seriously considering.
Questions about our methodology? Email us