Adult Foster Care in Massachusetts: Why Families Choose Mass Care Link
For families caring for a loved one at home, finding the right support can make an enormous difference. Across Massachusetts, many families provide daily assistance with bathing, dressing, mobility, eating, toileting, medication reminders, supervision, and other essential needs, often without realizing that MassHealth may offer a program designed specifically to support this type of care.
Mass Care Link has spent more than a decade helping Massachusetts families understand and access Adult Foster Care services. As a statewide Adult Foster Care provider, our focus is simple: help eligible members continue living safely at home while supporting the family members and caregivers who make that possible every day.
For families searching for an experienced Adult Foster Care provider in Massachusetts, Mass Care Link provides guidance from the initial application through enrollment and ongoing services. You can begin with our short prequalification form to tell us about your family and care needs.
What Is Adult Foster Care in Massachusetts?
Adult Foster Care is a MassHealth-funded program designed for eligible individuals who require daily assistance or supervision with personal care and who live with a qualified caregiver.
The caregiver may be a family member, friend, or another qualified individual. Under MassHealth rules, the member and caregiver must live together in the member’s home or the caregiver’s home.
Adult Foster Care can help individuals remain in a familiar home environment rather than relying exclusively on institutional or residential care.
Depending on the individual’s needs, assistance may include activities of daily living such as:
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Eating
- Toileting
- Mobility and walking
- Transferring in and out of a bed, chair, or other surface
- Cueing and supervision necessary to safely complete personal care activities
Eligible members also receive professional oversight and support through an Adult Foster Care provider, including nursing and care management services.
For a broader overview of how the program works, see our guide to Adult Foster Care for Massachusetts families.
Who May Qualify for Adult Foster Care in Massachusetts?
Eligibility is determined under MassHealth requirements and depends on the individual’s insurance coverage, care needs, living arrangement, caregiver relationship, and other program criteria.
In general, a potential member must have qualifying MassHealth coverage, be at least 16 years old, and require physical assistance or cueing and supervision with at least one qualifying activity of daily living.
The individual must also be able to receive care safely in a home setting with the support of a qualified live-in caregiver.
A caregiver may be a relative or non-relative, but certain relationships are excluded under MassHealth regulations. For example, a spouse or court-appointed legal guardian cannot serve as the paid Adult Foster Care caregiver. Additional requirements apply when the member is under age 18.
Because every family situation is different, Mass Care Link works directly with potential members and caregivers to review the applicable requirements and explain the next steps. Review our detailed guide on how to qualify for Adult Foster Care in Massachusetts.
For additional program information, review the official MassHealth Adult Foster Care program fact sheet.
A Statewide Adult Foster Care Provider Focused on Families
Adult Foster Care is about much more than completing an application.
Families need a provider that understands the MassHealth process, communicates clearly, helps coordinate required documentation, and remains available after enrollment.
Mass Care Link has built its services around those responsibilities.
We work with families throughout Massachusetts and help guide potential members and caregivers through the process from initial inquiry through assessment, MassHealth review, placement, and ongoing services.
Our goal is to make a process that can initially feel complicated much easier to understand and navigate.
Why Families Choose Mass Care Link
Experience With Adult Foster Care in Massachusetts
For more than a decade, Mass Care Link has focused on helping Massachusetts residents receive care and support in their homes.
That experience matters.
Adult Foster Care involves MassHealth eligibility requirements, clinical assessments, documentation, caregiver qualifications, care planning, nursing oversight, care management, and ongoing regulatory requirements.
Families should not be expected to navigate those requirements alone.
Our team helps explain what is needed, what comes next, and where an applicant is in the process.
Support From the Beginning
Many families first contact us with a simple question:
“Can I get help caring for my loved one at home?”
Our team helps families understand whether Adult Foster Care may be appropriate for their situation and what information will be needed to proceed.
Potential members and caregivers receive guidance throughout the application and assessment process rather than being left to determine the requirements on their own.
Care That Helps Members Remain at Home
For many members, home represents familiarity, independence, family, community, and dignity.
Adult Foster Care is designed to support eligible MassHealth members who require daily personal care while allowing them to remain in a home environment with someone they know and trust.
Mass Care Link supports that goal by working with the member and caregiver and providing the nursing and care management oversight required as part of the program.
Support for Family Caregivers
Family caregivers often take on significant responsibilities.
They may prepare meals, provide hands-on assistance, supervise a loved one throughout the day, coordinate appointments, assist with mobility, manage household needs, and ensure that the person they care for remains safe.
For qualifying families, Adult Foster Care may provide a caregiver payment of up to $1,520 per month, based on need and MassHealth approval, as well as professional support, education, nursing oversight, and care management. Learn more about getting paid to care for a parent in Massachusetts.
That support can help families continue providing care at home while having a professional team available to assist them.
Adult Foster Care Throughout Massachusetts
Mass Care Link serves families across Massachusetts.
Whether you live in Western Massachusetts, Central Massachusetts, Greater Boston, the North Shore, South Shore, Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, or another community in the Commonwealth, our team can help you learn more about the Adult Foster Care program and the application process.
Families searching for Adult Foster Care services in communities such as Worcester, Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Leominster, Fitchburg, Gardner, Pittsfield, Greenfield, Boston, Brockton, New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Lowell, Lawrence, Lynn, and surrounding communities can contact Mass Care Link to learn whether our services may be appropriate for their situation.
Our statewide approach allows families to work with an organization experienced in Adult Foster Care while receiving support within their own communities.
What Happens After You Contact Mass Care Link?
The process begins by learning more about the potential member, caregiver, living arrangement, MassHealth coverage, and care needs.
If the situation appears appropriate for Adult Foster Care, our admissions team can explain the application and assessment process.
Depending on the circumstances, the process may include:
- Reviewing basic program requirements and MassHealth coverage.
- Completing the required member and caregiver application information.
- Obtaining required medical documentation.
- Completing nursing, psychosocial, and home-setting assessments.
- Reviewing caregiver qualifications and required documentation.
- Submitting required information for MassHealth review when applicable.
- Completing the placement and enrollment process if approved.
- Beginning ongoing nursing and care management support.
You can also read our step-by-step overview of what to expect after applying for Adult Foster Care services.
Eligibility and enrollment are subject to MassHealth requirements and applicable program regulations.
Choosing an Adult Foster Care Provider in Massachusetts
Not every family’s needs are the same, and choosing an Adult Foster Care provider should involve more than simply finding the nearest agency.
Families should consider whether a provider:
- Has substantial experience with the Massachusetts Adult Foster Care program
- Clearly explains eligibility and program requirements
- Helps coordinate the application and assessment process
- Provides responsive communication
- Supports both the member and caregiver
- Has experienced nurses and care managers
- Understands MassHealth documentation and regulatory requirements
- Provides ongoing support after enrollment
- Can serve the family’s geographic area
Mass Care Link has built its organization around these responsibilities.
Our team understands that behind every application is a family trying to make an important decision about the care of someone they love. Families comparing different care models may also find it helpful to review how Adult Foster Care compares with other home-care options.
Frequently Asked Questions About Adult Foster Care in Massachusetts
Can a family member be an Adult Foster Care caregiver?
In many situations, yes. A qualified family member may serve as the live-in caregiver. However, a spouse or court-appointed legal guardian cannot serve as the paid caregiver. A parent may be considered as the caregiver for an adult child age 18 or older, but cannot be paid through the program to care for a child under age 18.
Does the caregiver have to live with the member?
Yes. Adult Foster Care is a live-in caregiver program. The member and caregiver must live together in the same qualified home setting.
Does the member need MassHealth?
Adult Foster Care is a MassHealth program. The member must have qualifying MassHealth coverage and satisfy all other applicable eligibility requirements.
Does someone need to be completely dependent to qualify?
Not necessarily. MassHealth generally requires the member to need daily physical assistance or cueing and supervision with at least one qualifying activity of daily living. The specific level of assistance required is evaluated as part of the assessment process.
Can Mass Care Link determine whether someone qualifies?
Mass Care Link can review the situation, explain the applicable requirements, conduct required assessments, and help families through the application process. Final eligibility and authorization remain subject to MassHealth requirements and approval.
Is Adult Foster Care the Same as Adult Family Care in Massachusetts?
These terms are sometimes used interchangeably. MassHealth currently refers to the service as Adult Foster Care, or AFC. Some organizations use Adult Family Care when describing a similar live-in caregiver model. Families should confirm the specific program, provider, and MassHealth requirements being discussed.
Adult Foster Care Information by Massachusetts Area
Families in Western Massachusetts can review our local guides for Holyoke and Chicopee, Pittsfield and the Berkshires, Greenfield and Franklin County, and Westfield and Western Hampden County.
Families in Central Massachusetts can review local information for Southbridge and South Central Massachusetts and Gardner and the Greater Gardner area.
Caring for Someone You Love? The Next Step May Be Easier Than You Think.
If you provide daily care for a family member or friend in Massachusetts, you do not have to figure out the Adult Foster Care process on your own.
Mass Care Link has helped Massachusetts families navigate Adult Foster Care for more than a decade, and our team is available to help you understand the program, determine the appropriate next steps, and guide you through the application process.
Learn whether Adult Foster Care may be right for your family.
Call Mass Care Link at 866-880-8889, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or complete our short prequalification form to begin online.
Mass Care Link proudly serves families throughout Massachusetts.
This article provides general educational information. Eligibility, caregiver approval, payment, and authorization depend on current requirements and individual circumstances.