By Tucson Senior Advisor Care Team · October 18, 2026
Ask about awake overnight staff, caregiver training, the manager's presence, the refund and rate-increase policies, ALTCS, and what triggers a move-out. Arizona's rule R9-10-807 requires several of these answers to be in the residency agreement, so ask to see them in writing.
Why do small homes need different questions?
In a ten-bed home, two or three people deliver all the care. Their training, their schedules and the manager's habits are the home. A brochure cannot tell you those things, and neither can a single daytime tour.
Arizona's residency agreement rule helps, because it requires the home to put certain answers in writing. Use the questions below and check the answers against the agreement before you sign.
Questions about nights and staffing
1. Is a caregiver awake all night, or asleep on call? The agreement for an assisted living home must state whether the manager or a caregiver is awake during nighttime hours.
2. How many caregivers work each shift, and how many residents need two-person help? 3. Who is in charge when the manager is away? Arizona requires a designated caregiver at least 21 years old on the premises. 4. Which caregivers speak Spanish, if that matters for your parent?
Questions about training and experience
5. Has every caregiver completed an Arizona-approved caregiver training program, and can you see the certificates? 6. What dementia training have they had, and how many current residents receive directed care? 7. How long has the manager held an Arizona assisted living manager certificate?
Answers you can verify beat answers that sound good. Certificates and the inspection record on AZ Care Check are both verifiable.
Questions about money
8. What does the monthly rate include, and what costs extra? The agreement must list both. 9. How much notice before a rate increase, and what triggered the last one? 10. What is the refund policy for fees and deposits if your parent moves out or dies mid-month? The agreement must state it.
11. Does the home contract with any ALTCS health plan, and will it accept a resident who converts from private pay to ALTCS?
| Question | Required in the Arizona agreement? |
|---|---|
| Is someone awake at night? (homes) | Yes |
| Services included and extra-fee services | Yes |
| Refund policy | Yes |
| How the facility may end residency | Yes |
| Complaint process | Yes |
| ALTCS contracts | No, ask directly |
Questions about moving out
12. What changes in health would make the home ask your parent to leave? Arizona allows a home to end residency with 14 days' notice for nonpayment or needs it cannot meet, 30 days for other reasons, and without notice only for an immediate threat. A good home describes its limits plainly.
Ask, too, whether residents can receive hospice in place; Arizona's rules allow it, and many families want that option.
What should you check after the conversation?
Open the home's AZ Care Check record and read the last two inspections and any enforcement action. Then visit again, unannounced, in the early evening, when staffing is thinnest and residents are often most unsettled.
If something about a current placement worries you later, the long-term care ombudsman at Pima Council on Aging ((520) 790-7262) can help.
What should you do with the answers?
Put the answers for each home side by side on one page, with the monthly cost at the current care level and the next level, the night staffing answer, the ALTCS answer and the date of the last clean inspection. Patterns appear quickly: one home will be cheaper but thinly staffed at night, another more expensive but with an awake caregiver and a manager who lives on site.
Share the page with siblings before deciding. Disagreements about placement often come from family members who have seen only one home, and a written comparison keeps the conversation on facts.
The residency agreement: what Arizona requires and does not
| Required | Not required | |
|---|---|---|
| Night staffing (homes) | a statement whether someone is awake | an awake caregiver |
| Fees | included and extra-fee services, refund policy | a price cap |
| Discharge | the facility's policy and notice periods | a guaranteed new placement |
Frequently asked questions
Must an Arizona assisted living home have someone awake at night?
Arizona's rule does not require an awake caregiver in every home, but it requires the residency agreement for an assisted living home to say whether the manager or a caregiver is awake during nighttime hours. Ask to see that clause.
How much notice must an Arizona facility give before discharge?
Fourteen calendar days for nonpayment or needs the facility cannot meet, thirty calendar days for other reasons, and no notice only for an immediate threat to health and safety, under A.A.C. R9-10-807.
Can I get the residency agreement before move-in day?
You should. Ask for the agreement and fee schedule a week ahead so you can read the refund, rate-increase and discharge clauses without pressure.
Who checks caregiver training in Arizona?
ADHS reviews staff records, including training documentation, during inspections. Citations about training appear on the facility's AZ Care Check record.
What if the home will not put an answer in writing?
Treat that as an answer. Arizona requires several disclosures in the residency agreement itself, and a home that will not confirm others in writing, such as ALTCS acceptance or night staffing, is asking you to rely on memory when a dispute arises.
Should I hire an attorney to review the residency agreement?
For most families a careful read is enough, but if the agreement includes large entrance fees, unusual refund terms or arbitration clauses, an elder law attorney's review is worth the cost before signing.
