Many centers keep weekend or evening hours to meet the needs of family caregivers who work non-traditional hours. Medicare will not cover the costs of Adult day services. There are non-profit adult day services programs in nearly every community that provide their services on a sliding scale fee. The veterans administration and local departments of social services, through their adult services or adult protective services units, may be able to assist with the costs of adult day services. During the licensing visit, centers are assessed against the minimum standards for operating adult day services.
Accreditation evaluates programming, staffing, administration and facility management.
While licensing seeks to evaluate a 'minimum standard' of health and safety, accreditation is a self-regulated professional standard that evaluates quality in a program. There are only a few centers nationwide who have completed this accreditation process and to date, none in Virginia are accredited. However, when selecting an adult day services program, inquire about the program's philosophy towards accreditation and ask the administrator to discuss the meaning of the accreditation and licensing standards with you. While it is a very expensive process to apply for and achieve the accreditation standard, administrators of the program will have some idea of how their program does or does not meet the accreditation standards. In Virginia, licensing is not required of non-profit adult day services centers.