Source registry and record age
| Data section | Existing snapshot / research | Primary source | Important limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| California RCFEs and home-care organizations | May 25, 2025 | CDSS open licensing catalog | This build retains the imported snapshot; the public catalog has newer 2026 files, but they have NOT been merged here. |
| Medicare nursing homes, home health, hospice | October 1, 2026 (site dataset) | CMS Provider Data Catalog | Program measures update at different intervals; ratings do not capture all care dimensions. |
| HUD senior apartment properties | June 2026 (site dataset) | HUD assisted housing data | HUD inventory is not all 55+ rental buildings or current vacant units. |
| 55+ homeownership communities | Research assembled November 15, 2026 | 55places California, US55Living California and Del Webb | Not a complete census; HOA age restrictions, sales inventory and prices are not independently verified. |
Why we keep these categories separate
California licenses residential care for the elderly as an RCFE. Medicare certifies nursing homes under different standards. HUD-assisted senior apartments are housing records, not proof of on-site care. Age-restricted neighborhoods typically have HOA or housing rules rather than a health care license.
Mixing these into one unqualified count or applying a Medicare star rating to unlicensed housing would mislead families. LaterStages instead maintains separate source labels, publication dates and comparison rules.
Corrections and refresh policy
Our directory can lag official changes. Verify a facility's current license and operator directly with the source, especially before touring or paying a deposit. To report a change, email hello@laterstages.com with the page, license number and supporting public record.
The CDSS catalog has 2026 updates. The uploaded compiled v1.5 archive did not include that newer raw import, so we have kept existing records and dates rather than quietly replacing them with guesses. A full CDSS and CMS ETL refresh is the next data engineering phase.