In Arkansas, the Department of Human Services licenses and inspects nursing homes, assisted living, residential care and adult day programs. Home health and hospice agencies are licensed by the Department of Health. Most of these provider types also need a Permit of Approval from the state Health Services Permit Agency before they can open or add capacity. Families do not know any of this. They just want to know what kind of place you are and whether you can take Mom.
That makes plain labeling the first job of an Arkansas care website. Say which license you hold, using the state's own words: nursing facility, Assisted Living Facility Level I or Level II, residential care facility, adult day care, Class A home health agency, or licensed hospice. Level I and Level II assisted living are different under Arkansas rules, and the difference matters to a family deciding between assisted living and a nursing home.
Payment is the second job. About 19.0% of Arkansans were 65 or older in 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, and many families will ask about Medicaid. Arkansas pays for long-term care through nursing facility Medicaid, the ARChoices in Homecare waiver, the Living Choices Assisted Living waiver for Level II assisted living, and PACE in three parts of the state. If you accept one of these, say so on the page where families look for cost.
Who licenses and inspects care in Arkansas
- Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance (DPSQA), Office of Long Term Care
Licenses, certifies and surveys nursing homes, Assisted Living Facilities Level I and Level II, residential care facilities, adult day care and adult day health care, post-acute head injury programs and ICF/IID. Investigates complaints, licenses nursing home administrators, runs the CNA program and makes medical eligibility decisions for Medicaid facility placement and waiver services. Official site - Arkansas Department of Health, Health Facility Services
Licenses home health agencies (Class A for Medicare-certified agencies, Class B for others), hospices, private care agencies and hospitals. Official site - Arkansas Health Services Permit Agency and Commission
Runs the Permit of Approval (POA) review for nursing facilities, assisted living, home health and hospice. Residential care facilities have been under a moratorium since 2005. Official site - Arkansas DHS, Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services (DAABHS)
Operates the ARChoices in Homecare and Living Choices Assisted Living waivers under the Division of Medical Services, and houses the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Official site
Programs that help families pay
- ARChoices in Homecare (Medicaid 1915(c) waiver)
Home and community-based services for adults 65 and older, and adults 21 to 64 with a physical disability, who meet financial rules and the intermediate nursing home level of care. People who need skilled level care do not qualify. Services include attendant care, home-delivered meals, personal emergency response systems, adult day and adult day health, facility-based and in-home respite, and home modifications. The Independent Choices option lets some people hire their own personal care workers. Learn more - Living Choices Assisted Living Waiver
Pays for personal, health and social services for eligible adults living in apartment-style units in Level II assisted living facilities. Same age groups as ARChoices. Medicaid does not pay room and board in assisted living. Learn more - Nursing facility Medicaid (LTSS Medicaid)
Covers 24-hour skilled nursing and rehabilitation care for aged, blind or disabled people who meet the medical and financial rules. DHS publishes one LTSS application packet in English, Spanish and Marshallese, and the Choices in Living Resource Center (1-866-801-3435) answers program questions. Learn more - PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly)
For people 55 and older who need nursing facility level care and can live safely in the community. DHS lists PACE of the Ozarks in Springdale, Total Life Healthcare in Jonesboro and Complete Health with PACE in North Little Rock. Learn more
Long-term care ombudsman
Arkansas Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman). Regional ombudsmen across the state advocate for residents and work on complaints; the program does not regulate or inspect facilities, so link it separately from the OLTC complaint hotline.
What a Arkansas care provider website should show
- Name your exact Arkansas license type. For assisted living, say Level I or Level II. For home health, say whether you hold a Class A (Medicare-certified) or Class B license.
- If you advertise or market dementia or Alzheimer's care in an assisted living or nursing home, Arkansas treats that as an Alzheimer's special care unit, which carries its own rules and a pre-admission disclosure statement. Check with your compliance officer before the words go on the site.
- Link to CMS Care Compare for your nursing home, where families see the five-star ratings for health inspections, staffing and quality measures.
- Tell families how to see your most recent state survey. Arkansas nursing homes must post their latest Form 2567, and DHS tells families they can request survey reports and complaint history from the Office of Long Term Care.
- Show the OLTC complaint hotline, (800) 582-4887, and a link to the Arkansas Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. DHS says facilities must post the hotline, so the website should match what is on your wall.
- Home health and hospice: list the counties you serve. Arkansas licenses each agency for a service area tied to its Permit of Approval, so a map or county list keeps the site honest and helps local search.
- If you accept ARChoices, Living Choices or Medicaid, say so plainly and link to the DHS program page and Access Arkansas (access.arkansas.gov, 855-372-1084) for eligibility questions.
Assisted living Level I, Level II and residential care
Arkansas licenses three kinds of residential settings below a nursing home: residential care facilities, Level I assisted living and Level II assisted living. A 2015 federal summary of the state rules, prepared for HHS, explains the practical differences. All assisted living units must be independent apartments with a distinct kitchen area. In Level I, staff help residents with their own medications but cannot administer them. Level II must employ or contract with a registered nurse, licensed nurses may administer medications to residents who cannot do it themselves, and Level II may serve residents who are eligible for nursing home care, with limits. Only Level II facilities can take part in the Living Choices waiver.
For a website, that means the Level II page should explain nurse coverage and medication help in plain words, and the Level I page should not promise care the license does not allow. The federal summary is from 2015, so confirm current requirements in the Office of Long Term Care rules with your compliance officer before you publish.
Home health and hospice licensing
The Arkansas Department of Health licenses home health agencies and hospices through Health Facility Services. Under the home health rules, an agency must get a Permit of Approval before it applies for a license, licenses run on the calendar year, and an agency's service area must match its permit and can reach up to 100 miles from the parent or branch office. Medicare-certified agencies hold a Class A license and others hold Class B.
The hospice rules say no agency or person may run a hospice or hold itself out to the public as a hospice without a Department of Health license, and licenses run for one year. Your website is part of how you hold yourself out, so a new or expanding hospice should not advertise in counties outside its approved service area. In 2025 the Department posted both rule sets for recodification into the Code of Arkansas Rules, so check the final version with counsel.
Where ARChoices stands
ARChoices is active and listed on the DHS website. Medicaid.gov lists the current approved waiver as 0195.R06.00, effective July 1, 2021, with an expiration date of June 30, 2026. A 2022 DHS notice said CMS approved that five-year renewal on March 10, 2022, and that the state would add waiver slots each year. The DHS proposed rules page listed no ARChoices renewal notice for the period after that date as of October 2026, so before your website describes ARChoices in detail, confirm the program's current terms with DAABHS at 501-686-9164.
Other recent DHS rule activity touches home care providers. DHS lists a final rule on Electronic Visit Verification for in-home personal care, attendant care, respite care and home health, effective September 1, 2026, and a notice on the 2025 Living Choices Assisted Living Waiver rate study.
Questions
Who licenses assisted living in Arkansas?
The Office of Long Term Care in the Arkansas Department of Human Services licenses Assisted Living Facilities Level I and Level II, along with nursing homes, residential care facilities and adult day programs.
Who licenses home health and hospice in Arkansas?
The Arkansas Department of Health, through Health Facility Services. Both also need a Permit of Approval from the Health Services Permit Agency before an initial license or a change in service area.
Does Arkansas Medicaid pay for assisted living?
The Living Choices Assisted Living waiver pays for services in Level II assisted living for people who qualify. Medicaid does not pay room and board in assisted living.
What should a nursing home website link to in Arkansas?
At a minimum, your CMS Care Compare page, the Arkansas Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, and the Office of Long Term Care complaint hotline, (800) 582-4887. Tell families how they can see your latest state survey.
Sources
- Arkansas DHS: Office of Long Term Care
- Arkansas DHS: How to Become a Provider (DPSQA licensing)
- Arkansas DHS: Choosing a LTC Facility
- Arkansas DHS: Enforcement and Violation Reports
- HHS ASPE: Compendium of Residential Care and Assisted Living Regulations and Policy, 2015 Edition, Arkansas
- Ark. Code R. 016.06.05-003: Level I and Level II ALFs in the Medicaid Personal Care Program
- Arkansas Department of Health: Health Facility Services rules
- Arkansas Department of Health: Rules for Home Health Agencies (20 CAR Part 46, proposed rulemaking markup, 2025)
- Arkansas Department of Health: Rules for Hospice (20 CAR Part 47, proposed rulemaking markup, 2025)
- Arkansas Health Services Permit Agency: SFY 2024 Annual Report
- Arkansas Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
- Arkansas DHS: ARChoices in Homecare
- Arkansas DHS: ARChoices Detailed Overview (fact sheet)
- Arkansas DMS: ARChoices in Homecare Renewal notice (July 15, 2022)
- Medicaid.gov: AR Choices in Homecare Waiver (0195.R06.00)
- Arkansas DHS: Living Choices Assisted Living Waiver Detailed Fact Sheet
- Arkansas DHS: Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Medicaid Assistance
- Arkansas DHS: Proposed Rules and Recent Final Rules
- CMS: Five-Star Quality Rating System
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Arkansas
General information, not legal advice. Rules change: confirm details with the agency or your counsel.
