What's the difference between an Adult Home and an Assisted Living Residence (ALR) in New York?
This two-layer structure is specific to New York and doesn't map cleanly onto how most other states license assisted living, which is why it's worth understanding directly rather than assuming a Buffalo-area community's "Adult Home" license is the same thing as an "assisted living" license. A facility that holds only the base Adult Home/Enriched Housing Program certificate, without the additional ALR license, is providing a different, generally less service-intensive level of care than one that has gone through the additional ALR licensure process — and only ALR-licensed facilities can further add Enhanced or Special Needs certifications. When comparing two Buffalo-area communities, it's worth asking each one plainly which of these specific licenses and certifications it currently holds.
