For discharge planners and advisors
Who has availability in my city? How a discharge planner gets a same-day shortlist of licensed homes
. By Erika Crossley, AI Perfect Fit Senior Living Placement, Houston.
The fastest honest answer is a shortlist built from the state's own list. HHSC publishes a spreadsheet of every licensed assisted living home in Texas with license number, Type A or B, licensed capacity, Alzheimer's certification and phone, refreshed often; the copy pulled October 7, 2026 was stamped that day. Filter it by county and type, call for open beds, and confirm the four things every planner needs: name, rate, availability and level of care. Or send the case to Erika and get the shortlist back the same day.
Step by step
Start from the HHSC directory, not from memory
HHSC's licensed directory (al.xlsx at apps.hhs.texas.gov) carries 2,009 licensed homes statewide as of October 7, 2026, with columns for Facility Name, County, License No, License Effective and Expiration Date, Total Licensed Capacity, Alzheimer Capacity and Certificate, Facility Phone Number, Administrator and Provider Email. Filter by county, then by Service Type, and you have every licensed option in minutes. HHSC's older search tool at apps.hhs.texas.gov/LTCSearch returned File Not Found the same day, so the spreadsheet is the working source.
Match the license type to the person, before the first call
Under 26 TAC 553.5 a Type A home can only keep someone who can leave the building without help from staff and can follow directions in an emergency, and who does not need attendance at night. Anyone who needs help to evacuate, needs someone up at night, or cannot follow emergency directions needs a Type B home, and no Type A or Type B home may keep a person who is permanently bedfast. Sorting by type first saves the calls that end in no.
Ask every home the same four things
Name of the home and license number; monthly rate and what it includes; beds open today; and level of care the home can take (two-person assist, oxygen, memory loss, behaviors, hospice). Advisors in Houston groups ask exactly these four by direct message, and the homes that answer within the hour are the ones that fill. Write the answers down with the time; the family will ask you to repeat them.
Give the family more than one real choice, with the paperwork
A list with a single name is not a shortlist. If a placement advisor is involved, Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 121 requires that advisor to give the family a written disclosure at the time of referral and to send the home a written referral notice with the time and date on or before admission, and it bars knowingly referring to an unlicensed home. Ask the advisor for the disclosure and keep a copy in the chart.
Or hand the case to Erika
Erika's intake at /intake takes the case once (needs, budget, area, discharge date) and returns a shortlist of licensed homes with open beds, each checked against the HHSC file, with the Chapter 121 disclosure already sent to the family. The referrer page at /referrals explains how the hand-off works for hospital and rehab teams. The family never pays; the home pays one month's rent only after a confirmed move-in.
Sourced facts
Every law, fee and coverage statement above rests on one of these government pages, read on October 7, 2026. Anything marked ESTIMATE on this page is not from a government source and is labeled where it appears.
- HHSC's licensed directory spreadsheet: columns, 2,009 rows statewide, stamped October 7, 2026; the LTCSearch tool was not found the same day. Source: Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Licensed Assisted Living Facility Directory (spreadsheet).
- The HHSC program page links the directory and gives the licensing contact. Source: Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Assisted Living Facilities (ALF): program page, Type A and Type B, TULIP, directory link.
- Type A and Type B defined by residents' evacuation capability and night attendance; no permanently bedfast residents. Source: Texas Secretary of State, Texas Register (26 TAC §553.5, in-force text), 26 TAC §553.5 Types of Assisted Living Facilities: Type A and Type B.
- Chapter 121: written disclosure to the family at referral, written notice to the community with time and date, no knowing referral to an unlicensed community. Source: Texas Legislature, 89th Regular Session, enrolled bill text, Senate Bill 1383 (2025), adding Business and Commerce Code Chapter 121, Referral Agencies for Senior Living Communities.
- A home that is not licensed may not use the words assisted living. Source: Texas Legislature, Health and Safety Code, Health and Safety Code §247.021 License Required.
5 government sources cited on this page.
Questions people ask next
How do I check a single home's license fast?
Open the HHSC spreadsheet, search the name or the city, and read License No, License Expiration Date, Service Type and Total Licensed Capacity. If the home is not on the list and calls itself assisted living, Health and Safety Code 247.021(b) says it may not use that term without a license.
Does the directory show open beds?
No. It shows licensed capacity, not how many beds are filled today. Availability still takes a call, which is the step Erika's intake does for you.
What about boarding homes and personal care homes?
A boarding home under Health and Safety Code Chapter 260 gives lodging and meals without personal care and is permitted by the city or county, so it is not on the HHSC list. If the person needs help bathing, dressing or with medications, a licensed assisted living home is the right category.
What does Erika need from me to turn a shortlist around the same day?
Level of care (Type A or B needs, memory loss, behaviors, equipment), payer and monthly budget, the area or zip code, the discharge date, and a family contact. Send it through the intake or call 346-546-5654.
From Erika
If you are a discharge planner or social worker, send me the case and I will send back a license-checked shortlist the same day, with the disclosure already in the family's hands. If you run a home with an open bed, list it so you are on that shortlist. I am not a lawyer and I do not run a home, so none of this is legal advice; it is what the state's own pages say, linked so you can read them yourself.