Worcester Senior AdvisorWhat is Group Adult Foster Care in Massachusetts?
Group Adult Foster Care (GAFC) is a MassHealth program that pays for personal care services and medication management for eligible low-income residents of participating assisted living residences and certain supportive housing; it does not pay for room and board.
In AGE's 2025 census only 2% of assisted living residents statewide were in GAFC, and most residences reported no GAFC residents at all. Where it is used, GAFC residents were usually less than a quarter of a residence's population.
What is SSI-G?
SSI-G is the Supplemental Security Income Category G assisted living benefit, administered by Social Security and supplemented by the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance, which can cover room and board in an assisted living residence; to qualify for GAFC in an ALR, a resident must have SSI-G.
Eligibility runs through Social Security, so the first call is to a Social Security field office. MassHealth Customer Service, 1-800-841-2900, handles GAFC questions.
Which Worcester County residences offer low-income options?
12 of the county's certified residences answer “yes” to low-income options on their state records: Benchmark at Tatnuck Park in Worcester, Benchmark Senior Living at Leominster Crossings in Leominster, Christopher Heights of Webster in Webster, Christopher Heights of Worcester in Worcester, Corcoran House in Clinton, Heywood Wakefield Commons in Gardner, Manor on the Hill in Leominster, Notre Dame du Lac Assisted Living in Worcester, Sunrise of Leominster in Leominster, The Residence at Whitcomb House in Milford, Whitney Place at Westborough in Westborough and Whitney Suites at Westborough in Westborough.
Not every residence accepts GAFC or SSI-G, and those that do may have few such units. Any subsidy program a residence accepts should appear in its Disclosure of Rights and Services, so ask before signing anything.
What if a parent's money runs out in assisted living?
Plan for it before moving in: ask whether the residence accepts GAFC and SSI-G and whether a resident who spends down can stay, because a residence that is entirely private-pay may require a move when savings are gone.
The alternatives are a residence with subsidized units, care at home through the state Home Care Program or the Frail Elder Waiver, PACE, or a nursing home if care needs justify it. The money running out guide walks through the order of steps.
At a glance
| GAFC with SSI-G can | GAFC with SSI-G cannot | |
|---|---|---|
| Care | Pay for personal care and medication management | Pay for nursing home care |
| Housing | Help with room and board through SSI-G | Guarantee a unit in any residence |
| Availability | Be used in participating residences | Be used where the residence does not accept it |
Sources include M.G.L. c. 19D and 651 CMR 12.00, the Executive Office of Aging & Independence's assisted living pages and 2025 Census Report, MassHealth's 2026 financial guidelines, DPH and CMS, and the CareScout and VA rate tables cited above; see our editorial standards.
