Choosing memory care in Delaware is one of the hardest calls a family makes, and the state doesn't make it simpler: it never licensed "memory care" as its own thing. Instead, Delaware's assisted-living regulation addresses dementia care directly and requires any facility offering specialized memory care to disclose what that care involves beyond the regulation's baseline, so you're not left taking a brochure on faith.

In This Guide

How Delaware Regulates Memory Care

When someone you love has dementia, the stakes of choosing the wrong setting are real, and it's fair to feel out of your depth before you've learned how any of this works. Start here: understanding what the state does and doesn't guarantee is the first thing that puts you back in control. When you start calling facilities, "memory care" gets thrown around as if it were one licensed thing you could shop for and line up side by side. In Delaware it isn't. The state never created a separate memory-care license. Instead, its assisted-living regulation addresses dementia care directly, down to how a secured unit must let residents with memory impairment move safely within its perimeter, so a memory-care unit in assisted living lives inside that framework rather than under a license of its own. Some nursing homes also run special Alzheimer's care units, which the National Institute on Aging says are often in separate sections of the building, with staff specially trained to care for people with dementia. Knowing that before your first tour changes what you look for, because it tells you the label on the door isn't the protection. The protection lives elsewhere.

Here's the structure. Assisted living in Delaware is licensed by the Department of Health and Social Services through its Division of Health Care Quality under Title 16 of the Delaware Administrative Code, regulation 3225. The rule creates no acuity-based license categories, and it limits which residents a facility may admit or keep: among other limits, it may not serve residents who need nursing care that is more than intermittent or for more than a limited period, or who wander in a way it cannot adequately supervise or secure, with narrow exceptions such as hospice care. So a secured dementia unit in assisted living is something a facility offers under its assisted-living license, not a separately licensed category you can verify by name.

Because the license alone won't tell you what a given facility can do for dementia, Delaware makes the facility tell you itself. Under regulation 3225, any assisted living facility that offers specialized care for memory impairment must disclose the care it provides beyond what the regulation already requires, to the state and to any person seeking that care, and must report any significant change to the Department when it is made. Delaware has also enacted a dementia-care disclosure law in Title 6, Chapter 25K, for assisted living facilities that market dementia care. It applies only once the Secretary of Health and Social Services publishes notice in the Register of Regulations that its implementing regulations are final; from then, the disclosure goes to applicants before admission and to current residents, with an update within 7 days of a policy change that alters it. The effect is that "memory care" in Delaware isn't a marketing label you have to take on faith. A facility that offers specialized memory care has to disclose to you what it provides beyond the regulation's baseline. Your job is to ask for that disclosure and read it.

That said, the disclosure describes a facility's plan; it doesn't certify a level of medical care. If your loved one's dementia comes with heavy medical needs, that matters, because Delaware's rule bars an assisted living facility from serving a resident who needs nursing care that is more than intermittent or for more than a limited period, apart from narrow exceptions such as hospice. Nursing homes, as the federal Administration for Community Living describes them, include all the services of an assisted living facility plus full-time nursing care, 24 hours a day, so a secured assisted-living unit is not a substitute for a nursing home.

What the Disclosure Tells You

Once you know to ask for the disclosure, the next question is what it actually has to contain. The regulation names the areas it must cover, Chapter 25K adds more once in effect, and together they make a fair, concrete checklist for a visit.

Under regulation 3225, the disclosure must explain the additional care in areas running from the facility's philosophy and resident population through admission and discharge, care planning, its staffing plan and training policies, physical environment and security, activities, the family's role, and program costs. Chapter 25K, once in effect, adds its policy on psychotropic medication, how it responds to an unauthorized exit, and a complete fee schedule. Each of those is something a strong dementia setting should be able to talk about specifically for your family member, not in glossy generalities. The medication policy and the resident-population and discharge items deserve the closest read, because they tell you how the facility approaches psychotropic medication and whether it can handle the behaviors your loved one has now or is likely to develop.

Don't expect the disclosure to hand you a single number to quote back. It describes the staffing plan and training policies, and the regulation separately requires annual dementia-specific training for the healthcare providers who must take continuing education. So when you read the staffing and training section, don't expect a magic figure. Ask the facility to describe its plan in concrete terms, what the training covers, who receives it, how many staff are on the floor overnight, and weigh the specifics against what you see on your tour.

What the disclosure must describe What to ask, and what to check on a visit
Care philosophy and mission Ask how that philosophy shows up in daily routines, and watch whether staff actually work that way
Psychotropic-medication policy (Chapter 25K) Ask when medication is used for behavior versus other approaches, and how families are told before it starts
Resident population, admission and discharge Ask whether it can handle your loved one's current symptoms and likely progression, or whether a move comes later
Staffing plan and dementia training Ask what the training covers, who receives it, and how many staff are on the floor, including overnight
Program costs (full fee schedule under Chapter 25K) Ask what the base rate includes, what memory care adds, and what triggers an increase as needs grow

The cost item is worth pressing on: the current disclosure covers program costs, and Chapter 25K, once in effect, requires a complete fee schedule including dementia care and any added fees. Ask for one in writing either way. A complete fee schedule lets you see the base rate, what dementia care adds on top, and how charges climb as care needs grow, before you sign anything. If the facility can walk you through its disclosure point by point and answer for your loved one specifically, that's a far better sign than a polished brochure that talks around the details.

What It Costs and Who Pays

If cost is what you're bracing for, start with the honest answer: there's no clean single number for memory care in Delaware. The industry survey this guide relies on reports Delaware medians for assisted living, nursing homes and in-home care, not for memory care as a setting of its own.

What you do have is a solid anchor for the base. Per the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey, the most recent industry benchmark, the national assisted-living median is about $6,200 a month (roughly $74,400 a year), and Delaware's is higher, about $90,600 to $91,200 a year depending on which CareScout publication you read (about $7,600 a month in its cost tables). For memory care specifically, the resident pays for the room or apartment and may need to pay extra for any special care. So ask, as the National Institute on Aging suggests, whether a dementia unit's costs differ from those for the rest of the facility, and what is included in the fee versus what costs extra. Use the assisted-living figure as your reference point, and be wary of any source quoting one precise statewide memory-care number.

For context on the rest of the care continuum, Delaware is among the most expensive states in the country for nursing-home care: in the 2025 survey, the median cost of a private nursing-home room in Delaware was about $181,588 a year, well above the national private-room median of about $129,575 a year (a semi-private room ran about $114,975 nationally). In-home care is the exception: the 2025 survey merged homemaker and home health aide services into a single non-medical caregiver rate, and Delaware's median, about $35 an hour, matches the national one exactly. These are industry-survey medians, not government figures, and prices vary within the state and climb as care needs grow. Use them to set expectations, then get a specific written quote, with the full fee schedule, from any place you're serious about.

Paying for it is where families often get caught off guard. Delaware Medicaid can help: its Diamond State Health Plan-Plus (DSHP Plus), a mandatory managed-care program for residents who are elderly or physically disabled, lists assisted living care among the long-term-care benefits it covers. To check DSHP Plus eligibility and start an inquiry, contact the Delaware Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance (DMMA), ask what financial and care-need tests apply, and ask exactly which parts of an assisted-living bill it pays before you count on it. Before you commit to any building, you can also check a facility's licensing status through the Delaware Division of Health Care Quality (DHCQ). Delaware's assisted-living and nursing-home costs run above the national medians, so it's worth checking eligibility and planning early rather than assuming the whole cost is yours alone to carry.

When the math stops working, you have moves. If private pay is draining savings faster than you expected, start the DSHP Plus inquiry early rather than waiting until the money is gone. And if your loved one's care needs outgrow what an assisted living facility can safely provide, a memory-care unit isn't the end of the line: the next step may be a nursing home, because Delaware's rule bars an assisted living facility from keeping a resident who needs more than intermittent nursing care, apart from narrow exceptions such as hospice. Delaware Medicaid covers nursing facility care for eligible older adults, mainly through DSHP Plus, so ask DMMA early what that path would take if your loved one qualifies. Knowing that path exists ahead of a crisis is what keeps the transition from becoming an emergency.

How to Vet a Memory-Care Setting in Delaware

You don't have to become an expert in dementia regulation to make a sound decision. You have to get the disclosure, read it against what you see, and ask the questions the statute hands you.

1
Step 1

Ask for the dementia-care disclosure up front

Any Delaware assisted living facility offering specialized memory care must disclose to anyone seeking that care the policies and procedures describing what it provides beyond the regulatory baseline, so request it early rather than waiting for a sales packet. A place that markets memory care but won't share those policies is telling you something.

2
Step 2

Read the resident-population and discharge sections against your loved one

The disclosure covers the population the facility serves and its admission and discharge policies, so confirm it can handle your family member's current symptoms and likely progression rather than discharging them when things get harder.

3
Step 3

Press on the psychotropic-medication policy

Once Chapter 25K is in effect, the disclosure must state the facility's policy on these medications; until then, ask for it directly, and ask when they're used for behavior, what's tried first, and how families are informed. Watch how staff de-escalate distress on your visit.

4
Step 4

Pin down staffing and training in concrete terms

The disclosure covers the facility's staffing plan and training policies, so ask what the training covers, who gets it, and how many staff are on the floor, including overnight.

5
Step 5

Check the license, then get the full fee schedule in writing

Confirm the facility's licensing status through the Delaware Division of Health Care Quality, then ask for a complete fee schedule for dementia care, which Chapter 25K requires once in effect, to see the base rate, what memory care adds, and what triggers an increase. Bring the contract home and read the refund and discharge terms without a salesperson in the room. Once Chapter 25K is in effect, any clause agreed before a dispute arises that waives the chapter's rights or your right to resolve a dispute, including one requiring arbitration, is void.

Tour at least a couple of places. The goal isn't a flawless one. It's a facility whose disclosure you've read closely, whose staffing and training you've pinned down in plain terms, and whose plan for medication and behavior you've checked against what's actually happening inside the building.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a memory care license in Delaware?

No. Delaware doesn't issue a separate memory care license. Instead, its assisted-living regulation (16 Del. Admin. Code 3225) addresses dementia care directly, including secured units. Assisted living itself is licensed by the Delaware Division of Health Care Quality under regulation 3225, which creates no acuity-based license categories.

What is Delaware's dementia-care disclosure law?

It's a statute in Title 6 of the Delaware Code, Chapter 25K covering assisted living facilities that advertise or market dementia care services, and it applies only once the Secretary of Health and Social Services publishes notice that its implementing regulations are final. From then, the disclosure must cover the facility's philosophy and psychotropic-medication policy, its staffing plan and dementia training, how it secures residents and responds to an unauthorized exit, and a complete fee schedule; it goes to applicants before admission and to current residents, updated within 7 days of a policy change that alters it. Separately, regulation 3225 already requires any facility offering specialized memory care to disclose the care it provides beyond the regulatory baseline.

How do I confirm a facility really offers memory care in Delaware?

Ask for the memory-care disclosure that regulation 3225 requires (and, once in effect, the Chapter 25K disclosure), and read it closely rather than relying on how the place markets itself. Then confirm the facility is licensed by the Delaware Division of Health Care Quality, and check the disclosure's claims about staffing, medication, and the residents it serves against what you see on a visit.

How much does memory care cost in Delaware?

There's no reliable single statewide figure for memory care alone. Use the assisted-living base as your anchor, about $74,400 a year nationally per the CareScout 2025 survey and about $90,600 to $91,200 in Delaware. Neither is a memory-care price: with memory care, the resident pays for the room or apartment and may need to pay extra for any special care. The memory-care disclosure covers program costs, and Chapter 25K, once in effect, requires a complete fee schedule, so ask for one in writing to see the base rate and what memory care adds before you sign.

Does Delaware Medicaid pay for memory care?

It can help. Delaware Medicaid's Diamond State Health Plan-Plus, a mandatory managed-care program for residents who are elderly or physically disabled, lists assisted living care among the long-term-care benefits it covers, so ask which parts of the bill it pays. Because Delaware's rule bars an assisted living facility from keeping a resident who needs more than intermittent nursing care, apart from narrow exceptions such as hospice, a resident with heavier medical needs may eventually move to a nursing home, so ask about Medicaid's help there too. It's worth checking eligibility early rather than assuming the entire bill is private-pay.

How do I start a DSHP Plus Medicaid inquiry and check a facility's record?

To start a Diamond State Health Plan-Plus (DSHP Plus) inquiry, contact the Delaware Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance (DMMA). DSHP Plus is a mandatory managed-care program that lists assisted living care among its covered long-term-care benefits. Ask what financial and care-need tests apply, and start early. To check a facility's licensing status before you commit, use the Delaware Division of Health Care Quality (DHCQ), which licenses assisted living in the state.

Learn More

Care TypesMemory Care by StateMemory care is specialized assisted living for dementia. What it costs, who pays (Medicare doesn't), and how the rules change by state, with a guide to yours. Care TypesAssisted Living in DelawareAssisted living in Delaware sits above the national median of about $6,200 a month. How the state licenses care, what it costs, and what Medicaid covers. Care TypesNursing Homes in DelawareNursing homes in Delaware in 2026: a private room runs about $181,588/year, well above the national median. What it costs, who pays, and how to vet a facility. Care TypesHome Care vs. Home Health in DelawareHome care vs. home health in Delaware: home health is skilled care Medicare covers; home care is non-medical help it won't. That line decides who pays. Care TypesCost of Senior Care in DelawareCost of senior care in Delaware (2026): assisted living about $90,600 to $91,200 a year, a private nursing-home room about $181,588 a year, plus how to pay. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Nursing Home in DelawareAssisted living vs. a nursing home in Delaware: the care-level line, the cost gap, and who pays. Medicaid covers nursing homes, only some assisted-living costs. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Memory Care in DelawareAssisted living vs. memory care in Delaware comes down to one question about your parent's safety with dementia. Memory care is secured and costs more.
CaregiverCaregiver Burnout: Signs and SupportHow to recognize caregiver burnout, why it happens, and what actually helps, from respite care to evidence-based programs like REACH II and Powerful Tools. MedicaidMedicaid Planning StrategiesSee which assets you keep, how the 5-year look-back works, and the legal moves that qualify you for Medicaid long-term care without losing the house.

Find personalized help requesting a Delaware facility's dementia-care disclosure and checking its staffing at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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