Little Rock Senior AdvisorWhat is a residential care facility in Arkansas?
A residential care facility (RCF) is a separate, older Arkansas license for congregate personal care, meals and supervision for adults who do not need nursing home care, usually in shared rooms and common areas rather than private apartments.
RCFs came before Arkansas created assisted living. They are licensed by the same Office of Long Term Care and visited by the same long-term care ombudsmen, but the building standards and services differ from assisted living.
Can new residential care facilities open in Arkansas?
No new RCF beds: the state's Bed Need Book notes a moratorium on new residential care beds effective July 1, 2005, and many RCFs converted to assisted living in the years after 2007.
You can still see that history in the bed records. Several of today's Little Rock assisted living buildings, among them Parkway Heights, Willow Grove of Maumelle and Vitality Living Pleasant Hills, are recorded as RCF conversions.
How many residential care facilities are left around Little Rock?
The July 2026 Bed Need Book shows 7 residential care facilities with licensed beds in the six counties, 369 beds in all: Good Shepherd ERC Foundation (Little Rock, 70 beds), Jacksonville Care Center (Jacksonville, 39 beds), Magnolias (Little Rock, 120 beds), The Greenbriar on Stagecoach (Little Rock, 64 beds), Gunter Family Corporation (Vilonia, 10 beds), Village Park of Conway (Conway, 50 beds), Graham's Foster Home for the Elderly (Cabot, 16 beds).
Recent closures noted by the state include Retirement Centers of Arkansas in Sherwood in April 2025 and the RCF beds at Presbyterian Village in Little Rock in August 2024, so call before visiting any building on an older list.
Who is a residential care facility a good fit for?
Usually an adult who needs supervision, meals and help with some daily routines, wants company, and does not need nursing home care or a private apartment, often at a lower monthly cost than a new assisted living building.
Because RCFs are not Level II settings, Living Choices waiver services do not apply there. Ask what is included in the monthly rate, how rooms are shared, and what happens if care needs increase.
Side by side
| A residential care facility is | A residential care facility is not | |
|---|---|---|
| License | An OLTC license separate from assisted living | Level I or Level II assisted living |
| Setting | Shared congregate living | Private apartments by rule |
| Growth | Frozen by the 2005 bed moratorium | Adding new beds |
| Medicaid | Outside the Living Choices waiver | A Living Choices setting |
Sources: Arkansas Office of Long Term Care assisted living rules, the Health Services Permit Agency's Bed Need Book, Arkansas DHS waiver and PACE fact sheets, CMS, CareScout and VA rate tables, each cited in the text. Our editorial standards explain how we check them.
