Adult day care centers (ADC) provide non-residential coordinated services in a community setting for less than a day. Depending on its licensing, an adult day care facility can offer social activities, medical/healthcare, or specialized services specifically intended for people living with dementia.
Pre-Test: Try these True/False questions before continuing.
Answers are listed below the box.
- Adult day care services are for people who do not have dementia.
- Forgetfulness might be the most obvious symptom in the early, mild stage of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Agitation can include irritability, confusion, making loud demands, and using obscene language.
- Delusions and hallucinations in people living with dementia can be caused by urinary tract infections and dehydration.
- Wandering can be addressed by using a physical restraint to keep the person from wandering.
- A sign of moderate dementia can include needing more assistance with ADLs.
- In the early stages of dementia, it is recommended that family members receive specialized training about dementia.
- When a loved one dies, family members can experience grief that resembles clinical depression.
- To integrate staff into a homelike environment, hire staff with the emotional skills to interact with people who have memory problems.
- An ethical dilemma can occur when there are good reasons both for and against a particular course of action and a decision must be made.
Questions 1 and 5 are false; the remainder are true.
There are approximately 4,130 active adult day care centers in the United States with more than 250,000 participants. Users of adult day care services are medically complex, with a significant proportion living with dementia, diabetes, depression, or heart disease. They are also more racially and ethnically diverse when compared to users of other long-term care services (Sadarangani et al., 2024).
In Florida there are approximately 349 non-specialized adult day care centers providing therapeutic programs, social services, health services, and activities. Nearly half of the clients enrolled in non-specialized adult day care have Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder (FADSA, 2025).
There are also a smaller number of specialized adult day care facilities in Florida. These facilities have higher staffing levels and specialize in caring for adults living with dementia. Specialized centers enroll a higher percentage of clients with dementia than do non-specialized adult day centers and require specialized dementia training for their staff and a specialty license.
Most adult day centers in Florida also offer caregiver support programs, including educational programs (70%), caregiver support groups (58%), and individual counseling (40%). In addition, approximately 90% of centers offer cognitive stimulation programs and almost 80% provide memory training programs (FADSA, 2025).