All states: adult day services map
In short: One adult day care license from KDADS covers every center; no staff ratio is set, and Medicaid pays through the Frail Elderly waiver.
| License or certification | Yes. An adult day care license, a type of adult care home license, for any center serving people who need help or supervision with daily activities, any payer. |
|---|---|
| Who licenses or certifies | Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), with State Fire Marshal approval |
| Adult day care vs adult day health | One license type. Kansas has no separate adult day health care license. |
| Strictest staffing ratio | No ratio specified. Enough qualified staff, with direct care or licensed nursing staff present at all times (KDADS licensing) |
| Dementia ratio | No ratio specified |
| Medicaid programs | HCBS Frail Elderly (FE) waiver, delivered through KanCare managed care |
| Medicaid billing unit | Per day: S5101 (1 to 5 hours) or S5102 (more than 5 hours). Latest published rates found: $28.86 and $57.71 from July 1, 2023. |
| Licensed centers | Not confirmed |
Last verified against state sources: 2026-10-21.
Kansas has one license for adult day care, and it treats an adult day care center as a type of adult care home. The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) issues the license. There is no separate adult day health care license. A licensed center may offer health care, including skilled nursing, under a licensed nurse's plan within the same license.
Important: When we checked in October 2026, the KDADS and KanCare websites blocked our access and the Kansas Medicaid (KMAP) provider manuals and fee schedules required a login. The licensing rules on this page come from the state statutes and a reproduction of the Kansas regulations. Medicaid details come from KMAP bulletins as reposted by a KanCare health plan. Confirm Medicaid rules and current rates with KMAP or your KanCare plan before you rely on them.
Three layers of rules can apply to a Kansas center, and each comes from a different agency:
The statute defines adult day care as any place that operates less than 24 hours a day and cares for people, not related to the owner, who need supervision of or help with activities of daily living because of a functional impairment (K.S.A. 39-923). A center may also run an optional special care section for participants with special needs such as dementia. It must have direct care staff present at all times and use the least restrictive exit controls possible (K.A.R. 26-43-203).
PACE centers approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that serve only PACE participants are excluded from the definition of adult care home, so they do not need this license. In 2026, House Bill 2520 amended K.S.A. 39-923 but left the adult day care definition and the PACE exclusion unchanged.
Where the layers overlap, the KDADS licensing rules are the only layer we found that sets operating standards for centers. Medicaid adds its own provider registration and setting certification to bill, covered in the Medicaid section below.
Yes, if your center will care for unrelated people who need supervision or help with daily activities. KDADS licenses these centers whether participants pay privately, through Medicaid or some other way. The license is issued with the State Fire Marshal's approval, is valid only for the premises and people named, and cannot be transferred.
How to apply. Under K.A.R. 26-39-101:
Fees. The fee for the initial application, and for each annual report after that, is $30 per participant of stated capacity plus $100. Fees are not refunded if the license is denied. For example, a center licensed for 20 participants would pay $700.
Certificate of need. We did not find a certificate of need requirement or a moratorium for adult day care in the licensing statutes or rules. We could not reach the KDADS website to confirm, so ask KDADS before you sign a lease.
One license per site. The license names the premises and the licensee, states the number of participants it covers and must be posted (K.S.A. 39-928). To change capacity, send a written request. An approved change takes effect the first day of the next month. A new administrator or operator must be reported within two working days.
Buying a center. The current licensee must notify KDADS in writing at least 60 days before the proposed change of ownership or licensee, and the new party applies for its own license. Build that 60 days into any purchase timeline.
Renewal and inspections. The license stays in effect only while the licensee files an annual report and pays the annual fee. KDADS must make at least one unannounced inspection of each adult care home within 15 months of the last one, with a statewide average of no more than 12 months between inspections (K.S.A. 39-935). The State Fire Marshal and local health departments also inspect.
What we did not find. We could not read a published KDADS application packet or find a licensing phone number or mailbox. Contact KDADS for the current forms.
Kansas sets no numeric staff-to-participant ratio for adult day care. The licensing rules instead require enough qualified staff to give each participant the care in their service plan, with direct care staff or licensed nursing staff present and responsive at all times. We did not find a separate ratio for participants with dementia.
The staffing rule is K.A.R. 26-43-102.
Nurses. A registered nurse must be available (not necessarily on site) to supervise licensed practical nurses, and a licensed nurse must be available to give immediate direction to medication aides and nurse aides when participants have unscheduled needs (K.A.R. 26-43-204). The rules do not require a nurse on site at all times. A licensed nurse provides or coordinates any health care services.
Emergencies. Enough staff must be available to move participants who need help to a secure location in an emergency.
Staff that scale with size. Centers with 11 or more participants need scheduled on-site supervision by a dietetic services supervisor or licensed dietitian. We did not find other staffing that scales with census.
Who counts. The rules do not say who counts toward staffing, since they set no ratio.
Administrator or operator. The person in charge must be at least 21, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and either hold a Kansas adult care home administrator license or complete an approved operator course and pass its test (K.A.R. 26-43-101). The operator course is at least 45 hours with a passing test score of 80 percent. With prior approval, one administrator may oversee homes with a combined capacity of up to 120, and one operator up to 60, including adult day care centers.
Training. New employees need orientation, and all employees need regular in-service training on adult day care principles, fire safety, disaster procedures, accident prevention, participant rights, infection control, and abuse, neglect and exploitation. Centers that admit people with dementia must add training on dementia behaviors. Infection control training is required at least once a year. The rules set no minimum number of training hours.
Background checks. Centers must keep criminal background check records for facility and contract staff (except staff licensed or registered by a state agency) and checks of the Kansas and other states' nurse aide registries showing no finding of abuse, neglect or exploitation. Centers also keep proof of licensure or training for specialized staff.
Health screening. Staff with a communicable disease may not have direct contact with participants, and centers follow the state's TB Guidelines for Adult Care Homes (July 2008), which the rules adopt by reference. We did not find a staff vaccination requirement.
A Kansas center provides or arranges the services written into each participant's negotiated service agreement. These may include meals, nurse-assessed health care, transportation and planned activities. Any of those services the center does not offer must be disclosed in writing at or before admission. Centers also need at least 60 square feet of activity space per participant.
Services. Under K.A.R. 26-43-203, the services a center may provide or coordinate include daily meals, health care based on a licensed nurse's assessment, medical, dental and social transportation, and planned group and individual activities.
Meals. Menus are planned in advance under federal dietary guidelines and shared with participants at least weekly. Therapeutic or texture-modified diets need a medical provider's order. We did not find a rule tying meals to hours of attendance.
Medications. Licensed nurses and medication aides may give medications the center manages, though aides may not give injections or IV medications. A participant who manages their own medications needs a nurse assessment at the start, after a significant change and every year. A pharmacist or licensed nurse must offer a medication regimen review at least every quarter.
Space and capacity. Under K.A.R. 28-39-289:
A special care section must have its own living, dining and activity areas unless participants can use those areas elsewhere in the center.
Hours. By definition a center operates less than 24 hours a day. We did not find a minimum number of days or hours a center must be open.
Written policies. The rules require:
Safety and postings. The emergency plan is reviewed with staff and participants every quarter, and an emergency drill with evacuation is held at least once a year. Centers post the license, emergency numbers near a free phone, KDADS and long-term care ombudsman contact information, and notice that service policies are available, and keep the latest inspection survey and plan of correction in a public area.
Resident council. Each center must help organize at least one participant council that meets at least quarterly, and answer each written council concern in writing within 30 days.
Kansas requires a functional capacity screening before or at admission, a negotiated service agreement written at admission, and written disclosure of rates and fees in a signed admission agreement. Screenings and agreements are reviewed at least every 365 days and after any significant change. Abuse, neglect or exploitation allegations must be reported to KDADS within 24 hours.
Who can enroll. People who need physical restraints may not be admitted or kept. People with unmanaged incontinence, total immobility, a need for two-person help or unmanageable behavior may be served only if their service agreement covers those needs (K.A.R. 26-43-200).
Screening and service agreement.
Admission agreement. Before admission, the participant must be told orally and in writing about their rights, the center's conduct rules, the current rate and any extra fees. Charges must be in a signed admission agreement, and rate changes need 30 days' written notice (K.A.R. 26-39-103).
Discharge. The general adult care home rule allows an involuntary transfer or discharge for the participant's welfare, the safety or health of others, nonpayment after notice, or closure, with at least 30 days' notice except in emergencies (K.A.R. 26-39-102). That rule covers adult care homes in general and does not single out adult day care, so ask KDADS how it applies to your center.
Records. Each participant record holds admission and discharge dates, the admission agreement, screenings, service plans, contacts, medication and treatment records, and documentation of incidents, illnesses and injuries. Records are kept at least five years after discharge, longer for minors (K.A.R. 26-43-105). The licensing rules do not require daily attendance or sign-in records.
Incidents. Allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation must be reported to KDADS within 24 hours and investigated within five working days, with a written record kept. The administrator also files annual and semiannual statistical reports electronically within 20 days after each reporting period.
What we did not find. We did not find a required physician order or physical exam before enrollment. Families should ask the center for its written admission and discharge policies and its list of services not offered.
Kansas Medicaid pays for adult day care through the HCBS Frail Elderly (FE) waiver, for people 65 and older who meet nursing facility level of care. Services are delivered through KanCare managed care health plans. Centers bill by the day: S5101 for 1 to 5 hours or S5102 for more than 5 hours.
The FE waiver. The FE waiver (1915(c) waiver 0303) is run by KDADS, with KDHE as the state Medicaid agency, alongside KanCare managed care. Medicaid.gov lists the waiver term as January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2029. The federal waiver list shows no other Kansas waiver that covers adult day care.
This makes Medicaid the stricter layer for billing: a license alone is not enough to be paid. You also need the portal registration and the yearly setting certification.
Transportation. We did not find whether transportation to adult day care is billed separately under the FE waiver. Ask KMAP or your KanCare plan.
PACE. Kansas law exempts PACE centers that serve only PACE participants from adult care home licensing. We did not confirm which PACE organizations operate in Kansas or where.
Attendance documentation. The licensing rules do not require attendance records, and we could not read the FE provider manual's documentation rules. Sunflower Health Plan's February 2026 provider manual lists the FE services that must use the state's electronic check-in system, and adult day care is not on that list. Ask KMAP and each plan you bill what attendance records they expect to support a daily claim.
Yes, a center can be fully private pay, but it still needs a KDADS adult day care license. In Kansas the license depends on who the center serves, not who pays. Any place that cares for unrelated people who need supervision or help with daily activities for less than 24 hours a day is an adult care home that must be licensed.
Protections for private-pay participants. Private-pay participants have the same protections as everyone else: written disclosure of rates and extra fees before admission, charges limited to those in the signed agreement, 30 days' written notice of rate changes, and a grievance process (K.A.R. 26-39-103).
Programs without a license. We did not find rules that spell out what an unlicensed program may do. The statute's definition is the only guide: a program for adults who do not need supervision of or help with daily activities may fall outside it. Ask KDADS before you open any group program for older adults without a license.
Other funding.
The market. We did not find a current count of licensed adult day care centers in Kansas or an active Kansas adult day services association. KDADS keeps a directory of adult care homes, which we could not open.
As of our last check on October 21, 2026, we did not find an upcoming change to Kansas adult day licensing rules or adult day payment. The main recent change is to who can get into the Frail Elderly waiver, not to how centers operate.
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Questions about Kansas adult day rules are best put to the state. Start with Kansas Adult Care Home Licensure Act (K.S.A. 39-923).
California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wyoming. See every state on the adult day services map.
This page is a reference, not legal advice. State rules change, so confirm details with the state before you act on them.
Ankota provides software for adult day centers, covering attendance, care plans, transportation and billing. If you would like to talk about running your center, contact Ankota or read more about Ankota's adult day care software.
