What Is Adult Day Care?

Adult day care provides support, supervision and enrichment outside the home, typically during business hours on weekdays. Seniors live at home, usually with family caregivers, but attend day programs at community centers. These services enable family members to work, study, care for children or take a break while maintaining peace of mind about their relative’s safety and quality of life.

Group day care programs differ from in-home care because they take place in a community setting. Plus, they don’t offer one-on-one services or include domestic chores that home caregivers provide. This guide gives an overview of adult day care, including common services, benefits and costs.

Candidates for Adult Day Care

Adult day care serves seniors with varying needs and preferences and keeps your loved one busy and engaged. Candidates who benefit greatly include elderly individuals who:

• Experience daytime isolation or loneliness
• Need social or emotional support
• Can’t structure hobbies or daily activities
• Struggle to initiate pastimes such as reading or watching television
• Have dementia or other medical conditions

Services and Amenities Provided by Adult Day Care

Although the contents of each adult day program vary, most provide a range of engaging activities, such as:

• Ability-appropriate fitness classes
• Chair exercises
• Dance classes
• Group conversations
• Educational workshops
• Arts and crafts
• Trivia and card games
• Fashion shows
• Birthday celebrations
• Excursions

Some adult day centers also offer limited health services, such as:

• Music or art therapy
• Support groups
• Counseling
• Physical, occupational and speech therapies
• Vision and hearing care
• Cognitive stimulation
• Routine health checks

Many providers offer accessible transportation between home and the center.

General Benefits of Adult Day Care Programs

Adult day care programs offer diverse benefits for seniors and their loved ones.

• Caregiver respite: Adult day services relieve some of the stress, anxiety or exhaustion associated with caregiving. Additionally, they provide predictable hours for working, attending to personal needs or running errands.   
• Boredom remedy: Seniors gain stimulation and enrichment from diverse activities.
• Loneliness reduction: Individuals interact with peers and may build meaningful connections. Seniors who seldom see anyone outside of their family often feel lonely, which can negatively affect their mental and physical well-being.
• Sense of purpose: Day care offers routine and structure, which often benefits retirees.
• Additional access to health services: Centers may provide basic health care and preventative screenings that older adults might find difficult to access otherwise.  

Benefits of Adult Day Care for Seniors with Dementia

An adult day care program, especially one tailored to people with dementia, has many benefits for someone experiencing cognitive decline. Centers typically customize services for people with dementia who:

• Live in their own homes or with a caregiver
• Don’t require constant one-on-one assistance
• Have some mobility (most programs allow a self-propelled wheelchair)
• Are continent
• Don’t engage in physical or verbal abuse
• Don’t wander excessively

Consider registering your loved one for a few starter sessions rather than diving into full-time day care. If they find the transition difficult, discuss concerns with your relative and center staff. However, if problems persist, in-home care or companion services might better fulfill your needs.

For more insights, see our full article called How Can Adult Day Care Benefit Those with Dementia?

Comparing Adult Day Care Costs and Other Types of Senior Care

Adult day care prices are significantly lower than other senior care options. According to Genworth’s 2023 Cost of Care Survey, nationwide monthly median costs for care options vary:

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