Assisted Living Report Card

Minnesota developed an Assisted Living Report Card to measure and report on the quality of individual assisted living settings for housing and services paid for privately and through public programs. The report card is a joint effort between the Department of Human Services (DHS) Aging and Adult Services Division (AASD) and the Minnesota Board on Aging (MBA). DHS shares results on the Assisted Living Report Card website and provides updates as new data on quality become available.

Announcements

March 20, 2025: DHS published the 2025 quality of life survey ratings thresholds.

• DHS will use thresholds based on 2024 quality of life survey results to assign the next round of resident quality of life and family satisfaction ratings. To view these thresholds, go to Quality of Life Survey Ratings Thresholds: 2025 (PDF) .
• Vital Research, under contract with DHS, plans to begin the 2025 round of quality of life surveys in April 2025. DHS plans to publish the next round of resident quality of life and family satisfaction report card ratings in early 2026.

June 3, 2024: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) surveys completed on or after July 1, 2024 will be used for new Assisted Living (AL) Report Card ratings.

• DHS will add new quality ratings based on MDH surveys to its AL Report Card in early 2025. 
• The Resident Health, Safety, and Staffing ratings will be updated quarterly based on surveys MDH completes on or after July 1, 2024. For a schedule of when DHS plans to post these ratings to the report card, see the MDH Survey Ratings Schedule (PDF).
• For more information on these measures, including how MDH surveys will be used to calculate report card ratings, see the Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) and Thresholds and Peering for the Resident Health, Safety, and Staffing Ratings (PDF).  
• For a list of MDH survey tags included in the new Resident Health, Safety, and Staffing measures, see the documents shared below:
• Resident Health Tags (PDF)
• Safety Tags (PDF)
• Staffing Tags (PDF)
• Minnesota assisted living laws require MDH to survey licensed assisted living providers at least once every two years. The purpose of these surveys is to evaluate and monitor the care and services provided to assisted living residents and determine if the provider is complying with licensing requirements. For more information about how these surveys are conducted, see MDH’s Assisted Living Licensure webpage.

Project Milestones

• In May 2019, the Minnesota legislature provided funding to support the development of an Assisted Living Report Card, including resident and family surveys and a report card website (See M.S. 256B.439, Subd. 1, 2a, 3a, 3c, 3d, 3e, 6).
• In July 2019, The University of Minnesota (UMN), under contract with DHS, completed a national review of quality measurement in assisted living. Literature Review and Environmental Scan: Identifying Quality Measures in Assisted Living (PDF).
• In January 2020, AASD and MBA released a report summarizing feedback from a wide array of stakeholders on the findings from the UMN’s July 2019 report. Stakeholder Feedback on Identifying Quality Measures for a Minnesota Assisted Living Report Card (PDF).
• In 2020 and 2021, Vital Research, under contract with DHS, completed pilot testing of resident and family satisfaction surveys in both general assisted living and memory care settings. Resident and Family Surveys for Assisted Living Project: Final Report 2021 (PDF).
• In 2021 and 2022, DHS implemented the resident and family surveys statewide to collect data on facilities with the capacity to serve 8 or more residents, and Vital Research completed pilot testing of data collection methods for facilities with the capacity to serve 7 or fewer residents. Resident and Family Surveys for Assisted Living Project: Final Report 2022 (PDF)
  
• In 2022 and 2023, Vital Research conducted a second round of statewide resident and family surveys to collect data on facilities with the capacity to serve 20 or more residents. This data will inform the first round of Resident Quality of Life and Family Satisfaction ratings which will be published on the Assisted Living Report Card at launch. Resident and Family Surveys for Assisted Living Project: Final Report 2023 (PDF)
• In 2023, the University of Minnesota completed their analysis of the first two rounds of statewide resident and family survey data to provide recommendations for how to build the resident quality of life and family satisfaction measures for the AL Report Card. Building Resident Quality of Life and Family Satisfaction Measures for the MN AL Report Card (PDF)
• In January 2024, DHS publicly launched the Assisted Living Report Card with the first round of resident quality of life and family satisfaction ratings for over 450 assisted living facilities.
• In February 2025, DHS added the Resident Health, Safety, and Staffing ratings based on state licensing inspections to the report card.
• In 2025, the University of Minnesota completed their updated factor analysis of the first three rounds of statewide resident and family survey data. The 2024 Factor Analysis Report (PDF) provides updates to the 2023 report. 

Advisory Group

An Advisory Group was formed to provide input on different aspects of the report card development and implementation process.

Upcoming Project Work 

Between February 2024 and February 2025, project work will include:

• Conducting a third round of statewide resident and family survey data collection in assisted living facilities with the capacity to serve five or more residents.
• Publishing resident quality of life and family satisfaction ratings on more assisted living facilities based on the third round of statewide resident and family surveys.
• Finalizing additional measures of quality, including the resident health, safety, and staffing measures, based on state licensing inspections and other data sources.

Questions about this initiative can be directed to: dhs.aasd.hcbs@state.mn.us.