Alaska assisted living home rules: what you must document about each resident

This page covers what Alaska requires an assisted living home to learn about a resident and put in writing: the assisted living plan, its contents, and how often it is evaluated. The statute and rule text quoted here was checked against the official sources on September 28, 2026.

Alaska is one of the clearer states on preferences. Where many states ask only for a service plan, Alaska's statute lists the personal topics the plan must cover. It does not use the words "life history" or "hobbies," but "recreational activities," "religious affiliation," and "relationships and visitation with friends, family members, and others" cover much of the same ground.

Who these rules cover

Alaska licenses a single category, the assisted living home, whether it has a handful of beds in a private house or dozens in a purpose-built building. Licenses are probationary for a new home and standard after the probationary period. The department also licenses each home by the population it serves:

"primarily to persons who have a physical disability, who are elderly, or who suffer from dementia, but who are not diagnosed as chronically mentally ill;"7 AAC 75.020(d)(2)

Other homes are licensed primarily for people with a mental or developmental disability, or for both groups.⁴ The core resident-care requirements sit in statute, AS 47.33, and the department's regulations in 7 AAC 75 add detail.¹

The assisted living plan: the deadline

Alaska does not use a separate "assessment" form in its rules. The key document is the assisted living plan:

"An assisted living home shall ensure that an assisted living plan for a resident of the home is developed, and approved by the resident or the resident's representative, within 30 days after the resident was admitted to the home."AS 47.33.220

The statute puts the resident, or their representative, in charge of developing the plan, with participation from the resident's service coordinator if any, representatives of the resident's service providers, and the home's administrator.¹ Before move-in, a signed residential services contract must describe the services and accommodations the home will provide.

If a resident already has a plan of care, for example through a Medicaid waiver care coordinator, the home reviews it, and it can stand in for the assisted living plan:

"A plan of care already in place for a resident may substitute for the assisted living plan required by AS 47.33.220 and 47.33.230 if the existing plan incorporates substantially the same provisions and addresses the same requirements as would an assisted living plan."7 AAC 75.300(a)

That substitution only works if the existing plan covers the same ground, including the preference items below. Copies of existing plans of care go in the resident's file with the assisted living plan.²

What the plan must contain

AS 47.33.230(b) lists nine items the plan must "identify and describe." They include the resident's strengths and limitations with activities of daily living, and conditions relevant to services:

"any physical disabilities and impairments, and the aspects of the resident's medical condition, general health, emotional health, mental health, or other conditions or problems that are relevant to the services needed by the resident;"AS 47.33.230(b)(2)

The item that matters most for life-story work is the third:

"the resident's preference in roommates, living environment, food, recreational activities, religious affiliation, and relationships and visitation with friends, family members, and others;"AS 47.33.230(b)(3)

And the ninth:

"the resident's reasonable wants and the services that will be used to meet those wants."AS 47.33.230(b)(9)

The plan must also "promote the resident's participation in the community and increased independence," and recognize the resident's right to weigh risks when making decisions about "the resident's abilities, preferences, and service needs."¹ It has to be written "in language that can be understood by the resident," signed and dated by the administrator and the resident or representative, and a copy given to the resident.

Evaluating and updating the plan

"If the assisted living home provides or arranges for the provision of health-related services to a resident, the resident's evaluation shall be done at three-month intervals. If the assisted living home does not provide or arrange to provide health-related services to a resident, the resident's evaluation shall be done at least at one-year intervals."AS 47.33.240(a)

The evaluation asks a simple question: is the plan "meeting the resident's reasonable wants and needs," and does it need revising? Family can join if the resident asks:

"At the request of the resident or the resident's representative, the resident's service coordinator, if any, and family members may participate in the evaluation."AS 47.33.240(a)

The administrator or designee documents the results in the resident's record, signs and dates any revisions, files them, and gives the resident a copy.¹

Activities, food, and daily life

Alaska does not set a daily activity-calendar rule the way some states do. Instead, recreation runs through the plan: preferences in "recreational activities" are a required plan item, and the statute's definitions list "engaging in recreational or leisure activities" among the instrumental activities of daily living and "recreational and leisure activities" among supportive services.¹ Residents also have rights to private communication and to visit with people of their choice.

Food preferences get a rule of their own:

"The home shall consider each resident's health-related or religious restrictions, cultural or ethnic preferences in food preparation, and preference for smaller portions,"7 AAC 75.265(b)

Those preferences are meant to be reflected in the residential services contract or the assisted living plan.³

Memory care and dementia

7 AAC 75 does not create a separate memory-care or Alzheimer's unit license, and we found no dementia-specific assessment or activity rule in the chapter. A home serving elders and people with dementia holds the same assisted living home license, and the same plan requirements apply. For a resident with dementia, the preference items still apply, and the resident's representative and family will often supply much of the detail. Check with Residential Licensing about expectations for secured settings.

What surveyors tend to look for

Based only on what the statute and rules tell you to document, a resident file should show:

• A signed residential services contract in place before the resident moved in.
• An assisted living plan approved within 30 days after admission, signed and dated by the administrator and the resident or representative.
• All nine plan items addressed, including the preference item, not left blank or answered "none."
• Plain language the resident can understand, and proof the resident received a copy.
• Evaluations on schedule (every three months or at least yearly), with results documented and revisions signed.
• Any existing plan of care from another agency filed with the assisted living plan.

Gathering preferences and life history well

Because Alaska names specific preference topics, it helps to build your intake conversation around them rather than a checkbox list:

• Ask open questions in the first two weeks. "Tell me about the places you've lived." "What did you do for fun when you had a free afternoon?" "Who do you most want to hear from?" The answers fill the recreation, relationships, and living-environment items at once.
• Include family. The statute lets family join evaluations at the resident's request. At intake, ask them for names, stories, and routines the resident may not mention.
• Record what brings comfort and what to avoid. Favorite foods and how they were cooked at home, a church or faith practice, a subject that upsets them.
• Respect culture. Alaska's food rule names cultural and ethnic preferences. For many residents, especially Alaska Native elders, food, language, and community ties are central to identity. Ask rather than assume.
• Revisit at each evaluation. The three-month or yearly review asks whether the plan still meets the resident's reasonable wants. That is the moment to update what you know.

How Porchlight can help

Porchlight gives residents an easy way to tell their own stories. A resident taps one large button on a tablet, a life question is read aloud and shown in large type, and they talk while the answer is recorded and transcribed. More than 800 human-written questions are organized by life chapter, any question can be skipped, and nothing is scored. Staff can record profile facts, including topics to avoid, and receive a "Know Your Resident" briefing with conversation starters, story highlights, a printable life-story biography, and a Monday email digest. Family get a private page to listen, leave voice replies, and add their own questions and photos.

It helps you gather and keep the preferences and life-story material the assisted living plan asks for, in the resident's own words. Writing the plan and meeting Alaska's rules remain the home's responsibility.

Frequently asked questions

How soon must an Alaska assisted living home complete a resident's plan?

The assisted living plan must be developed, and approved by the resident or the resident's representative, within 30 days after the resident is admitted, under AS 47.33.220.

What preferences must an Alaska assisted living plan include?

AS 47.33.230(b)(3) requires the plan to identify and describe the resident's preference in roommates, living environment, food, recreational activities, religious affiliation, and relationships and visitation with friends, family members, and others. The plan must also describe the resident's reasonable wants and how they will be met.

How often is the assisted living plan reviewed in Alaska?

Every three months if the home provides or arranges health-related services for the resident, and at least once a year if it does not. The administrator documents the results and signs and dates any revisions.

Does Alaska have separate memory care rules?

No separate memory-care license exists in 7 AAC 75. Homes that serve elders and people with dementia hold the assisted living home license, and the same assisted living plan requirements apply.

Can a Medicaid waiver plan of care replace the assisted living plan?

Under 7 AAC 75.300, an existing plan of care may substitute for the assisted living plan if it incorporates substantially the same provisions and addresses the same requirements. If it does not, the assisted living plan should incorporate the existing plan as far as possible.