Tips for Using CalCareNet
The California Care Network website, CalCareNet, offers a central hub of educational information about all types of long-term care services and supports in California, and it allows anyone to search for long-term care service providers in their area.
There are quite a few types of long-term care services and programs available in California. This overview gives you the big picture of what's available on CalCareNet and provides tips to help you get to the information you need quickly and easily.
Searching for Service Providers
CalCareNet offers three ways to search for long-term care providers:
- Browse By Topic - Use Browse By Topic to look for service providers in a specific category, such as providers who offer Transportation or Food Services under the Basic Needs topic.
- Browse By Topic is ideal for people who want to explore a range of possible services to see what programs and providers are available to help them.
- Browse By Topic allows you to search by gradually selecting narrower categories of health and human services. You begin with a general idea of what types of services are available or what services you would like to receive. Then you are presented with increasingly specific categories you can explore.
- The number of service providers associated with each Topic is displayed. For example, (500 Related Service Providers) means there are 500 service providers within that topic. If there is a (0), there are no providers associated with that specific topic, but related services providers below this higher level topic are available for you to explore.
- Search By Keyword - Use Search By Keyword to search for service providers by a keyword term, such as Meals on Wheels.
- Search By Keyword allows you to look for service providers by either selecting a keyword from a menu or entering your own keyword. CalCareNet then matches this keyword against service provider names and service categories associated with each service provider. The result is a list of services providers that match that keyword.
If you're not getting enough results with your keyword search:
- Try a keyword from the menu. The keywords on the menu are taken from the most commonly used descriptions by service providers in the long-term care industry.
- Use a broader term. Broad terms generally provide more results. For example, use "caregiver" rather than "caregiver resources".
- Try related or similar phrases. Instead of "personal care", type in "in home assistance".
- Guided Search - This feature is designed for people who are new to the world of long-term care, and people who aren't sure where to begin. Guided Search asks you to respond to a few questions about your specific situation. Then it displays service categories that are most likely to be of interest to you.
Data Limitations
CalCareNet is currently a pilot website. The CalCareNet database includes licensed facility (including nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living facilities, adult day care, adult residential homes, etc.) and alcohol and drug treatment programs providers throughout the state. The database also includes community-based providers for Riverside and Orange counties; more counties will be added over time.
Before Searching - Set Your Location
By default, CalCareNet searches the entire state of California. You may set the city or ZIP code location at any time to limit the search results to service providers in your local area.
How to set your location.
- Find the "My Location" area on the left hand menu in CalCareNet.
- Use the drop-down menu to choose either "By Zipcode" or "By City."
- In the next box, type the ZIP code or the name of the city.
- Click on "Update."
- "My Location" can be changed at any time. If you wish to stop filtering your results by location then click the "Clear" button to widen searches to the whole state.
Finding Information without Searching
In addition to the service provider information described above, CalCareNet offers additional ways to find useful information for long-term care services and supports.
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Start Here Guide
If you aren't familiar with long-term care, you may want to begin exploring the website by starting with the Start Here Guide page. This Guide provides you with a general overview of long-term care. It includes the types of services that may be available, in what setting they can be received, and how you can begin to prepare for the costs associated with long-term care.
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Related Resources
Another way to find information without searching is to use the Related Resources page, which offers a wide selection of information and assistance. These resources link to governmental and non-profit websites outside of CalCareNet.
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Help and FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Another way to find information without searching is by using the Help/FAQ feature of CalCareNet. This section includes the most common questions with answers.
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Talk to Experts
Another way to find information without searching is to talk to a real person. The Talk to Experts page gives you contact information for a services expert who can talk to you for free. These experts can direct you to the most appropriate long-term care services and supports for your specific situation.
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Site Map
The Site Map shows you a list of all the major CalCareNet categories at a glance. Take a quick glance at this page and click directly on a link that will take you directly to an area of interest.
Saving Information for Later Reference
As you use CalCareNet and come across helpful pages, you can flag these pages for easy reference and return to them later with the Save This Page feature.
NOTE: This feature requires that you have cookies enabled in your browser. The saved pages will be deleted if you delete cookies from your computer and are deleted after 90 days.
Here is an example that shows the steps to save and retrieve pages.
- Go to a page in CalCareNet that you'd like to save.
- Locate the "Save This Page" feature in the left column of the website.
- Enter a page title and a description (if desired). Type any title and description that will help you remember what's on this page. Then click the "Save To My Pages" button under the description to save the page.
- You are now presented with an updated list of your saved pages, where you can click on any of the links to go to that page.
- You can also erase all your saved pages by clicking the "Clear Saved Pages" button.
- You can return to your saved pages at a later date by clicking on the "View My Saved Pages" button in the left column.