Connecticut has no separate memory-care license — dementia care operates inside the same ALSA/MRC structure as standard assisted living, with an added disclosure requirement. Here's what that document should tell a Greater Hartford family before they sign.
By Hartford Senior Advisor Care Team · March 24, 2026
Some states issue a distinct memory-care license. Connecticut doesn't. A secured dementia neighborhood inside a Greater Hartford MRC is still delivered by the same type of DPH-licensed Assisted Living Services Agency (ALSA) that delivers standard assisted living, under Sec. 19-13-D105 of the CT Public Health Code. What Connecticut requires on top of that base license is a dementia special care unit disclosure — a document the facility must provide describing its staffing ratios, training requirements, programming, and physical design specific to residents with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia diagnosis.
In practice, that means the phrase 'memory care' on a Greater Hartford community's website is a description of a program, not proof of a separate, higher-level license. Two communities can each call themselves memory care, charge similar rates, and still hold meaningfully different staffing commitments and training hours underneath the marketing language. The disclosure statement is exactly where that difference should become visible and comparable — ask for it directly, in writing, before your tour, not after you've already fallen in love with the building.
A dementia special care unit disclosure should cover staff-to-resident ratios specific to the secured unit (which often differ meaningfully from the community's overall stated ratio), the dementia-specific training hours completed by direct-care staff, the philosophy and structure of daily programming, and how the physical environment is designed to reduce wandering risk while still supporting orientation and dignity. If a community can't produce this document on request, or hands you something vague and general, that's worth noting and asking about directly.
Ask specifically how the secured unit's overnight staffing compares to its daytime staffing — the gap is often larger than families expect walking in, and overnight is precisely when incidents like falls or exit-seeking behavior are statistically more likely to occur. Ask what a typical day looks like for a resident in mid-stage dementia versus advanced-stage dementia, since a program built primarily around early-stage residents may not be well equipped for a resident who has progressed further and needs more hands-on support.
Before committing, confirm the specific secured neighborhood — not just the broader MRC as a whole — is covered by the ALSA's current DPH license, and pull that ALSA's inspection history through DPH's Facility Licensing & Investigations Section directly. Memory care in the Capitol Region runs $7,500 to $10,000 a month in 2026, above the $6,000–$8,500 range for standard assisted living, and that premium should reflect the additional staffing, training, and secured design — not just a locked door and a higher price tag attached to it.
A free local advisor familiar with Greater Hartford memory care options can help a family compare disclosure statements side by side, since the documents aren't standardized in format across providers and can be genuinely hard to compare fairly without seeing several examples at once from different communities in the same visit.
Free, no pressure, and no one rushing you. We answer to families, not to facilities.