Short answer
Adult day care provides supervised daytime programming, meals and social or health-related activities for seniors, typically allowing a family caregiver to work or rest during the day while a parent returns home each evening. Ohio's PASSPORT waiver can help cover adult day care for eligible seniors. In-home care instead brings a caregiver to the home on a schedule the family sets.
Why families choose adult day care
- It is significantly less expensive per hour than one-on-one in-home care, since costs are shared across a group setting.
- It gives a family caregiver structured, predictable relief — a specific window each day rather than coordinating shifts.
- The published Ohio adult day health care median is $83 per day, well below the equivalent hours of one-on-one in-home care.
Why families choose in-home care instead
- The person needs support at home, not just during the day, or cannot tolerate transportation to and from a day program.
- Care needs are unpredictable rather than schedule-friendly.
- Some families use both: adult day care on weekdays, with home care evenings or weekends.
Free help in the Cleveland area. Western Reserve AAA covers Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties. Direction Home Akron Canton covers Summit and Portage. Which one to call depends on the county, not just on being near Cleveland. Read the full explanation →
