Editorial guidelines
How we research, write, review and update the guides and directory listings families rely on when they choose care.
Families come to WeFoundCare at stressful moments. These guidelines set out how we make sure what we publish is accurate, independent and useful, and how you can hold us to it.
01Overview of our guidelines
Everything we publish, from a directory listing to a guide on Medicaid waivers, follows the same standards: start from primary sources, write in plain language, say where facts come from, and fix mistakes quickly. Nothing we publish is for sale.
02Our mission
To give every family a clear, honest starting point for senior care decisions, built on records anyone can check, with a real person available when they want one.
03Key principles
- Accurate. Facts come from primary sources such as state agencies, CMS, HUD, the VA and peer-reviewed research, and are cited to the edition we used.
- Independent. No community, agency or advertiser can pay to influence what we write or how listings appear.
- Transparent. Each listing shows its license type and source record. Each guide shows when it was last updated.
- Plain-spoken. We write the way a knowledgeable friend would explain things, without jargon or pressure.
- Restrained. If we can’t source a fact properly, we leave it out. That is why we don’t yet publish cost figures, ratings or reviews.
04Editorial practices and standards
Research and sourcing
Writers start with primary sources: statutes and regulations, agency program pages, federal datasets and published research. Secondary sources are used only to point us to the primary one.
Expert review
Guides on health, benefits and legal topics are reviewed by people with relevant credentials, such as a geriatric care manager, an elder law attorney or a registered nurse, before publication. Reviewers are named on the page.
Updates
We re-check guides at least once a year, and sooner when rules change, for example when VA benefit rates or Medicaid waiver rules are updated. The “updated” date reflects a real review, not a cosmetic edit.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we fix it and, for anything material, note the correction on the page. Report errors to editorial@wefoundcare.com.
05Editorial independence
Our editorial team decides what to cover and what to say. Advisors and business staff do not approve content. No provider sees a guide before it is published, and we do not accept payment, gifts or free stays in return for coverage.
06What we cover
We write about the types of senior care, signs it may be time for more support, choosing and touring communities, paying for care, moving and caregiver well-being. Our content is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice.
07How we build the directory from public records
Listings come from state licensing records, CMS data and HUD records. Today the directory includes 33,692 assisted living and 14,188 memory care listings. We match records across sources, standardize names and addresses, and keep the license type and source on every listing.
Memory care is listed only where a state record supports it: a dementia care license or certification, a secured special care unit, a state specialty designation or a licensed dementia population. Cost data is not shown because we have not yet licensed a source we trust.
08How we talk to families and communities
When we interview caregivers, residents or community staff, we explain how their words will be used and get permission before publishing names or photos. We never pay for interviews, and we don’t let communities review stories before publication.
09How we decide what appears
Every licensed community in our source records is eligible to appear, whether or not it works with us. Results are ordered neutrally, and no community can pay for placement. We don’t publish star ratings, sponsored spots or “best of” lists.