Is Adult Family Home Council membership worth it?
It costs $624 a year, or $52 a month. It is the only organization that legally represents Washington adult family homes in collective bargaining with the state. Here is exactly what you get for the money, and an honest read on who should join and who can skip it.
The short version
- The price. $624 a year, or $52 a month. Annual memberships auto-renew a year from your signup date.
- Watch the card fee. Paying by card adds a 4% processing charge. Switching to ACH (bank withdrawal) avoids it, which is about $25 a year back in your pocket.
- The size. A network of more than 2,800 adult family homes, formed in 1993.
- The real product is leverage. The Council is the exclusively recognized representative of adult family homes for collective bargaining with the state. That is not a newsletter, it is who argues about your Medicaid rates.
- The bonus most people miss. Members get a free customizable listing on the Council's public AFH finder, which families and case managers actually use.
- Worth it if you take Medicaid residents, you are new, or you would use the listing. Skip it if you are consistently full on private pay and never touch state rates.
What it actually costs
Straightforward pricing, with one detail that catches people out.
| How you pay | Cost | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Annual, by card | $624/year + 4% | The 4% processing charge adds roughly $25. Auto-renews on your signup anniversary. |
| Monthly, by card | $52/month + 4% | Same annual total, easier on cash flow, same 4% charge. |
| Annual, by ACH | $624/year | No processing fee. Processes July 1 each year. |
| Monthly, by ACH | $52/month | No processing fee. Processes on the 10th of each month. |
If you are already a member, check how you are paying. The 4% card charge started July 1, 2024. Switching to ACH takes one form and saves you about $25 a year for doing nothing. Small money, but it is money you are currently paying a card processor for no benefit.
What you get for $624
There are four things in the box, and they are not equally valuable to every home.
1. Collective bargaining, which is the real one
The Council is the exclusively recognized representative of adult family homes for the purposes of collective bargaining. In plain terms: when Medicaid rates get negotiated with the state, they are the ones at the table on your side of it.
If a meaningful share of your revenue comes from Medicaid residents, this is not an abstract benefit. Rate movement of even a few dollars per resident day, across a full house, across a year, dwarfs $624. That single fact is the strongest argument for joining, and it is why most Medicaid-heavy homes belong.
2. Advocacy and legal work
Membership fees fund legal expenses and staff who work with DSHS and the legislature on rules that land on your doorstep as new requirements. You are buying a seat in rooms you will never personally sit in.
3. A free listing on their AFH finder
Every member home gets a free customizable listing on the Council's public home finder. This is the benefit owners undervalue most, because it is a marketing asset attached to a domain families and case managers already trust. If you use it properly, with real photos and current availability, it is doing part of the job you would otherwise pay a marketplace for.
4. Education and member support
Training announcements, regulatory updates and provider support. Useful, but honestly this is the part you could substitute with a good email list and an hour a month of reading.
Who should join, and who genuinely should not
Join if any of these describe you
- You take Medicaid residents. The bargaining representation alone is worth more than the dues.
- You are newly licensed. The regulatory updates and provider support shorten a very steep first year.
- You would actually use the finder listing. A free listing on a trusted domain is worth real money if you fill it in.
- You want the rules to be less bad. Advocacy only works with numbers behind it, and 2,800 homes is the number.
You can reasonably skip it if
- You are consistently full on private pay and never touch a state rate. The bargaining benefit does not reach you.
- You will not use the listing and are not going to read the updates. Then you are paying $624 for advocacy alone, which is a fine thing to fund, but be honest that that is what you are buying.
- You are pre-license. Get licensed first. Spend the $624 on your training and inspection costs, then join once you have a home to represent.
What membership does not do
This matters, because I hear owners assume it covers more than it does.
- It is not a marketing service. You get a listing on one directory. That is not the same as being findable when a family Googles your home's name at 9pm after a hospital discharge.
- It does not fill your beds. Nobody is out selling on your behalf. See our guide to placement agencies versus listing your own beds for what actually moves occupancy.
- It is not a substitute for your own presence. A directory listing lives on somebody else's website. Anything you rent, you stop having the moment you stop paying.
Membership gets you a listing. It does not get you a website.
The Council’s finder is a genuinely useful benefit, and it lives on their domain. When a family Googles your home’s name after a discharge planner mentions it, they are looking for you, not a directory. That is the gap I fill.
Common questions
How much does Adult Family Home Council membership cost?
$624 per year, or $52 per month. Card payments add a 4% processing charge, which you can avoid by paying via ACH bank withdrawal.
Do I have to join the Adult Family Home Council?
No. Membership is voluntary and you can be a fully licensed Washington adult family home without it. It is a trade association, not a licensing body. DSHS licenses you; the Council represents you.
What is the biggest benefit of membership?
Collective bargaining. The Council is the exclusively recognized representative of adult family homes when rates and terms are negotiated with the state, which matters most to homes serving Medicaid residents.
Does membership include a listing for families to find my home?
Yes. Every member home gets a free customizable listing on the Council's public AFH finder, which is one of the more practical benefits and one many members never fill in properly.
Can I cancel my membership?
Yes. Annual memberships auto-renew on the anniversary of your signup date, so cancel before that date if you do not want to continue. Confirm current terms with the Council directly.
Is the Council the same as DSHS?
No, and this trips people up. DSHS is the state agency that licenses and inspects you. The Council is an independent membership organization that advocates on behalf of providers, including with DSHS.
Serving adult family homes across Washington
We work with licensed adult family homes throughout Snohomish, King, Pierce, Thurston, Spokane, Whatcom, Skagit, Kitsap and Clark counties, including Everett, Lynnwood, Edmonds, Marysville, Mill Creek, Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, Renton, Federal Way, Auburn, SeaTac, Shoreline, Kirkland, Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, Olympia, Lacey, Spokane, Spokane Valley, Bellingham, Blaine, Vancouver and Mount Vernon.