A family care home in North Carolina is licensed for 2 to 6 unrelated residents. It operates under the same Chapter 131D and 10A NCAC 13F framework as larger adult care homes but is treated as a distinct residential-scale option within that same license category, not a separate license type.
What this means in practice
Garner's more affordable housing stock along the US-70/I-40 corridor has made it a practical option for families seeking smaller, residential-style senior care closer to WakeMed's main Raleigh campus without the price point of a large purpose-built community. A family care home with only 2 to 6 residents in a Garner neighborhood functions much like a private residence, with a smaller staff and typically a lower resident-to-caregiver ratio than a larger facility, and it is subject to the identical DHSR licensing framework — the same complaint process, the same Chapter 131D resident-rights protections, and the same inspection authority — as a 60-bed community elsewhere in Wake County. The bed-count cap is what defines a family care home, not any difference in the underlying rules it must follow.
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