People with disabilities, mental health problems, Intellectual disability, Alzheimer's disease, dementia or who are frail aged are often cared for at home by paid or voluntary caregivers, such as family and friends, with additional support from home care agencies.
Orphaned, abandoned or high risk young people may live in small self-contained units established as home environments, for example within residential child care communities.
Young people in this care are, if removed from home involuntarily, subject to government departmental evaluations that include progressions within health, education, social presentations, family networks and others.
Recent trends have favored placement of children in foster care rather than residential settings, partially for financial reasons, but a 1998 survey found that a majority of out-of-home children surveyed preferred residential or group homes over foster care.
Conditions and disabilities such as Autism, Down syndrome, epilepsy and cerebral palsy (to name a few) may require that children receive residential professional care.
Many residential facilities are designed for elderly people who do not need 24-hour nursing care but are unable to live independently.
Depending on the needs of the resident they also provide assistance with daily activities such as personal hygiene, dressing, eating, and walking.
Hospices provide a form of medical care for people with a terminal illness or condition, for example, cancer.
People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol may be voluntarily or involuntarily admitted to a residential rehabilitation facility for treatment.
[9] Total care is when a resident or patient requires a caregiver in order to have all their survival needs met, including ambulation, respiration, bathing, dressing, feeding, and toileting.