Boomers who've grown accustomed to dropping junior at a day care center are quickly learning they can do the same with mom or dad.

Centers for aging parents offer safe, structured environments with lots of social interaction. And they can be a big help for boomers juggling careers and families. But watch the costs, which - as in child day care - vary wildly depending on the center and the services it offers.

The average rate for adult day care centers is $61 a day in the US, according to the MetLife Mature Market Institute. Costs are highest in Vermont, where the daily rate is $130, and lowest in Montgomery, Ala., at $21. Cities such as San Francisco, which has one of the highest costs of living in the nation, was a hair above the average at $62, while New York came in at $114. View the full list.

While some regions may give boomers sticker shock, using a day care center can be much cheaper than hiring a home aide, and it offers a welcome alternative to a residential nursing home. 

Adult centers enable elders “to be in a setting that helps rehabilitate and maintain their highest functioning health,” said LaNay Eastman, executive director of San Francisco Adult Day Services. She says day care is “sort of like the best-kept secret at this point."

Range of Services
One of the biggest factors affecting costs is the type of center. There are essentially two models: social and medical.

The social model offers supervised activities and companionship. The medical model has the same social emphasis, but tacks on health-related services by offering medical and rehabilitation treatment. Both aim to help older adults remain independent for as long as possible. 

Boomers might consider a social model if their parent is prone to falling or has mild dementia, which requires encouragement and support, said Eastman. Parents requiring additional oversight due to an advanced condition may benefit from a medical model. That would provide the guidance of a multidisciplinary team that can address their mental and physical needs in a community-based setting. 

Although each facility may differ in terms of features, services offered by most include transportation, meals and snacks, personal care and therapeutic activities. 

Centers are more cost-effective than home-based care in which an aide or companion is hired. The national average hourly rate for home health care aides is $19, unchanged from 2006, MetLife found. Homemakers and companions charge $18 an hour on average, a $1 increase over last year's national average hourly rate. Rates for services vary considerably by region. For both categories, rates are lowest in Shreveport, La. ($13 for aides and $12 for homemaker/companion) and highest in Rochester, Minn. ($30 for aides and $25 for homemaker/companion). 

Home health care aides provide assistance with daily activities such as bathing and dressing and some health-related services, while homemaker/companions generally provide comfort and companionship in addition to meal preparation and light housekeeping. 

Planning Ahead
As boomers make plans for their parents, they are catching a glimpse into the tough financial decisions their own children may face. These daycare options generally aren't covered by Medicare and are only covered by Medicaid for indigent people, said Sandra Timmermann, director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. Most adult day care centers offer a sliding scale for payment.

"Our message to those planning for retirement is to save adequate money for this type of long-term care and/or to have long-term care insurance,” Timmermann said. 

Cost aside, choosing a center can be an emotional decision for boomers wrestling with feelings such as guilt. 

“They need to relate to an elderly mom or dad in a reverse role, watching a person with such vitality change and need help,” Eastman said. 

Anyone with questions about the process of choosing a center should consider checking out the National Adult Day Services Association, which contains information about locating facilities.