How to File a Complaint Against a Nursing Home or Assisted Living Facility in Michigan

Three Channels, Three Purposes

Michigan has three separate systems for reporting concerns about care facilities, and each one serves a different function. Filing with the wrong agency does not mean your complaint disappears — agencies do refer cases to each other — but understanding which channel matches your situation gets the right response faster.

LARA (licensing complaints): The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs handles complaints about licensed facilities — nursing homes, adult foster care (AFC) homes, and homes for the aged (HFA). LARA investigates whether the facility violated its licensing standards. This is the channel for care quality failures, safety violations, staffing problems, and conditions that violate the facility's license.

Adult Protective Services (abuse/neglect/exploitation): If the concern involves suspected physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, report it to Adult Protective Services (APS). APS investigates the harm to the individual, not the facility's licensing compliance.

Long Term Care Ombudsman (advocacy and mediation): If the situation is not an immediate safety emergency but involves quality-of-life concerns, billing disputes, resident rights violations, or threatened discharge, the ombudsman program provides free, confidential advocacy and mediation.

How to File a LARA Complaint

LARA's Bureau of Community and Health Systems (BCHS) investigates complaints against all licensed residential care facilities in Michigan.

Phone hotlines:

• Nursing homes: 1-800-882-6006
• AFC homes and Homes for the Aged: 1-866-856-0126

Online: LARA also accepts written complaints through its online complaint form, accessible through michigan.gov/lara under the Bureau of Community and Health Systems section.

What to Include in Your Complaint

The more specific your complaint, the more actionable it is for investigators. Include:

• Facility name and address — be specific about which unit or wing if applicable
• Date(s) and time(s) of the incident or ongoing problem
• Names of staff involved — if known. If not, describe the staff member by role (night shift aide, charge nurse)
• What happened — describe what you observed, what the resident told you, or what you discovered. Be factual, not interpretive. "My mother had a bruise on her left forearm on Tuesday and no incident report was filed" is more useful than "they're hurting my mother"
• What the facility did (or did not do) in response — did you report it to the facility administrator? What was their response?
• Supporting documentation — photographs (with dates), copies of facility communications, medical records showing injuries or medication errors, notes from conversations with staff

What Happens After You File

LARA assigns a complaint investigator who may conduct an unannounced facility visit. The investigator interviews staff, reviews records, and inspects conditions. If violations are found, LARA issues deficiency citations and requires the facility to submit a plan of correction. For serious or repeated violations, LARA may impose a provisional license, daily fines, admission holds, or license revocation.

You can request to be notified of the investigation outcome, though LARA cannot share confidential details about specific staff disciplinary actions.

How to Report to Adult Protective Services

If you suspect abuse, neglect, or exploitation — whether in a facility or in a home setting — contact Michigan's Adult Protective Services centralized hotline:

APS Hotline: 855-444-3911 (24 hours, 7 days a week)

APS investigates harm to individuals, not facility compliance. The types of concerns APS handles include:

• Physical abuse — hitting, slapping, restraining, rough handling
• Sexual abuse — any unwanted sexual contact
• Emotional abuse — verbal threats, intimidation, isolation, humiliation
• Neglect — failure to provide food, water, shelter, medication, or necessary medical care
• Financial exploitation — unauthorized use of the person's money, property, or assets; coercing financial decisions; stealing

APS investigations focus on the safety and welfare of the individual and may involve law enforcement if criminal conduct is suspected.

Who Is Required to Report

Michigan law requires certain professionals to report suspected abuse or neglect of vulnerable adults — including healthcare workers, social workers, law enforcement officers, and clergy. But anyone can report. You do not need to be certain that abuse occurred; a reasonable suspicion is sufficient grounds to file a report. APS will investigate and determine whether the concern is substantiated.

When to Contact the Ombudsman Instead

The Long Term Care Ombudsman Program handles concerns that affect a resident's quality of life but may not rise to the level of a licensing violation or abuse:

• Billing disputes or unexpected rate increases
• Restrictions on visiting hours, phone access, or personal belongings
• Dietary complaints — food quality, portion size, or failure to accommodate dietary needs
• Involuntary room changes without consultation
• Threatened or pending involuntary discharge
• Staff rudeness or dismissiveness (short of abuse)
• Failure to follow the resident's care plan

The ombudsman is an advocate, not an enforcer. They mediate between the resident/family and the facility, working toward a resolution that respects the resident's preferences. If mediation fails and the situation involves a licensing violation, the ombudsman can help you file a formal LARA complaint.

Contact the statewide ombudsman intake line at 866-485-9393 or reach your local program through your regional Area Agency on Aging.

Documenting Problems Before You File

Start a written log the moment you notice a problem. Record:

• Date and time of each incident or observation
• What you saw, heard, or were told — stick to facts
• Names (or descriptions) of staff present
• Photographs with dates — visible injuries, unsanitary conditions, medication errors, safety hazards
• Copies of any written communication with the facility (emails, letters, care plan updates)
• The resident's own statements about what happened, recorded as close to their exact words as possible

This documentation serves two purposes: it strengthens your complaint regardless of which agency you file with, and it creates a timeline that investigators can use to identify patterns rather than treating each incident as isolated.

What If the Facility Retaliates

Federal and state law prohibit nursing homes and licensed residential care facilities from retaliating against residents or family members who file complaints. Retaliation includes threatening discharge, reducing care, restricting visits, or intimidating the resident.

If you believe a facility is retaliating after a complaint, report the retaliation separately — to LARA and to the ombudsman. Retaliation is itself a licensing violation and can escalate the severity of the original investigation.

Knowing how to navigate these reporting channels is one part of advocating effectively for a parent in care. The Michigan Care Transition Toolkit includes a facility vetting checklist and advocacy resources designed to help families identify problems early and document concerns systematically.

See more Michigan guides →