Why Licensing Matters
Empowering Local Leaders with the Structure
They Need to Succeed
Across the country, passionate community leaders are stepping forward to bring pediatric respite, palliative, and hospice care homes to life. But nearly all of them face the same foundational roadblock: their state has no clear, holistic license that supports this model of care.
Instead, they’re forced to navigate a confusing patchwork of options — trying to piece together outdated rules built for adult care settings, home health agencies, foster care, or long-term facilities. None of these were designed with children in mind, and none fully support the mission of providing short-term overnight care in a home-like setting.
This creates a major barrier to progress. Without a license that fits, promising efforts stall. And families in those communities are left without access to the care and relief they need.
A Holistic Solution: Pediatric Palliative Care Center Licensure
The Pediatric Palliative Care Center license is a practical, child-centered response to this gap. It gives state regulators a clear framework, and gives community leaders a defined path to open and operate a home that provides:
-
Short-term overnight respite care,
-
Ongoing palliative care support, and
-
Compassionate end-of-life hospice care when needed —
all under one appropriately regulated model.
This license clarifies oversight, supports safe staffing models, and ensures the home is recognized as a trusted part of the broader care continuum. It doesn’t replace hospitals or home-based care — it fills the gap between them.
When this license exists, communities have a real chance to move forward.
A Model for States: Iowa’s Mason’s Law
On May 26, 2025, Iowa became the first state in the nation to pass a Pediatric Palliative Care Center license, through bipartisan legislation known as Mason’s Law. This new license was championed by a local family and community leaders and our National Center. It now provides a framework for other leaders in Iowa to create homes with confidence, safety, and sustainability in mind.
This is what progress looks like — and it’s a model other states can adapt.
At the National Center for Pediatric Palliative Care Homes, we support local champions with the tools, research, and education they need to move licensing conversations forward. We do not lobby, but we collaborate with partners, policymakers, and health agencies to help them understand what’s possible — and what’s needed.
