What to Ask Any Home Care Agency Before You Hire One

Start with what the caregiver will actually do

Most families skip this and regret it. Two agencies can both say 'home care' and mean very different things. Ask for the list of tasks in plain language: bathing, dressing, meals, light housekeeping, medication reminders, errands, rides to appointments, overnight help.

Then ask what they will not do. Non-medical home care does not include skilled nursing, wound care, injections, or other medical treatment. If your parent needs any of that, you need to know up front whether the agency can coordinate around it or whether you need a separate home health provider. We cover that split in home care vs. home health care in Arizona.

Also ask who decides the care plan. A decent agency should want to see your parent's home and meet them before proposing anything. If someone quotes a plan over the phone without asking a single question about your parent, that tells you something.

• What tasks are included, and what is off the table?
• Do you do an in-home assessment before care starts, and is it free?
• Who writes the care plan, and how often is it reviewed?
• What happens if my parent's needs change, say after a fall or a hospital stay?

Ask who is actually walking through the door

You are not hiring an agency. You are hiring the person who will be alone in your parent's home, possibly bathing them. So ask about that person directly.

Ask how caregivers are screened, what training they get, and whether they are employees of the agency or independent contractors. Do not accept 'we only hire the best.' Ask for the actual process, step by step. If the answer is fuzzy, that is your answer.

Ask about consistency too. Will the same one or two caregivers come each week, or will a new face show up every few days? For someone with memory loss, a rotating cast of strangers can make every visit harder. If dementia is part of the picture, ask what experience the caregivers have with it and see our page on dementia care.

• How do you screen caregivers before they work with clients?
• Are caregivers your employees or contractors?
• Will my parent have a regular caregiver or a rotating schedule?
• Can we meet the caregiver first, and can we ask for a different match if it isn't working?

Ask for proof, not promises, on licensing and insurance

Any agency can say it is licensed and insured. Ask what specifically applies to them, and ask to see documentation. If something goes wrong in the home, such as an injury, a broken item, or a dispute, you want to know in advance who is responsible.

This is a fair thing to ask every agency, including us. A professional outfit will not be offended. If the person on the phone gets defensive about a basic request for paperwork, move on.

• What licenses or registrations does your agency hold, and can I see them?
• What insurance do you carry, and what does it cover?
• If a caregiver is hurt on the job in my parent's home, who is responsible?

Get cost and contract terms in writing

Cost depends on the number of hours and the kind of help needed. A few hours of companionship a week is a different thing from daily personal care or 24-hour and live-in care. Be wary of anyone who won't explain how they price, or who quotes only after you've committed.

Ask for the rates in writing, and ask about minimum hours, deposits, how to change or stop service, and what notice is needed to cancel. Ask what is billed and when. If you live out of state, ask how you will receive invoices and who to call about a mistake.

Also ask how they expect you to pay. Medicare generally does not pay for non-medical home care. ALTCS is Arizona's Medicaid long-term care program, and whether it helps depends on eligibility; we explain it in does ALTCS pay for home care. Don't assume an agency takes any particular payment source. Ask, and get the answer in writing. You can request a quote from Finest Care to see what the hours you need would look like.

Ask what happens when things go sideways

Plans fail. A caregiver gets sick, a car breaks down, your mother has a bad night. What matters is what the agency does next.

Ask who covers a shift when the regular caregiver can't make it, and how you will find out. Ask who you call after hours, and whether that is a person or a voicemail box. Ask how the agency handles an emergency in the home, and who tells you.

If you live in another state, this matters even more. Ask how you will get updates, how often, and in what form. You should not have to chase information about your own parent. And in Arizona, ask about summer. Heat is a real safety issue for older adults, and a good agency should have a plain answer about how caregivers watch for it, from hydration to keeping the house cool and handling errands in the afternoon.

Red flags worth walking away from

You don't need a perfect agency. You need an honest one. Some signs that should slow you down:

• Pressure to sign today.
• Vague or shifting answers about screening, licensing, or insurance.
• No in-home assessment, or one that feels like a sales pitch.
• Promises of medical care from a non-medical caregiver.
• Reluctance to put rates and terms on paper.
• A caregiver who would be a stranger every week, with no plan for continuity.

A simple way to use this list

Call two or three agencies. Ask the same questions of each, and write the answers down. Compare them the next morning, not at 1 a.m. The differences tend to be obvious.

If you want to ask Finest Care, call (818) 272-1507 and set up a free in-home assessment. Our home care services page lays out what we do. Ask us every question on this list. That is what it is for.

Common questions