A: It is always important to do your due diligence and research to find the right in-home care agency for your needs. Home care agencies provide care wherever the person resides, usually in their home or in assisted living. The goal is to help the person remain safe and as independent as possible with care provided to meet their needs. Home care is also sometimes called personal care, companion care, custodial care or homemaker services. These agencies are licensed and bonded and run background checks on the caregivers they hire.
This type of agency and care is different than Home Health Care, which is covered by Medicare, requires a physician’s order, is specific to treat an illness or condition, and is time limited to that medical need.
Start by asking around for word-of-mouth referrals. You can also reach out to agencies that run Caregiver Resource Centers to ask for referrals. Senior Concerns, Camarillo Healthcare District and the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging all run these programs.
Once you find a few agencies to consider you can look them up to verify their license. The Home Care Services Bureau (HCSB) is responsible for licensing Home Care Organizations and the website is: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/community-care/home-care-services.
You will want to interview more than one agency. While you may find many similarities, there will be differences in how they bill, oversee care, and what they offer. You want to find what is best for your needs and preferences. Of course, if you are in a rush to hire care just know you can always make a change later.
Get a notebook to help yourself keep track of your research. Make a list of questions you want to ask and create a page for each agency with whom you spoke to, what day, and what their answers were. The process can feel overwhelming, and you may not retain or remember as much as you assume you will, so write everything down.
Ask how much they cost, what their minimum number of hours or days are, and how often they bill. It is important to also find out what their backup plan for care is if the caregiver assigned calls out that day. If you are relying on care, it is necessary that the agency have a good system in place for managing this.
Find out what is involved in their initial assessment, how they match the right caregivers, and what training and certifications they require for their caregivers. Also ask how they orient new caregivers to your needs.
Some agencies have online portals where you can see your bills, your schedule and care notes from each visit. If that is useful or important to you, ask if they offer this and if it is used by every caregiver.
Once you have selected an agency, prepare to make the best use of the care you hire. Make a list of tasks and include what you want them to do and make sure to include what you do not want them to do, as well. Do not make assumptions about what will be done. Take time to think through what you expect and talk it through with the agency to ensure you get the best matched caregiver. This also helps confirm you are asking them to do tasks that are appropriate for their job and what the agency allows them to do.
Hiring care can feel daunting at first. You let someone into your home, often to do very personal tasks like physical care, cooking and companionship. Remember that you are in charge and have the right to change agencies at any time. When it works well it provides peace of mind, support, safety and allows you to live the way you want, in the setting you want, for as long as possible.
Martha Shapiro can be reached at Senior Concerns at 805-497-0189 or by email at mshapiro@seniorconcerns.org
