A Checklist To Help You Choose A Quality And Safe Home Care Agency

• Business license and necessary state licensure (if required by the state where the agency is located)
• Caregivers are “Employees” (this means the Agency is responsible for paying all employee payroll taxes, as required by law: Unemployment Insurance tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax and State and Federal with-holdings)
• Worker’s Compensation Insurance
• Professional Liability Insurance
• Fidelity Bond Insurance (this is sometimes referred to as “theft” insurance)
• Active Management of the Caregiver through a direct Supervisor or Manager
• Plan of Care
• Criminal Background Check performed on all Employees.
• On Training for Caregivers
• 24-Hour On-Call Service
• Satisfactory Customer Ratings
• Caregivers' check-in and out via a phone app that validates the Caregiver is at the client’s home.

These Checklist requirements are especially valuable when no family members live close enough to monitor the care. By having these standards in place, if the Caregiver suffers an accident while working in the senior’s home, their injuries and care are covered by Worker’s Compensation Insurance. Active supervision of Caregivers allows the agency to professionally work through any performance issues. A 24-hour On-Call service allows for last-minute schedule changes and back-up Caregivers to be scheduled, when necessary. Training programs provide Caregivers with guidelines to follow for performing quality care duties.

In addition, the Caregiver is protected by Unemployment Insurance if they are not staffed between assignments and meet the necessary qualifications. Caregivers also have the guarantee of receiving Medicare and Social Security benefits when they retire because they have paid into these programs as an employee of the agency.