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1. Be clear about the help you need

• Which hours and days need coverage during the first two weeks?
• Do you need companionship, meals, errands, rides, personal care, household help or someone overnight?
• Which tasks did the discharge team say require specific training or licensed care?
• What tasks remain with family members, home health, therapy, nursing, or another professional?
• When would you need to add hours, reduce them or stop the visits?

Write the role in plain language and give the same description to every person or agency. Avoid asking a worker to “help with anything” when the family actually needs reliable coverage for specific tasks.

2. Check the schedule and backup plan

• What is the earliest realistic start date?
• Is there a minimum shift length or minimum weekly schedule?
• Can the schedule change after the first week?
• Who covers a late arrival, illness, emergency absence, weekend, or holiday?
• How quickly will the family be told that the assigned worker cannot come?
• Who can authorize a schedule change, and how is it documented?

If a caregiver misses a visit

Before visits begin, ask for the agency’s scheduling number and after-hours contact. Ask how it handles an absence and what happens if no replacement is available. A backup policy does not mean someone is confirmed to come.

1. Contact the agency: Say which visit was missed and which tasks or hours still need help. Note who you spoke with. If you hired directly, use the contact and backup arrangements you agreed with the worker.
2. Ask for an update: Is the worker delayed or unable to come? Is a replacement confirmed? Ask for the person’s name, arrival time and the tasks they can do. Agree when and how the agency will update you, even if it has not found anyone.
3. Confirm temporary coverage: Ask a family member or another suitable helper whether they can cover the gap. Record only the times and tasks they have agreed to cover; leave the rest marked as unarranged. Check the existing care-team instructions for tasks that require trained or licensed help.
4. Name the follow-up owner: Agree who will contact the agency again and when. That person updates the family when coverage is confirmed or the plan changes.

Update the family caregiver schedule when someone agrees to come, and use the shift handoff block when they take over. For urgent symptoms or immediate safety concerns, contact emergency services or a licensed clinician.

3. Agency or independent caregiver?

4. Agree how you will stay in touch

• Who is the family’s main contact, and who is the backup contact?
• How should the worker report a late arrival, missed task, household issue, or concern?
• Will the worker complete a short daily log of times, completed tasks, and questions for the family?
• How are private details handled, and who can receive updates?
• How does a supervisor observe quality or address a mismatch?
• What is the process if the older adult or family is uncomfortable with the worker?

Ask what was done, what was missed and what changed. Take medical questions to the care team.

5. Set expectations at home

• Which rooms, equipment, keys, entry codes, appliances, and supplies may be used?
• What are the expectations for food, visitors, phone use, smoking, pets, driving, and household cameras?
• May the worker transport the older adult or use a family vehicle? Which questions require an insurer or qualified professional?
• How should receipts, groceries, errands, and household purchases be handled?
• What should the worker do if a requested task is outside the agreed role?

6. Check references and records

• Which checks were completed, by whom, when, and for which jurisdictions?
• Can the family verify two recent work references?
• Can a reference describe punctuality, communication, reliability, and how concerns were handled?
• Are any licenses, certifications, driving records, or insurance documents relevant to the agreed tasks, and can they be verified with the issuing source?
• Are there complaints or regulatory records the family should review with the appropriate state or local agency?

Check records with the source that issued them. A background check cannot guarantee a good fit, so agree how you will supervise visits and raise concerns.

7. Confirm payment and cancellations

• What is the hourly or shift rate, and are there minimum hours?
• Are weekend, holiday, overnight, transportation, or last-minute rates different?
• What deposit, invoice, payment method, or payment timing is required?
• What happens when the family cancels, the worker cancels, or the hospital discharge date changes?
• Which expenses require advance approval and receipts?
• Which contract, employment, tax, insurance, or benefits questions should be reviewed by a qualified professional before signing?

Watch for these warning signs

• Pressure to sign, pay, or hand over keys before the family can review written terms.
• Vague answers about supervision, replacements, references, background checks, or permitted tasks.
• Promises to handle clinical work without explaining qualifications or care-team coordination.
• Requests for unnecessary financial access, passwords, payment-card details, or broad control over accounts.
• Resistance to a short daily log, named family contact, agreed schedule, or written task list.
• A mismatch between what the salesperson promises and what the written agreement says.

Know who to ask for advice

Some questions need the care team or a qualified legal, tax or insurance professional. Ask the right person about:

• which tasks need licensed or specially trained care;
• safe transfer, mobility, equipment, or home-setup instructions;
• employment classification, payroll, tax, contract, insurance, and liability questions;
• coverage, eligibility, authorization, and payment questions; and
• how to report a safety, neglect, abuse, theft, or licensing concern.