How to hire in-home care for a parent
To hire in-home care for a parent, first write down what help is needed and when: bathing, meals, medicine reminders, rides or company. Then compare licensed agencies and private caregivers. Ask about background checks, training, insurance, who covers when a caregiver is sick, and how complaints are handled. Check references, agree duties in writing, and include your parent in choosing.
Why it matters: Help at home can keep a parent where they want to be, if the right person comes through the door.
Steps
- List the help needed, the hours and any medical tasks, with your parent.
- Decide whether to look at licensed agencies, private caregivers or both.
- Ask each about background checks, training, insurance and bonding.
- Ask who covers when the caregiver is sick, and how complaints are handled.
- Call at least two references.
- Put duties, hours, pay arrangements and house rules in writing.
- Have your parent meet the caregiver, and check in often in the first weeks.
Stop and call a professional if
- you notice unexplained bruises, missing money, or your parent seems afraid of a caregiver: contact adult protective services, and 911 if there is danger
- you hire a caregiver directly and are unsure of your tax or employer duties: ask a tax professional
Questions to ask the professional
- What background checks do you run?
- Who comes if the regular caregiver is sick?
Common mistakes
- Hiring without calling references.
- Leaving duties unwritten.
- Choosing without your parent's say.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: How to hire in-home care for a parent
What to say
To hire in-home care for a parent, first write down what help is needed and when: bathing, meals, medicine reminders, rides or company. Then compare licensed agencies and private caregivers. Ask about background checks, training, insurance, who covers when a caregiver is sick, and how complaints are handled. Check references, agree duties in writing, and include your parent in choosing.
What to show
- List the help needed, the hours and any medical tasks, with your parent.
- Decide whether to look at licensed agencies, private caregivers or both.
- Ask each about background checks, training, insurance and bonding.
- Ask who covers when the caregiver is sick, and how complaints are handled.
- Call at least two references.
- Put duties, hours, pay arrangements and house rules in writing.
- Have your parent meet the caregiver, and check in often in the first weeks.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if you notice unexplained bruises, missing money, or your parent seems afraid of a caregiver: contact adult protective services, and 911 if there is danger.
Check question
What should you write down first?
Answer: What help is needed and when. It defines what you are hiring for.
Your checklist
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Quick quiz
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Related skills
Sources
- US national aging and caregiver support guidance, 2025. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .