What Questions Should an Assisted Living Facility Ask Before Partnering With a Home Care Agency?

The most important questions to ask a home care agency partner address service boundaries, caregiver qualifications, supervision, backup coverage, communication, pricing, and accountability. A consistent evaluation process helps assisted living leaders determine whether an agency can provide resident-specific support while respecting community policies and responsibilities.

What Should a Facility Ask About Services and Scope?

Questions about home care service scope should clarify exactly what the agency can provide, which residents it serves, and which tasks remain outside its authority.

Ask the agency:

• Which non-medical services can caregivers perform?
• Can caregivers assist with bathing, dressing, toileting, mobility, meals, companionship, respite, or overnight routines?
• Which tasks require licensed clinical professionals?
• How is each resident’s service plan created and updated?
• Will caregivers serve only the referred resident?
• How does the agency respond when a requested task exceeds its scope?

Indiana licenses Personal Care Services Agencies to provide attendant care, homemaker assistance, and companion services. These services are distinct from skilled nursing and therapeutic care. (Government of India)

The facility should also confirm that the agency will not provide facility-wide staffing, cover required staffing ratios, or supervise residents who are not included in its care plan. A broader evaluation framework is available through choosing a home care agency partner for assisted living.

What Should a Facility Ask About Staffing and Backup Coverage?

Questions about home care staffing coverage should identify who employs and supervises caregivers, how schedules are monitored, and what happens when a caregiver is late or unavailable.

Important questions include:

• Are caregivers employees of the agency?
• Who provides day-to-day supervision?
• How are clock-ins, missed visits, and late arrivals monitored?
• How are caregivers matched with residents?
• Can a resident request a different caregiver?
• What is the absence and replacement process?
• Is backup coverage guaranteed or dependent on availability?
• Who informs the resident, family, and facility about schedule changes?

NCAL guidance states that private caregivers are not assisted living employees and should not be supervised or counted as community staff. It also recommends written absence procedures that clarify the community is not responsible for finding replacement coverage.

Clear answers help prevent a facility from unintentionally assuming responsibility for an outside agency’s workforce.

What Should a Facility Ask About Screening, Training, Licensing, and Insurance?

Home care agency vetting questions should verify qualifications through documentation and official sources rather than relying only on promotional statements.

Ask for information about:

• Current state licensing
• General and professional liability insurance
• Workers’ compensation, when applicable
• Caregiver background-screening procedures
• Initial and ongoing training
• Competency review and performance management
• Caregiver identification
• References from relevant professional partners

Indiana’s Department of Health maintains a Personal Care Services Agency licensing program and public agency directory. Facilities should confirm current status through those official resources. (Government of India)

NCAL also recommends that communities define screening, insurance, qualification, orientation, and documentation requirements. Community orientation may address building rules and emergency procedures, but the agency remains responsible for training and supervising its caregivers.

For a more detailed review process, see verifying home care agency licensing and screening.

What Should a Facility Ask About Communication, Pricing, and Agreements?

Home care partnership questions should establish how the agency communicates, reports concerns, protects information, charges for services, and documents the relationship.

Ask:

• Who are the primary and after-hours contacts?
• How are incidents, complaints, missed visits, and changes in needs reported?
• What information will be shared with the facility and family?
• How does the agency protect confidential resident information?
• What are the hourly rates, minimum visits, cancellation terms, and possible premiums?
• Who pays for services?
• How often are care plans reviewed?
• What should be included in the written partnership or caregiver agreement?

Where HIPAA applies, covered organizations generally must limit protected health information to what is reasonably necessary for the intended purpose, subject to stated exceptions. (HHS.gov)

NCAL recommends written policies covering communication, privacy, service scope, payment, supervision, reporting, access, and conditions for ending a caregiver’s involvement. Legal and insurance professionals should review any final assisted living home care partnership agreement

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Bring Your Partnership Questions to Nana Cares

Nana Cares provides resident-specific Personal/Attendant Care, Companion Care, Homemaker Services, Respite Care, and Overnight Care, supported by a free needs assessment, personalized care planning, caregiver matching, and ongoing supervision. (Nana Cares LLC)

Assisted living leaders can contact Nana Cares to discuss service scope, referral procedures, caregiver oversight, and whether a resident-specific relationship may fit the community. Acceptance, staffing, coverage, and start dates depend on assessment findings, facility requirements, payer authorization, and caregiver availability.