Community Services
2. Home Care Services
Home care aides offer help with a wide variety of tasks that may include preparing meals, running errands, housekeeping and shopping, as well as eating, moving around, and bathing. Another important role can be providing companionship for a person who is homebound.
Home care aides can be hired through a growing number of home care organizations, referral agencies, or by making a private arrangement directly with the aide. Some sources accept Medicare and Medi-Cal payments for some of the services provided, but most such care is paid directly by the individuals who receive it.
If services are secured through a home care organization, the agency will do some of the work: screening, hiring, and supervising individual workers. It will also treat the aides as employees, taking responsibility for their payroll taxes and liability insurance. In addition, home care aide organizations can intervene to handle problems that may arise between clients and aides.
Referral agencies connect clients with names of potential aides to hire, but they do not manage the working relationship. They also do not usually screen caregivers, nor do they handle payroll taxes and injury insurance. Referral agencies typically charge fees separate from the wages paid to the aide.
You can also hire and pay a home care provider independently, often getting referrals from others who have had good experiences with a particular individual. This will put you in the position of being the worker's employer and of sharing the responsibility for state and federal payroll taxes. You also may need to obtain insurance in case the worker is injured on the job, or else be liable for covering the costs of those injuries on your own.
For more information on how home care services are regulated or to find a home care agency, consult the California Association for Health Services at Home.
