Home Care Agency

Using A Home Care Agency Vs. Hiring Directly

Most aging adults and other people who need assistance with activities of daily living but want to maintain their independence prefer to live at home with help from a caregiver, Dana Point families turn to home care service providers such as Assisting Hands to find the right caregivers for their loved ones because professional home care agencies screen, hire, and train their employees. Sometimes, however, families think they may be able to save on costs by hiring home caregivers directly instead of reaching out to agencies. When your family hires a caregiver directly, you become the employer, which makes you responsible for the caregiver as your employee. Before your family makes this vital decision, you should be aware of these essential considerations:

1. Home care agencies are insured and bonded, and they have workers’ compensation insurance coverage for their caregiver employees. Independently hired caregivers who aren’t employed by agencies don’t have their own workers’ compensation insurance, and they often don’t have liability insurance, so if they’re injured on the job, the individuals who hired them are responsible. If they hire an independent caregiver, Dana Point families could potentially end up paying thousands of dollars if such an event occurs.
2. Home care service agencies have replacement staff available when caregivers aren’t able to cover their shifts. For families who hire caregivers independently, though, they’ll have to arrange for backup assistance on their own if the caregivers they’ve hired aren’t able to work.
3. An independently hired caregiver can’t be bonded. This is important because bonding provides clients with protection against theft.
4. As employers, families who hire caregivers directly bear responsibility for the caregivers’ training as well as any disciplinary action, including terminating the caregivers’ employment if it becomes necessary. Hiring a home care agency means they’ll take care of all those responsibilities.
5. Families who hire caregivers directly must have the ability to properly evaluate the caregivers’ skills, experience, and quality of caregiving. This is extremely important for families whose loved ones have mobility limitations, require one-on-one assistance with personal care, or are living with cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Reliable home care agencies test and train the caregivers they employ and are able to verify their caregivers’ skills and experience.
6. Families who hire caregivers independently are required by law to file tax forms and payroll taxes, and they’re responsible for verifying the caregivers they hire are legally eligible to work in the United States.

At Assisting Hands Home Care, we understand how today’s economic climate makes it essential for seniors and their families to use their resources as prudently as possible and save money wherever they can. However, before hiring caregivers directly rather than seeking the services of high-quality home care agencies, seniors and their loved ones should give careful consideration to the responsibilities and risks involved.