You are about to hand part of her day to someone else, and that person or company will be in your kitchen and in her bedroom. Before you sign anything, judge them by what they will put in writing, who covers the shift that falls through, and what they will and will not touch. Price comes after that.

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Ask who is actually coming

Ask whether the people who walk in are employees or contracted workers, and what background checks and training records the agency keeps. Ask for the name of the person who supervises the aide and how to reach that person on a weekday afternoon and on a weekend. A good provider answers this without fuss. If you only get a sales line, you have learned something.

Get the task list on paper before the first shift

Ask for a written list of what the aide does in each part of the day: help into a chair, meals, toileting, bathing, laundry, company. Then ask the question most families skip: what will the aide not do. Read that list against your own day sheet. If your sheet says she needs help with transfers at 6 p.m. and the list says light housekeeping only, you have found the gap before it costs you a fall.

Find out where the medicine stays

Ask each provider directly what their aides do with medicine. In most arrangements a hired non-medical aide can remind her when a dose is due and can pick up a prescription as an errand. Handing out pills, setting up a pill box, sorting, or managing the supply is a different job, and it stays with you, her doctor and her pharmacist. Have the provider write that line into the agreement in those words. If a company hesitates, or says the aides handle the pills as part of the package, stop there and ask what their licensed staff are responsible for.

Ask about the missed shift

Every provider has a bad week. Ask what happens when the scheduled aide calls in sick at 7 a.m. Ask how long it takes to send a replacement, whether that person is briefed on her transfers and routine before arriving, and whether you are billed for a shift you did not receive. Ask about the notice period if you want to stop, and whether a short visit carries a minimum billing block. Write each answer down next to the name of the person who gave it.

Check how you will hear about the day

Ask whether they leave a written note after each visit, what it covers, and whether you can read it on your phone. That note is your only view of a shift you did not see. If it says only that she was fine, ask for more: what she ate, whether she was changed, whether she was upset, whether anything was out of the ordinary. Set the rule now that any fall, any refused meal, or any new confusion gets a phone call from them the same day.

Compare three, not one

Take the same five questions to at least three providers and line the answers up side by side on one sheet. Look for the vague answer that appears in only one column. The provider who is specific on the first call is usually the one who is still specific three months in. If you need a starting list of providers in your area, the local help page on this site is a place to begin.

The Provider Earns the Handoff: Five Questions to Ask Before You Hire Home Care