Scope drift is the slow change from the written job to the job people actually ask for. It usually starts with one small favor. Then the favor repeats, and no one writes it down. By the time the family notices, the caregiver is doing things that were never on the sheet, and no one agreed to pay for them. This guide shows how to catch it early.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Step 1: Freeze the list you wrote

  1. Copy the written list of duties exactly as it was agreed.
  2. Write the date it was agreed and who agreed to it. Keep it where everyone in the house can see it.

Duties on the written list: ______________________________________________

Step 2: Keep a running line of added tasks

For the first two months, keep a single sheet by the phone. Each time someone asks the caregiver for something not on the list, write it down with three facts: what was asked, who asked, and whether it was done.

  1. Task added: ____________________ Asked by: ____________________ Done: yes / no
  2. Task added: ____________________ Asked by: ____________________ Done: yes / no
  3. Task added: ____________________ Asked by: ____________________ Done: yes / no

Step 3: Read the early signs

  • Family members start sending the caregiver to run errands for relatives or neighbors.
  • The caregiver stays past the scheduled end because the list has grown.
  • The caregiver is asked to clean areas the sheet does not mention, then the sheet is never updated.
  • No one can say who approved the new task.
  • The caregiver asks, quietly, whether a task is theirs to do.

Write the signs you see: ______________________________________________

Step 4: Ask the questions in the same week

  1. Which tasks were added since the start, and who asked for each one?
  2. Which of those tasks belong on the written list, and which should stop?
  3. What does the caregiver need from us to keep the list accurate?

Keep these lines clear: A caregiver may give medication reminders and pick up prescriptions as an errand. Giving, sorting, or managing medicine stays with the family, the doctor, and the pharmacist. If a task drifts toward medicine, stop it and write the question for your parent's doctor or pharmacist.

Step 5: Walk away when the drift cannot be fixed

Stop and reconsider the arrangement if the caregiver is pressured to take on work outside the list, or if the family refuses to update the written list after the drift has been named. Write down the request, the answer, and who gave it.

For a fuller view of how a written job is kept honest over time, see How We Write the Sheets.