Most families start calling before they know what they are buying. The calls then return a stack of agency names, rates that cannot be compared side by side, and caregivers who may not fit the job. The fix is a short test you run on paper before you dial. If the sentence passes, you are ready to call. If it fails, you are still deciding, and that is useful to know before a stranger asks you questions you cannot answer.

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: Write the job in one sentence

Use this shape: We need someone at [address] for [hours] on [days] to help with [the specific tasks that have stopped getting done].

Write your sentence here:

______________________________________________________________

Step 2: Put the sentence through three questions

Question 1: Can a stranger act on it without calling you? The sentence must name tasks such as bathing, meals, medication reminders, rides to appointments, or overnight watch. A feeling such as she needs more help does not pass.

Tasks I can name: ______________________________________

Question 2: Does it name the hours? Write a start time and an end time for each day help is needed. If the answer is it depends, write the three most likely patterns instead.

Pattern A: ________________ Pattern B: ________________ Pattern C: ________________

Question 3: Does it name who decides? Write the name of the one person who approves a change in hours, the one who approves a change in caregiver, and the one who ends the arrangement. Others can be copied, but they should not be the approver.

Approves hours: ____________ Approves caregiver change: ____________ Ends arrangement: ____________

Step 3: Read the failures as instructions

  1. Fails Question 1. Your task list is still a feeling. Go back over the last two weeks and write down every task that was missed, late, or done by someone who will not be available next time.
  2. Fails Question 2. You do not yet know the hours. Keep a notebook for seven days. Record when the parent needed a hand, when you were called, and when you could not come. Do not start a search until those seven days are written down.
  3. Fails Question 3. Nobody owns the decision. Two siblings who disagree are not a reason to stop. They are a reason to name one person who signs. The Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring page lays out the order these decisions usually follow.

Step 4: Use the passing sentence as your comparison tool

When all three questions pass, send the same sentence to every provider you are considering. Write down what each one says back, including the hours they confirm, the tasks they agree to, and the person they name as their contact. Compare those answers, not how pleasant each call felt.

A provider that will not put your stated hours in writing is not quoting the same job as the others. Mark that on your sheet and move on.

What to keep in the folder

  • The one sentence, dated by you when you wrote it
  • The three patterns of hours
  • The name of the approver for hours, caregiver changes, and ending the arrangement
  • One line per provider with their answers to the same sentence