An overnight shift is where the house decides the arrangement. A caregiver who sleeps in the home needs a bed, a door that closes, a bathroom reachable on a route your parent can manage, and a reliable way to be called. Count those before you ask anyone for a rate or post the job. This guide covers only the sleeping arrangement. For the full house count, start with Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring.

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: Name the Overnight Hours

  1. Write the hours the caregiver is in the house overnight.
    Bedtime: ____________ Morning wake: ____________
  2. Write how often your parent has needed help during the night in the last month, as best you know it.
    Times: ____________
  3. Write who knows the answer besides you. ____________

Step 2: Decide What the Caregiver Does All Night

Sleeping in and staying awake need different things. Pick one and write it down before you size anything else.

What it costs: The Missouri median for non-medical in-home care is $33 an hour, per the CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025 state data tables, released March 2026. New Plan Care's standard rate is $34 an hour with a four-hour minimum, so a visit starts at $136 (newplancare.com/services).

  • Sleeps in the home and is woken when needed. Needs a bed and a closing door.
  • Stays awake and checks in by room. Needs a chair, a lit route, and a clear line of sight to the parent's room.
  • Mixed. Write the hours for each: ____________

Step 3: Count the Beds and Doors

  1. Is there a bed in the house that is not your parent's bed? Yes / No. Room: ____________
  2. Does that room's door close and latch from inside? Yes / No
  3. How many steps from that bed to your parent's bed? ____________ Compare this to the walk from your parent's bed to the bathroom.
  4. If there is no spare bed, write where the caregiver would sleep instead. Do not accept "we will figure it out" as an answer. ____________

Step 4: Walk the Night Route

Turn off the lights and walk the route your parent would take at night, from the bed to the bathroom and from the caregiver's bed to the parent's room.

  1. Count the steps and the turns. ____________
  2. Is a light on the route at night? Yes / No. If no, note what would light it. ____________
  3. Is anything on the floor or in the path: rugs, cords, pets, shoes? List them: ____________

Step 5: Test the Call

Your parent's call method decides how fast help arrives. Test it from the caregiver's bed and from the bathroom door.

  • Method: bell / phone / monitor / voice. ____________
  • Seconds before the call is heard from the caregiver's bed: ____________
  • If the call is not heard, who else in the house hears it? ____________

Step 6: Ask the Questions Before You Commit

  • Which room will you sleep in, and what do you need in it?
  • If my parent calls out in the night, what do you do first, and when do you call me?
  • Who decides whether a night needs a second person?
  • How are the sleeping hours counted on the schedule, and who writes that count down?
  • What will you bring, and what do you expect from us for linens and the bathroom?

Answers to Listen For

  • A named room, a named call method, and a named first step when the parent calls out.
  • A plain answer about the sleeping hours and how they are written down.
  • A caregiver who asks to see the route before saying yes.

Signs to Walk Away

  • No answer about which room they will use or where they will sleep.
  • A plan that depends on the parent's bed or on a chair with no written reason.
  • Pressure to decide before you have walked the route.
  • Visitors or other people expected to stay in the house overnight, not written on the schedule.

Write It Down

Fill these in before the first night and keep the page with the schedule.

  • Overnight hours: ____________
  • Caregiver room and bed: ____________
  • Route checked on (day): ____________ Light on route: Yes / No
  • Call method and time to hear: ____________
  • Second person to call if the first does not answer: ____________

Questions about your parent's night needs belong with your parent's doctor and, when the need is clear, with a qualified person who can assess the home. For how these sheets are built and checked, see How We Write the Sheets.