A caregiver spends hours inside your parent's home, with their papers, their belongings, and their daily routine in view. The questions about what gets recorded, where it lives, and who can see it are easy to skip during a busy phone week. Ask them before the first shift, and get each answer in writing.

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.

This is a list of questions to ask and answers to write down, not legal advice. If the answer affects a contract you are about to sign, the family can take it to a lawyer of its own choosing.

Step 1: Ask the recording questions

  1. May the caregiver take photographs or video in the home? If yes, of what, and who decides?
  2. May the caregiver use a personal phone for care messages? If yes, will they send photos or notes from it?
  3. Are shift notes kept on a provider system, on paper in the home, or both?
  4. Who else at the provider can read the shift notes?

Step 2: Ask the sharing questions

  1. May the caregiver post anything about your parent or the home on social media, now or after the job ends?
  2. May the caregiver speak about your parent to anyone outside the family and the provider?
  3. What is the provider's rule if a neighbor or relative asks the caregiver for news?

Step 3: Ask the keeping questions

  1. What happens to shift notes and photos after the assignment ends?
  2. How do you request a copy of your family's records, and how long does that take?
  3. Who holds the house keys, alarm codes, and account logins, and where are they recorded?

Answers to listen for

A clear answer names the device, the person, and the place a record lives. Good answers include a written policy you can ask for, a named contact for questions about records, and a plain statement of what the caregiver may not do. Vague answers such as we handle that as needed are not answers.

Signs to walk away

  • The provider will not put its privacy rules on paper.
  • The answer changes depending on who you ask at the same company. Use the ask-twice method on this question too.
  • The caregiver is expected to use a personal device for records, and the provider cannot say where those records end up.

What to write down

Write each question, the name of the person who answered, the date of the answer in your own hand, and the exact wording of the policy if one exists. Keep these notes with the signed agreement. See How We Write the Sheets for how this desk sets its own question lists.