A provider's reference list is the part of the file the provider picked. The useful call is the one you make yourself, to a family who used the service and then stopped. This guide covers how to get those names, what to ask, what to listen for, and what to write down before you compare two providers or sign anything.

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: Ask for references who have ended service

Ask for three names with phone numbers. Ask that at least two of them be families whose care has ended, not only current clients. Current clients are often still deciding. Former clients have already lived through a missed shift, a bill, and an ending.

If the provider offers only written testimonials, ask for a phone number instead. A written testimonial cannot answer a follow-up question.

Write down:

Reference 1 name: ______________________ Phone: ______________________ Ended service: yes or no ________

Reference 2 name: ______________________ Phone: ______________________ Ended service: yes or no ________

Step 2: Make sure the reference knows you are calling

Ask the provider to tell the reference to expect your call. A provider who will not let you reach a former client directly, or who wants to sit in on the call, has given you a reason to ask why before you go further.

Step 3: Ask the same five questions every time

Use the same questions for every reference and for every provider, so the answers can be compared side by side.

  1. How long did the caregiver serve, and did you get the same person on most shifts?
  2. Tell me about the last shift that did not go as planned. How did the agency tell you, and how fast?
  3. Did the bill match the agreement you signed? If it did not, what changed, and who explained it to you?
  4. What did the agency tell you that did not turn out to be true?
  5. When you ended service, how much notice did you give, and did the ending go the way the contract said it would?

If the household used the caregiver for medication reminders or pharmacy pickups, ask whether those errands stayed within that list. Medicine itself stays with the family, the doctor, and the pharmacist. A reference who describes the caregiver doing more than reminders or pickups has told you something the provider needs to explain.

Step 4: Listen for specifics

Specific answers are the signal. Listen for:

  • A named shift or a named day of the week, even if the details are general.
  • A description of what the agency did after the problem, such as who called, how long it took, and whether a replacement arrived.
  • A rough count of missed shifts, including zero, given without the reference guessing or changing the number.

Be wary of these answers:

  • Praise on every question with no example behind any of it.
  • A problem described with no account of how it was handled.
  • A bill described as fine, with no explanation of what it covered.
  • A reference who says the agency suggested what to say, or who seems to be reading from a sheet.

Step 5: Walk away if the list does not hold up

Stop comparing a provider if any of these happen:

  • The provider will not give you the name of any family whose care has ended.
  • The provider's references are all staff members, relatives of staff, or families who have never received a shift.
  • A reference describes a missed shift that the agency never reported to them.
  • Your questions about the bill, the notice period, or the replacement policy get the same answer you were given in the sales call, with no document attached.

Step 6: Write one comparison sheet for every provider

Fill this out after the calls, before you talk to the next provider.

Provider name: ______________________

Reference A heard from you: yes or no ______ Missed shift handled: ______________________ Bill matched agreement: yes or no ______

Reference B heard from you: yes or no ______ Missed shift handled: ______________________ Bill matched agreement: yes or no ______

Ended service with notice as written: yes or no ______ Anything the agency said that did not hold up: ______________________

When you compare two providers, compare only the rows both sheets have filled in. A blank line is not a yes, and it means you still have a question to ask.

For the order of steps across the whole decision, see Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring. For how this desk checks what it publishes, see How We Write the Sheets.