12 Questions to Ask a Home Care Company Before Hiring Them
Elderado – October 26, 2026
Executive Verified Home Care Professionals in Ontario share the questions families often overlook, and why the answers matter.
Finding home care for a parent, spouse or someone you love can feel overwhelming.
- How much does it cost?
- What services are included?
- How many hours of care can we arrange?
These are important questions, but there’s more to choosing a home care company than comparing hourly rates.
- What happens if your caregiver calls in sick?
- Who makes sure the care meets expectations?
- And what happens when your loved one’s needs change?
To help families make more informed decisions, we asked professionals from 12 of Elderado’s Executive Verified Home Care Partners:
“What’s one question families might not think to ask before hiring a home care company, but absolutely should?”
Their answers cover caregiver consistency, quality of care, supervision, backup coverage and more.
Here are the questions they recommend asking, along with an explanation of why each one matters.
What You’ll Learn
- Quality of care and supervision: Who monitors care and ensures expectations are being met?
- Responding to changing needs: What happens when your loved one needs more support?
- Caregiver consistency: Will your loved one see familiar caregivers?
- Backup caregivers: What happens when a scheduled caregiver is unavailable?
- Qualifications and screening: What should you know about the caregivers entering your home?
Quality of Care and Supervision
Arranging home care is only the beginning. Families should also understand who monitors the care being provided, how concerns are addressed and who is responsible for making changes.
1. “Who checks on the quality of care after the first visit and what happens if something goes wrong?”
Jake Mitten | Owner & Managing Director, Home Instead Markham
The first visit is important, but what happens afterward matters just as much.
Jake encourages families to understand how a company monitors ongoing care and responds when something isn’t going as expected.
Care needs can change, and small concerns are often easier to address before they become bigger problems.
What to look for: A clear process for monitoring care, reporting concerns and following up when something goes wrong.
2. “Who is actually overseeing the care?”
Steve Kelly | CEO, Always Best Care Senior Services Oakville
Hiring a caregiver is only part of the equation. Families should also understand who is responsible for ensuring the agreed-upon care plan is actually being followed.
Steve emphasizes that good home care requires ongoing supervision, communication and adjustments as a person’s needs change.
It’s important to know that someone is actively overseeing the care, not simply scheduling caregivers to fill shifts.
What to look for: A clearly identified person responsible for overseeing care, monitoring whether the care plan is being followed and coordinating changes when needed.
3. “Who is overseeing my loved one’s care, and how often will a nurse actually see them?”
Michelle Frauley | Founder and CEO, Hospall Homecare
Michelle encourages families to ask about clinical oversight.
For someone with complex or changing care needs, nursing assessments can help identify concerns and determine whether adjustments are needed.
Families should understand who is responsible for overseeing care and whether nursing involvement is included in the services they’re arranging.
What to look for: A named point of contact, clear oversight responsibilities and an explanation of how often reassessments take place. HosPall has published a checklist to help.
4. “Who supervises the care and how does the plan change as needs change?”
Shelby Lovelock | Director of Client Relations, Carevo Home Healthcare
Someone’s home care needs today may be very different from their needs six months from now.
Shelby recommends asking how a provider reviews and adjusts its care plans.
A useful follow-up is whether changes happen only when the family requests them or whether the company has a process for identifying when adjustments may be necessary.
What to look for: Care plan reviews, clear communication and a process for adapting services when needs change.
5. “How do you ensure my loved one is receiving the quality of care we agreed upon?”
Karen Javier | Territory Director, FirstLight Home Care North York
Family members aren’t always present when care is being provided.
Karen encourages families to understand how the company confirms that caregivers are following the agreed-upon care plan.
This may include supervision, communication with caregivers, family feedback and procedures for resolving concerns.
What to look for: A way to verify that agreed-upon care is being delivered and a clear process for addressing concerns.
Recognizing and Responding to Changing Needs
Sometimes the biggest challenge isn’t arranging care. It’s recognizing when the current level of support is no longer enough.
6. “When my loved one’s needs change, who is responsible for recognizing it, responding to it, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks?”
Girlie Hart | Founder & CEO, Modern Angels Healthcare
Girlie highlights three important responsibilities: recognizing changes, responding appropriately and following through.
A caregiver may notice that someone is eating less, becoming more confused or having greater difficulty moving around.
But identifying a concern is only the first step. Families should know who receives that information, who decides what happens next and how the company ensures the issue is addressed.
What to look for: Clear accountability for identifying changes, communicating concerns and following through on next steps.
Caregiver Consistency and Matching
Home care is personal. The caregiver may be helping with bathing, dressing, mobility and other activities that require trust.
For many older adults, especially those living with dementia, familiar faces and predictable routines can make a meaningful difference.
7. “Will my loved one have a consistent caregiver who gets to know them, their routines and what makes them feel comfortable?”
Vanessa Varga | Co-founder, PSW To The Rescue
Vanessa emphasizes the value of having a caregiver who gets to know the person receiving care.
A familiar caregiver can learn someone’s preferences, routines and communication style, making everyday care more comfortable.
She also highlights the importance of keeping family members informed about how visits are going.
What to look for: A commitment to caregiver consistency, familiarity with personal routines and regular family communication.
8. “Will the caregiver be matched to the client and be assigned to come on the exact same days and times, and what is your specific strategy for maintaining that continuity?”
Mario Thomas | President-Waterloo Region, Qualicare Home Care Waterloo Region
Mario encourages families to go beyond asking whether a company tries to provide consistent caregivers.
Ask how it actually makes that happen.
Matching caregivers based on experience and personality is one consideration. Maintaining a predictable schedule is another.
What to look for: A specific explanation of caregiver matching, scheduling and how continuity is maintained when staffing changes are unavoidable.
Backup Caregivers and Missed Visits
Three contributors independently raised this issue.
When a caregiver is sick, unavailable or unable to attend a scheduled visit, what happens next?
For someone who depends on assistance with essential daily activities, this isn’t a small detail.
9. “What happens when our regular caregiver is not available for a scheduled visit?”
Glen Robson | Owner, Home Instead Peterborough
Glen recommends asking what happens when the regular caregiver can’t attend a visit.
Will the company arrange a replacement? Will that person have the right experience? How quickly will the family be notified?
The answers can tell families a great deal about how a company plans for unexpected staffing challenges.
What to look for: A realistic backup plan, timely communication and an explanation of how replacement caregivers are selected.
10. “What is your backup plan if my caregiver can’t make it, and how quickly will you send a qualified replacement?”
Mehwish Bashir | CEO/Founder, MyWish Healthcare Solutions
Mehwish focuses on the speed and qualifications of replacement caregivers.
It’s important to know whether a provider has backup staff, but families should also understand how quickly a replacement can realistically arrive.
That becomes especially important when someone depends on care at specific times.
What to look for: An established replacement process, appropriately qualified backup caregivers and realistic response times.
11. “What happens if my regular caregiver is sick, unavailable, or unable to make their scheduled visit?”
Jenna Proctor | Owner, At The Core Home Health
Jenna encourages families to consider what happens when care doesn’t go according to plan.
Who contacts the family? How is a replacement arranged? What happens if the problem occurs outside regular business hours?
These are practical questions worth asking before services begin.
What to look for: Clear notification procedures, backup staffing arrangements and a reliable contact when unexpected problems arise.
Caregiver Qualifications and Screening
Choosing a home care company also means understanding the people who will be entering your loved one’s home.
12. Before hiring a home care company, families should ask more about the psw staff that will be visiting their loved ones. They should ask about their experience in the field, training, how they are screened by the company, consistency of psw and how long they have worked for the company?
Michelle Lubberts | Client Care Manager, RN, Memories+ Home Healthcare
Michelle encourages families to learn more about the individual personal support workers (PSWs) who will be providing care.
That includes their education, experience, screening and how long they’ve worked for the company.
Families may also want to ask how qualifications are verified, what background checks are completed and whether caregivers receive ongoing training.
What to look for: Transparent answers about caregiver qualifications, screening, experience, training and staff retention.
What Should You Do With These Answers?
The goal isn’t to find a home care company that gives you the perfect answer to every question.
It’s to understand how each provider operates and whether their approach is a good fit for your needs.
As you compare home care companies, pay attention to three things:
- Specific answers: Can the company explain its actual processes, rather than simply saying it provides excellent care?
- Clear accountability: Do you know whom to contact and who is responsible when something changes or goes wrong?
- The right fit: Do its caregivers, services, scheduling and communication practices meet your needs?
Consider asking the same questions of several providers. Comparing their answers can help you identify meaningful differences.
What Does Executive Verified Mean on Elderado?
The professionals in this article represent home care companies that have participated in Elderado’s Executive Verified Home Care Audit.
Home care companies complete a recorded video audit with Elderado covering important aspects of their operations, including caregiver qualifications, screening, insurance, company practices and services.
The purpose is to give families more transparency into how home care companies operate, helping them compare providers and make informed decisions.
Companies that complete the audit receive an Executive Verified badge on Elderado.
Executive Verified status doesn’t guarantee the quality of care or replace a family’s own due diligence. It provides additional transparency to support the decision-making process.
Find and Compare Home Care Companies in Ontario
Choosing home care can feel like a big responsibility, especially when you’re making decisions for someone you love.
Elderado is a free website that helps older adults and family caregivers search, filter, compare and contact home care companies in Ontario.
You can explore services, learn about individual providers and identify companies that have completed Elderado’s Executive Verified audit.
Thank you to the 12 Executive Verified Home Care Partners who contributed their expertise to this article. By sharing their perspectives, they’re helping families ask better questions and make more informed decisions about home care.