By the time a family starts calling home care agencies, something has usually already happened — a fall, a diagnosis, a discharge date. You're making one of the more consequential hires of your life, under time pressure, in an industry you learned existed last Tuesday. Agencies know this. The good ones respond with clarity. The bad ones respond with a contract and a pen.

The short version: Eight questions separate a professional agency from a staffing mill: license and insurance, who actually employs the caregiver, training and turnover, supervision, the assessment, matching and backup, communication, and pricing in writing. The card below is built for the phone calls — save it, and walk away from anyone who pressures you to sign the same day.

The eight questions

CAREPALI · SAVE THIS FOR THE PHONE CALLS 8 questions before you hire an agency 1 HCO license + $1M liability Verify on the CDSS registry yourself 2 W-2 employees or 1099? 1099 can shift liability onto you 3 Training and turnover National turnover runs ~65%/year — ask theirs 4 Supervision cadence A care manager in the home monthly 5 In-person assessment By an RN, LCSW, or trained care manager 6 Matching + backup plan Who shows up when the caregiver can't? 7 One contact + 24/7 line Real-time notes your family can see 8 Pricing in writing LA range $35–40/hr; minimums, OT, holidays Walk away from: pressure to sign today • no verifiable references • vague rates carepali.com • (310) 818-3217 California HCO rules + CDSS registry

A few of these deserve the longer version:

1. License and insurance — verify it yourself

Every legitimate agency in California holds an HCO license you can check in the state CDSS registry in about two minutes. Ask for a current liability certificate too; $1M is the standard. If either request produces hesitation, you have your answer.

2. W-2 or 1099 — the question families never ask

If caregivers are 1099 contractors rather than W-2 employees, workers' comp and payroll liability can land on you, the client. This single question eliminates a surprising share of the market.

3–4. Turnover and supervision — the quality tells

National caregiver turnover runs about 65% a year, higher in LA. An agency that knows its own number and can explain how it keeps people is telling you something real about caregiver quality. Same with supervision: a care manager should be in the home monthly, not just when something breaks — regular supervisory visits correct problems dramatically faster.

5–6. The assessment and the backup plan

A phone-only assessment is a staffing transaction, not care planning. Insist on an in-person assessment by an RN, LCSW, or trained care manager covering the physical, cognitive, emotional, and home-environment picture. Then ask the question that reveals operational depth: who shows up when the regular caregiver can't? Consistency matters clinically — stable caregiver matches mean measurably fewer incidents — so the backup answer should be a plan, not a shrug.

8. Pricing in writing, always

LA-area rates run $35–40/hour, higher for specialized care; 20–40 hours a week lands between $3,000 and $7,000 a month. Get minimums, overtime, holiday rates, and cancellation terms in writing — roughly 30% of contracts bury unclear cost terms. Ask whether they work with long-term care insurance, VA benefits, and IHSS.

Where CarePali sits in this

We built CarePali to survive this checklist — W-2 caregivers, LiveScan background checks, insured, in-person assessments, and pricing you see before you commit. But use the questions on us too. That's what they're for.

The honest starting point, if you're not sure what you even need yet, is the 90-Minute Care Plan: a 90-minute in-home assessment with Patrick, then a written plan within three days — what's needed, how often, at real Westside prices. $450, and the plan is yours to take to any agency you choose.

CarePali serves Santa Monica, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Bel Air, and coastal Ventura. Making these calls this week? Call or text (310) 818-3217, email reach@carepali.com, or book a discovery call — 30 minutes, and if we're not the right fit we'll point you to someone who is.