How to Choose a Home Care Agency in Ann Arbor: 12 Questions Every Family Should Ask (and the Answers You Want)

After a decade of walking families through this decision, first as a hospice chaplain, then as a home care agency owner, I’ve come to believe that the families who choose well are the ones who ask better questions.

Most families comparing agencies ask about price and availability, which is understandable but not enough. The right agency for your parent isn’t the cheapest one or the one with a caregiver available Monday. It’s the one that will actually show up the way your family needs, that trains and treats their caregivers well, that answers the phone when something is going wrong, and that tells you the truth even when it isn’t what you want to hear.

Here are twelve questions I would want every Ann Arbor family to ask before signing with any agency, along with the kind of answer that should give you confidence, and the kind of answer that should make you keep looking.

1. Who owns and runs this agency?

Home care is a very personal service, and knowing who is actually behind the operation matters more than families often realize. Corporate franchise systems can vary widely in how they operate at the local level, and the owner of your specific local office is usually the person setting the tone for everything: how caregivers are hired and trained, how families are treated on the phone, how emergencies get handled at two in the morning.

The answer you want: A named person you can reach directly, ideally one who has been in this work for years and who lives in the community they serve. When you ask about their background, listen for a real connection to eldercare, healthcare, or human services. When you ask how involved they are in the day-to-day, listen for specific examples, not vague talk about being “hands-on.”

Watch for: an office you can’t reach a real person at, or a corporate voicemail that routes to somewhere out of state.

2. Are your caregivers your employees, or are they independent contractors?

This is one of the most important questions in home care, and most families don’t know to ask it. The answer changes almost everything about how the care actually works.

Employees are hired by the agency, W-2 payroll, background-checked, trained, insured, and supervised. The agency handles payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, and unemployment. If a caregiver is hurt in your parent’s home, the agency’s insurance covers it. If a caregiver doesn’t show up, the agency has to send someone else.

Independent contractors, sometimes called “gray market” or “1099 caregivers,” are essentially self-employed. The agency is really acting more like a matchmaker. The rates are usually cheaper on paper, but the family often ends up in a much more exposed position if something goes wrong.

The answer you want: They employ their caregivers as W-2 employees, and they carry full insurance and bonding.

Watch for: any agency that gets vague about this or explains the “flexibility” of using contractors. It’s a real difference and it will matter one day.

3. What kind of background checks and training do you require?

Not all background checks are equal. A basic state background check is not enough for someone who is going to be alone in your mother’s home with access to her medications, her checkbook, and her belongings.

The answer you want: A comprehensive national background check, a Michigan-specific check, a driving record check for anyone providing transportation, and reference verification from previous employers. On the training side, a real answer includes orientation training before the caregiver is ever placed in a home, ongoing continuing education, and specialized certifications for conditions like dementia, Parkinson’s, and hospice-appropriate care.

Watch for: agencies that only run state background checks, or that treat “training” as a single day of paperwork before the caregiver is sent out.

4. How do you match a caregiver to my parent specifically?

Matching matters more than most people realize. A wonderful caregiver in the wrong home can be the wrong fit. A less-experienced caregiver in the right home can be exactly what a family needs. The agency’s process for making this match is one of the biggest signals of how they actually operate.

The answer you want: A specific process that includes the in-home assessment as part of the matching, consideration of both practical needs (mobility support, dementia experience, transportation) and personality (temperament, hobbies, cultural background, humor). A good agency should be able to describe how they think about matching in specific, concrete language.

Watch for: “Whoever is available first” or a vague answer about “always sending our best caregivers.”

At our agency, I do the in-home assessment personally, and I use that hour to build a picture of both your parent’s care needs and their personality. Then I go through my caregiver roster with that picture in mind. When I find the right person, I show up with them for the first shift so I can make the introductions and make sure everyone is comfortable in the home.

5. What are your shift minimums, and what do they cost?

Every agency has minimum shift lengths, and understanding what those are before you sign matters. Most reputable agencies in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County have a three or four-hour shift minimum. There are real reasons for this — a caregiver can’t drive across the county for a one-hour shift and cover their own gas, let alone rent, but the way an agency talks about their minimums tells you a lot about how they think.

The answer you want: A clear explanation of the shift minimums, why they exist, and what the hourly rate is at each level of care (standard care, dementia-specialized, 24-hour). The rate should be somewhere in the $30 to $42 per hour range for Ann Arbor in 2026, depending on the level of care needed. If you’d like to see a full breakdown of what home care actually costs in Ann Arbor and how families pay for it, we walk through that in our companion piece on cost.

Watch for: shockingly low rates (which usually mean the caregivers are underpaid, which means turnover is high) or vague pricing that shifts once you’re already committed.

6. Who do I call if something goes wrong at two in the morning?

This is the question that separates real agencies from paper agencies. Home care emergencies do not happen during business hours.

The answer you want: A real 24-hour on-call line with a real person answering, not a voicemail. Ideally, an owner or care coordinator who knows the caregivers and can actually solve a problem when it comes up. Even better if the agency proactively describes how they handle after-hours emergencies before you have to ask.

Watch for: “Just call the office in the morning.”

If you’re comparing agencies right now and would like to walk through your specific situation, you can schedule a free in-home assessment and I’ll give you an honest read on what your family actually needs, even if it turns out we’re not the right fit. No cost and no pressure to decide that day.

7. What happens when my regular caregiver is sick or on vacation?

Continuity of care is one of the most important things for older adults, especially those with dementia. A revolving door of unfamiliar caregivers can be disorienting and stressful. But caregivers are people too, and they get sick, take vacations, and have emergencies of their own. How the agency handles those inevitable gaps is a real test.

The answer you want: A backup caregiver system that your parent has already met, so a familiar face steps in when the primary is out. Advance notice for planned absences. Careful matching for last-minute coverage, not just “whoever is available.”

Watch for: unfamiliar caregivers showing up unannounced, or a pattern of last-minute substitutions.

8. Do you carry insurance and bonding, and can I see documentation?

This is a boring question that becomes very important if something goes wrong. A caregiver could break something, injure themselves in your parent’s home, or (rarely, but it happens) take something they shouldn’t. Insurance and bonding is how the agency protects both the family and the caregiver.

The answer you want: General liability insurance, professional liability insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, and dishonesty bonding. The agency should be able to provide a certificate of insurance on request.

Watch for: hesitation on any of these, or an offer to “email it later” that doesn’t happen.

9. Do your caregivers have specialized training for dementia, Parkinson’s, and end-of-life care?

Different conditions require different skills. A caregiver who is wonderful with a mostly independent client may not be prepared to safely care for someone in middle-stage dementia. A caregiver working with a hospice patient needs to understand the specific emotional and physical realities of that season.

The answer you want: Specialized training programs for specific conditions, either through nationally recognized certifications (like the Certified Dementia Practitioner program) or through internal specialty training. Ask specifically about training for the conditions your parent has.

Watch for: agencies that treat all care as interchangeable, or that don’t distinguish between companion care and specialized care.

If dementia is part of your family’s picture, our companion piece on dementia care at home walks through what to look for in more detail.

10. What’s your process if a caregiver isn’t the right fit for my parent?

Even with careful matching, sometimes a caregiver and a client don’t click. Personalities can clash, or a family member and caregiver may have communication styles that just don’t work. How an agency handles this without drama or defensiveness matters a lot.

The answer you want: A no-questions-asked reassignment process. The family should be able to request a different caregiver without needing to justify it in detail, without hurting the current caregiver’s employment, and without disrupting the care schedule. A good agency understands that fit matters and doesn’t take it personally.

Watch for: any hint that changing caregivers is a burden, or that the family has to “give it more time” before a change is possible.

11. Are there any hidden fees, and what will my actual monthly bill look like?

Home care billing is not usually complicated, but the specifics matter. Some agencies charge for mileage separately. Some charge holiday premiums or overnight premiums. Some have a minimum weekly billing structure. None of these are necessarily bad, but you should know before you sign.

The answer you want: A written care plan and estimate that includes every possible line item, so you know exactly what your bill will look like each month. Weekend rates, holiday rates, overnight rates, and any premiums should be spelled out clearly.

Watch for: verbal-only pricing, surprise fees on the first invoice, or a reluctance to put the estimate in writing.

12. If we need to stop care, what does that process look like?

This is the question most families forget to ask, and it becomes very important later. Circumstances change. Your parent may move to memory care. They may pass away. They may need less care than expected. The agency’s exit process tells you a lot about how they see the relationship.

The answer you want: A simple, no-drama termination process. No long-term contracts. No exit fees. A reasonable notice period (usually a week or two). A final bill that only covers care actually provided.

Watch for: long-term contracts, cancellation fees, or a reluctance to talk about ending care at all.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between a home care agency and hiring a caregiver privately?

Hiring privately is usually cheaper per hour on the surface, but it puts you in the role of employer. You become responsible for background checks, payroll taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, scheduling backups when someone is sick, and managing the relationship. A licensed agency handles all of that, plus carries professional insurance and provides ongoing training. For most families, the agency model is the lower-risk choice once you factor in everything that doesn’t show up on the hourly rate.

How do I check if a home care agency is licensed in Michigan?

Non-medical home care agencies in Michigan are not required to be licensed by the state in the same way home health agencies are. That makes the questions above more important, not less. What you can verify is business registration, insurance certificates, and complaint history through the Better Business Bureau or online review platforms.

What are the red flags of a bad home care agency?

The most common ones I’ve seen are: caregivers treated as contractors instead of employees, no clear 24-hour emergency line, high caregiver turnover (ask directly how many caregivers have been with the agency for more than a year), verbal-only pricing, and a reluctance to put anything in writing. Any single one of these is worth a follow-up question. Two or three should send you looking elsewhere.

How many home care agencies should I interview before choosing one?

Most families I work with talk to two or three. The in-home assessment is where you really get a feel for who you’ll be working with, so it’s worth doing a couple of them even if you already have a favorite in mind after the phone calls. The right agency will encourage you to talk to others.

What if my parent doesn’t want any caregiver in the home?

That’s a real and common situation, and it’s the reason a lot of families put this off longer than they should. If you’re stuck at “how do we even bring this up,” our piece on how to talk to your aging parent about in-home care walks through it. Sometimes it takes several conversations, and sometimes it takes a small change (a caregiver for one hour a week to help with a specific task) to open the door to more.

What I’d want you to leave with

Choosing a home care agency is one of the more consequential decisions your family will make, and it deserves the same care you’d bring to choosing a doctor or a school. The questions above are what I would want to know if I were the daughter or son trying to figure this out for the first time.

If you’d like to walk through what I’d tell you at an assessment, you can schedule a free in-home visit. There’s no cost and no pressure to decide that day. I’ll give you an honest read on what your family needs, and if we’re not the right fit, I’ll tell you so.

If you’d rather compare our answers to these twelve questions with the answers from other agencies you’re talking to, that’s exactly what I’d hope you’d do. The right agency for your family should be able to answer every one of these questions clearly and without hesitation.

About the author

Elizabeth Snyder Corman is the owner of Home Helpers Home Care of Ann Arbor, serving families in Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Pinckney, and Whitmore Lake. Before opening the agency, she served as a hospital chaplain through the COVID-19 pandemic and as a hospice chaplain. She holds an M.Div. and brings the chaplaincy posture, slow listening, no rushing, honest answers, into every assessment.

Comparing your options? Read our companion piece on what in-home care actually costs in Ann Arbor, or schedule a free in-home assessment to see how we answer these twelve questions in person.