Tips for Consumers: Interviewing a Caregiver

Ask for a sample of the person’s on the job record keeping.
Experienced caregivers will generally maintain a journal to keep track of daily activities.
Prepare some scenarios of things that you think might occur with your particular situation and ask how they would respond to or handle it.
Make sure to do a background or criminal records check before you allow someone in your home to care for your loved one.
Ask for references of former clients.
Be wary of persons that claim to have experience yet cannot offer any professional references along with current with contact information.
Consider a trial or probationary period, after which the relationship and the work-to-date can be reviewed, and a determination made as to whether to continue with the agreement, modify it, or terminate it can be made.
Make sure that you have some form of written agreement between you and the worker concerning the work to be done; the agreed upon compensation for that work; the timeframe; frequency; and other details.Both you and the employee should sign and date the document.
Where possible, practical, and appropriate, include the person being cared for in any decisions and processes relative to the interviewing and hiring of a caregiver.