Selecting appropriate elderly home care services can feel overwhelming due to conflicting information and promotional content. Finding balanced, unbiased guidance is essential when evaluating long-term care options for aging parents or loved ones.
This guide reviews a practical home care decision framework originally published on the AARP website. This resource provides an objective foundation to evaluate caregiving needs, assess budgets, and select qualified care providers.
We first presented this list a few years back, and AARP has added new content to their Care at Home website since then. But the original list offers what we think is a simple, objective series of questions you and your family can use to help identify your best options for in-home health care, so we’re bringing it back for another look.
If you are exploring independent living solutions or family caregiving resources, this structured approach helps clarify your next steps. For broader planning, consider reviewing the AARP Family Caregiving Guide as a downloadable reference.
Understanding In-Home Health Care Options and Needs
“If your goal is to allow your loved one to continue to live independently at home —in-home care might be the best solution for your loved one and you,” the article begins, adding that in-home care has many flexible options based on hours of care, level of need, and budget.
The original article presented the following questions to help you parse out the right care arrangement for your unique situation. Let’s dive in!
Step 1: Defining the Scope of Senior Care Services
There are many different kinds of in-home care professionals who can provide a wide range of services and help with a whole spectrum of needs. When thinking through your goals, consider whether you’re looking for someone to step in for a few hours while you’re at work, whether you need someone to fill in the gaps in your skills or comfort level, or something even more (or less) involved.
A few services that in-home care professionals can provide are: help with hygiene (bathing, dressing, and similar activities of daily living), grocery shopping and meal prep, medication arrangement and/or help with medical equipment, coordination of doctor appointments, and household maintenance and chores. Make a clear list of the type of services you’re looking for; this will help narrow down your choices and make your final decision much easier.
Step 2: Determining Caregiving Frequency and Schedule
Every situation is different. While some people might need in-home care for only a few hours every day, others may need round-the-clock attention. If you’re not quite sure just how much help your loved one needs, consider the following questions:
1. What’s the extent and nature of your loved one’s needs? Are they general household chores, personal grooming, or companion services and activities that enhance their quality of life?
2. How often will you or others be available to provide similar services?
3. Are there times when you know you cannot be available to help?
Step 3: Calculating In-Home Care Expenses and Financing
As with most things related to health care, costs can vary widely depending on the level and frequency of need. The article provides the following questions to think through the affordability of the care you’ll need:
1. Will insurance cover any of the services? Check with your loved one’s insurance company to be sure.
2. Can you reduce the cost by asking family and friends to help provide some of the services needed?
3. Do local senior agencies or churches provide similar services, which might help offset some of the costs?
Step 4: Assessing Comfort Levels with Non-Family Caregivers
An underrated topic of discussion when considering in-home care is the level of comfort that you and your loved one might have with welcoming a stranger—however professional—into your home and personal space.
The article invites you to start the conversation with two possible questions:
1. What role does your loved one perceive the caregiver will play in their day-to-day activities?
2. Does your loved one have concerns about receiving help from a non-family caregiver and have an idea of the type of person with whom they would be most comfortable?
Step 5: Vetting Home Care Agencies and Care Providers
With all of the answers to the previous questions in your toolkit, it’s time to look for the right company and/or provider who fits your needs, budget, and expectations.
You can consider the following to help you narrow down your list:
1. How does a company assess your needs, and how are you matched with a caregiver?
2. How does the company vet their caregivers?
3. Is the caregiver an employee of the company or of the family that engages the caregiver?
4. Who is responsible for pre-screening and performing background checks on the caregiver?
As a final note, the article warns, “There is no national standard background check requirement in place for in-home care workers. Some states require nationwide criminal background checks, including fingerprint-based checks, on in-home care workers.”
Because of this, the article urges that you should discuss with the company about how it screens, trains, and supervises its care workers.
And finally, to ensure proper supervision of how the caregiving is going, it’s a good idea to ask if the caregiver will create a care plan, and—if so—how progress on the plan is measured and monitored. Also, find out how the caregiver plans to keep you informed of your loved one’s care. Do they utilize available technology, like a mobile app, to keep you up to date?
AARP has several more tips and resources for evaluating your needs and options for in-home care. This article from 2025 is a good place to start.
Expert Guidance: Rajiv Nagaich on Retirement and Care Planning
Rajiv Nagaich’s newest program on PBS, called Designing Your Ideal Future, is bringing Rajiv’s powerful message to Americans from coast to coast. This engaging and challenging PBS special is prompting thousands to take a fresh look at the type of planning that will help them succeed in retirement.
In this one-hour PBS special, Rajiv Nagaich takes viewers step-by-step through the principles of creating a retirement plan that truly supports the life you want to live. Instead of generic check-the-box paperwork, Rajiv reveals how to infuse your perspective — your values, goals, and priorities — into every legal document and life plan component so your plan becomes a living system for your future.
Designing Your Ideal Future includes insights from real-world planning examples and a live Q&A with Rajiv Nagaich that answers viewer questions about retirement planning, legal readiness, and family communication. It’s perfect for anyone approaching retirement, currently retired, or responsible for a loved one’s future care — and for those who want a clear, effective approach to planning that prioritizes personal choice and quality of life.
Protecting Your Retirement Security and Long-Term Quality of Life
You’ve heard Rajiv say it repeatedly: 70 percent of retirement plans will fail. If you know someone whose retirement turned into a nightmare when they were forced into a nursing home, went broke paying for care, or became a burden to their families – and you want to make sure it doesn’t happen to you – then these materials are your key to retirement success.
Visit your local PBS station’s schedule to find airtimes and learn how to access companion resources — including a free Legal Readiness Quiz and tools to help build your complete LifePlanning system.
Don’t remain among the millions of Americans sleepwalking their way into a retirement they never wanted. Instead, your retirement can be the exciting and fulfilling life you’ve always hoped it would be. Start by watching, reading and sharing Rajiv’s important message.
And remember, Age On, everyone!nightmare when they were forced into a nursing home, went broke paying for care, or became a burden to their families – and you want to make sure it doesn’t happen to you – then these materials are your key to retirement success.
Visit your local PBS station’s schedule to find airtimes and learn how to access companion resources — including a free Legal Readiness Quiz and tools to help build your complete LifePlanning system.
Don’t remain among the millions of Americans sleepwalking their way into a retirement they never wanted. Instead, your retirement can be the exciting and fulfilling life you’ve always hoped it would be. Start by watching, reading and sharing Rajiv’s important message.
And remember, Age On, everyone!
The post AARP Checklist Can Help You Choose the Best In-Home Care Options appeared first on Home.
