Kai Home Care · 808.400.9627 · KaiHomeCare.com Licensed Home Care Agency · Hawai'i DOH · License 237-HCA
Kai Home Care A practical guide for families

Eight questions to ask any home-care agency

These questions do not have marketing answers — they have documents, names, and numbers behind them. Bring this sheet to every interview, Kai included, and write down what you hear. An agency worth hiring answers all eight without flinching.

1. Are your caregivers W-2 employees, or 1099 independent contractors?

With contractors, payroll taxes, workers' compensation, and supervision can quietly become the family's responsibility.

2. May we see current proof of liability insurance, workers' compensation, and bonding?

"Fully insured" is a sentence. A certificate with current dates is evidence — ask for the document, not the phrase.

3. Are you an agency that employs caregivers, or a registry that refers them?

They look identical online. With a registry, screening, scheduling, supervision, and liability stay with your family.

4. How many different caregivers should we expect in a typical month?

Continuity is the service. Every new face restarts the relationship — and can undo weeks of progress for someone with memory changes.

5. Who answers at 9 p.m. on a Sunday when something changes?

Ask for the actual after-hours process and the name on the other end. An answering service that takes messages is not coverage.

6. If a caregiver calls out, who covers the shift — and is that guaranteed?

Uncovered shifts are the most common failure in home care, and the cost lands on whoever lives nearest. Ask for specifics, not reassurance.

7. Are background checks, health clearances, and training finished before the first visit?

"Screened" can mean a database search from three years ago. Ask when, by whom, and how often it is re-verified.

8. What is the true total cost — minimums, overnight and holiday rates, mileage, cancellation windows, increases?

An attractive hourly rate can hide a four-hour minimum, a mileage add-on, and an annual increase you hear about later. Ask for all of it in writing.

Compare us last, if you like. Kai Home Care answers all eight in plain language, in writing, before care begins. Speak with a care advisor at 808.400.9627, or build a written care plan with an honest monthly range at KaiHomeCare.com.