You are reading this because you are thinking about paying someone to come into the home, and you are tired enough that the idea of a stranger helping sounds like relief. Relief is a fine reason to start looking. It is a poor reason to sign anything before you have read the terms.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Get the scope in writing
Ask for a task list that names what the caregiver does in the home. Non-medical help usually covers companionship, meals, light housekeeping, transport to appointments, and personal care at the level the agency or the caregiver has agreed to. Check that list against your parent's real week, not the brochure.
Then ask what they will not do, and get that answer on paper too. For medication, the line is firm. A hired or in-home non-medical caregiver may give medication reminders and pick up prescriptions as an errand. Ask whether they will do anything beyond that. If the answer is anything more, stop and talk to your parent's doctor and pharmacist. Medicine stays with the family, the doctor, and the pharmacist.
Check who is actually sending the person
If you go through an agency, ask who employs the caregiver, what the background check covers, whether they are bonded or insured, and what happens if they are injured in your parent's home. Ask whether the agency holds the license your state requires for this kind of work, then look that license up yourself on the state's public lookup rather than trusting a copy in the packet.
If you hire someone directly, you take on the paperwork. Ask a tax or employment professional what that means for you before the first shift. This article cannot tell you how those rules apply to your situation.
Ask what happens when they cannot come
Every caregiver gets sick, has a family emergency, or quits with short notice. Ask the agency for its replacement timeline in writing. If you hire directly, decide now who your backup is, and write that name and number on the same sheet as the caregiver's.
Ask about notice periods, how changes to hours are handled, and what counts as a missed shift. Ask whether a shift cancelled late is still billed, and get the answer before anything is booked.
Run one trial week before you commit
Do a trial week with you in the house. Watch what gets done, what gets missed, and whether your parent is willing to accept the help. Keep a short note each day. At the end of the week, compare the note with the written scope. If they differ, fix the scope before the paid hours keep going.
Local options and the questions to bring to them are collected on the Local Help for Caregivers in St. Louis page. The public sources this desk uses are listed on the Sources page.