Dad will size up the caregiver before you do, so the paperwork has to hold up when he meets the person. Most of the trouble with an in-home non-medical caregiver shows up in the file, not the first shift. Before you pick an agency or an independent caregiver, get the answers in writing and compare every provider on one sheet.
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.
Ask what the background check actually covers
'We do background checks' tells you nothing. Ask which checks run, which databases or county searches are used, who pays for them, and whether they are repeated. Ask for a written summary showing the caregiver's name, the type of check, and the result, not just a yes. If the agency will not put the summary in writing, that is your answer.
Find out who employs the caregiver
An agency may employ its caregivers directly, or it may place independent contractors. Ask which one applies to the person who would walk into Dad's house. The answer shapes who carries workers' compensation if the caregiver is hurt on the job, and who answers for damage or injury inside the house. Ask for the certificate of insurance, check that the named insured is the company you are signing with, and ask whether it includes liability coverage and bonding. Get the carrier or broker's phone number, not only the sales contact's card.
Test the no-show and the replacement
Ask what happens when the caregiver calls out. How fast does a replacement arrive, is the replacement also screened, and are the hours still billed for the missed shift? Write the answer down. A no-show is the first real test of an agency, and most families never ask about it until it happens.
Read the training line and the errand line
Ask what training is documented, what it covers, and whether it is repeated. 'Trained' is not a list. Then ask for the written duties list. A non-medical caregiver may give medication reminders and pick up prescriptions as an errand. Giving, sorting or managing medicine stays with the family, the doctor and the pharmacist. The agency's paper should say that plainly. If it does not, or if the sales call promises more, cross that agency off.
Check the key and entry rules
If the caregiver will hold a key or a code, ask how it is issued, who keeps the spare, what happens to it when the job ends, and whether the agency keeps an entry log. These are custody questions, not hardware questions. You are deciding who holds access to Dad's house and how that access comes back to you.
Compare two or three on the same sheet
Put the same questions to each provider and build a one-page sheet with a column per provider. Give each row its own line for the background check, the employer type, the insurance holder, the no-show plan, the training record, the errand line, and the key rules. A blank row is an answer too. A provider that answers every row in writing is much easier to hold to those answers than one that answers half of them by phone.
Bring Dad into the decision
Dad's no is often about the stranger in the hallway, not the paperwork. Set a 30 minute intro visit with the candidate you like best, with Dad at the kitchen table and you in the room. Let him ask his own questions. He gets a real say in whether the match works, and you get to see how the person handles a no.
Your next move tonight
Email each agency or caregiver the same list of questions so the answers come back in writing. Book one 30 minute visit with Dad present before you sign anything. If you need a starting list of local options, the Local Help in St. Louis page is the place to begin your calls.