Hiring In-Home Care and Care Facilities for Parkinson’s

Caregiver Resource Guides by State

Published by AARP, September 4, 2025

Select your state (or, in some states, your city) to view a directory of many government and nonprofit resources accessible both in-person and online with tips to finding services and supports.

The Complete Guide to Home Care

Published by Care.com

This short webpage offers tips for hiring in-home care, including sections on evaluating your loved one's needs, how to vet an in-home caregiver, how to get started as an employer, and management of the new arrangement.

Getting Outside Help

Published by Parkinson’s Foundation

Because Parkinson's is progressive, care needs will increase over the course of the disease. Knowing your options for bringing care into the home or screening care facilities before they are needed reduces caregiver stress. This page helps you think through whether getting outside help is right for your situation, where to find help, preparing paid caregivers, and if a care facility needed rather than in-home care.  

Eldercare Locator

Published by Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging

Connects you to services for older adults and their families.  Call 1-800-677-1116 or use the online finder tool.  Search by location for a list of local agencies and organizations that provide information and assistance for older adults and caregivers.  Search by topic to find national information and resources on topics like adult day programs, food & nutrition, home repair & modification, housing options, in-home services, long term care, nursing home & LTC facilities and transportation.

Family Care Navigator

Published by Family Caregiver Alliance

This online finder tool helps families locate government programs, non-profit organizations and private groups, including those offering health and disability programs, legal resources, disease-specific organizations and more.  

To use this tool, Select a State, or "National" (for all U.S. resources).  Then, to display your results, click on the menu item labeled with the types of organizations, programs, or services you are looking for.

Hiring an Independent Caregiver: Everything You Need to Know

Published by Paying for Senior Care, April 2, 2024

This comprehensive article includes the definition of independent caregivers and household employees, steps to hire an independent caregiver, responsibilities as a new employer, ongoing management & payroll responsibilities, and the importance of paying an employee legally.

Hiring In-Home Help

Published by Family Caregiver Alliance, 2020

Includes info on deciding when assistance is needed, addressing obstacles like a loved one who doesn’t want outside help and not wanting a stranger in the house, comparing Home Care Agencies vs. private hire, what will it cost and how to afford it, finding the right person, writing a job description, interviewing, writing a contract for hired help, your responsibilities as an employer, communication with your new helper and resource links, including a state of CA caregiver background check.

Home Health Compare

Published by Medicare.gov

If you have doctor’s orders for home health care due to an illness or injury, use this online tool to find the best provider in your area.  Enter your zip code or city, state or just your state.  Filter the resulting list by quality of patient care ratings and patient survey summary ratings.  Alternately, enter the name of a home health agency to see how it compares on a 5-star rating scale.

The Pros and Cons of Hiring Private Caregivers

Published by Right at Home

This blog post discusses the pros, cons and practicalities of both hiring private caregivers and hiring caregivers through an agency.

National Respite Locator

Published by ARCH (Access to Respite Care and Help)

Helps family caregivers and professionals find respite services in their state and local area. Features both “Search for Respite” and “Search for Respite Funding” online tools.  This database is not a complete list of all respite programs or possible funding resources.  Search results provide contact information for organizations providing short-term respite and long-term care facilities for vacation respite.

Next Steps in Care: Seeking Outside Help

By Parkinson's Foundation, March 31, 2021

This one-hour webinar discusses in detail when to consider getting help as a caregiver, options including paid and unpaid help, as well as issues to consider when hiring in-home care or choosing a care facility. 

Resistance to In-Home Care

By Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach Program, June 2024

This four-minute video shares suggestions for spouses and adult child caregivers to gain acceptance of hired caregivers in the home.

Understanding Home Health vs. Home Care

By American Society on Aging and Home Instead, July 8, 2020

This one-hour webinar shares the breadth of care options for seniors and specifically discusses the differences between home health and home care, who qualifies for home health and how the two services can be complementary for aging adults to achieve their goal of returning home after a hospitalization and age in place.

Orienting a New Home Care Worker

Published by the Parkinson's Foundation

This two-page worksheet identifies five mistakes that can create problems between you and new home care workers and offers a five-step process to train a worker to do a task. There's also a checklist to help you provide a good orientation to the layout of your home, where the things he or she will need to do the job are kept, and how to operate appliances or medical devices. With this worksheet you may avoid miscommunication and conflict, making the transition to home care or a new caregiver more smooth.

Questions to Ask a Potential Paid Agency Caregiver

Published by Parkinson's Foundation

This three-page checklist lists questions you can ask to make sure an in-home care agency can meet your needs, as well as questions to make sure the agency and its employees are competent and have the proper training, licensing and insurance. There is space to record answers to each question.

Questions to Ask a Potential Paid Individual Caregiver

Published by Parkinson's Foundation

This two-page checklist lists questions you can ask to make sure the individual can meet your needs, as well as questions to make sure the person is competent and has the proper training, licensing and insurance. There is space to record answers to each question.

Aging Life Care Association

Formerly the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers, these geriatric care managers are certified professionals in eight areas: health and disability management, medical billing and insurance concerns, housing options, family communication, local resources, advocacy, elderlaw information and referrals, and medical crisis intervention.  Learn more about Aging Life Care and find a geriatric care manager near you.

Choosing an Assisted Living Residence: A Consumer's Guide

Published by American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living

This 18-page booklet outlines what activities and services assisted living facilities provide residents, resident's rights, how facility personnel is managed, paying for assisted living, tips for choosing a facility, a checklist of key questions to ask staff, a cost calculator (on paper), a checklist before signing the service contract, and some thoughts about moving day.

Finding the Right Assisted Living Facility

Published by Parkinson’s Foundation, 2020

This five-page booklet begins with a brief discussion about whether assisted living is the right option for your loved one with PD, the benefit of planning ahead, and how to create a list of facilities to tour and evaluate.  Subsequent pages provide questions to ask facilities during your tours with space to take notes, including considerations and questions to ask if your loved one has dementia.

Recommendations for Medical and Mental Health Care in Assisted Living: Resident and Family Checklist

By Sheryl Zimmerman, PhD, et.al. Published by Center for Excellence in Assisted Living, September 27, 2024

Families should be mindful that assisted living is not a healthcare setting. This three-page checklist is derived from a concensus statement published in JAMA Network Open, is intended to help families assess the suitability of assisted living facilities to address medical and mental health care needs needs of residents. 

Read the full article.

Nursing Home Checklist

Published by Medicare.gov

Nine-page printable checklist to help evaluate and compare nursing homes. The last page recommends attending a resident council or family council meeting, with several questions to ask during the meeting and the suggestion that you visit a nursing home you are considering a second time on a different day of the week and time of day from your initial visit.

Your Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home or Other Long-Term Services & Supports

Published by Medicare.gov

This 48-page booklet explains how to find and compare nursing homes and other long-term services and supports, how to pay for nursing home care, your rights as a nursing home resident and alternatives to nursing home care.

Nursing Home Red Flags You Should Watch Out For

By Payton Sy, RN.  Published by USNews, September 12, 2024 

Always choose a nursing home in person after several conversations and more than one visit. Avoid facilities that have a high number of infections and deaths, long response times when assistance is requested, short staffing, high turnover among staff, limited socializing, complaints to state inspectors, unresponsive residents who may have been given antipsychotics to subdue them, unclean residential rooms, poor and limited food quality, disrespectful and evasive staff, no "lift" policy.

What to Know When Choosing an Assisted Living Facility Assisted Living: Weighing the Options

By Laura Petrecca, AARP.  Published by AARP, September 17, 2025

Advantages and disadvantages of assisted living, pro tips for evaluating a facility, steps for finding the best assisted living facility (ALF) for you, and what to know before signing the contract. Included is a link to a printer-friendly checklist:  Assisted Living: What to Ask

Assisted Living Checklist

Published by Today's Caregiver

This extensive checklist will aid you in assessing assisted living communities. Today's Caretiver recommends involving your loved one in the decision making process. The more an older person participates in the planning process, the easier it will be to adjust to the new environment.

Finding a Nursing Home: Don't Wait to Do the Research Until You Need One

By Deborah Schoch, August 1, 2022. Published by AARP

None of us want to be discharged from the hospital into a poor-quality nursing home, but many don't realize that you have a choice. Advice from experts is to become familiar with nursing homes in your area before you are even hospitalized. Dig into government reports and conduct your own inspection. This article tells you what to look out for when evaluating your options.

Long Term Care Pathfinder

Published by US Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging

This website has six sections for users planning ahead before age 50, between ages 51 and 64, after age 65, with dementia, LGBTQ adults, and those already receiving long-term care. The pages menu also has links to other pages which explain what long-term care is, who needs care, how much care will you need, who will provide your care, where can you receive care, finding local services, and more.

CANHR (California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform)

A California nonprofit website with database information to find details on services, staffing and violations for nursing homes, find and evaluate residential care and assisted living facilities (RCFEs) or continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs).  How to find or lodge a complaint against a facility or CCRC, how to find an elder law attorney, information on MediCal and estate planning for long-term care, and more.

How to Find a Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

Published by National Consumer Voice For Quality Long-Term Care

Use this online map tool to find a Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) in your state or territory.  The LTCOP advocates for residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, board and care homes. LTCOPs provide information about how to find a facility and what to do to get quality care.  LTCOP staff is trained to resolve problems between residents/families and care facility administrators.

Nursing Home Compare

Published by Medicare.gov

A online finder tool providing detailed information about every Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing home in the U.S.  Enter your zip code or city, state or just your state.  Filter the resulting list in four rated performance areas.  Alternately, enter the name of a home health agency to see how it compares on a 5-star rating scale.