CARE MAP METHOD™
Eldercare · Home Care Agencies

Using a home care agency for your parent? Get a clinician on your side.

A home care agency can send a caregiver this week. Whether that caregiver is right for your mother — and whether she'll accept them — is a different question, and it's the one that decides whether care at home works.

Tammy Gold, LCSWSecrets of the Nanny Whisperer by Tammy Gold, published by Penguin
By Tammy Gold, LCSW
Author of Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer (Penguin)
Tammy Gold, LCSW, MSW
Columbia University
20 years in family caregiving
Licensed clinical social worker

Book an hour with Tammy — $189 →

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HIRING FOR A PARENTHiring a private caregiver · Hiring a companion · Caregiver job description · Caregiver work agreement

What agencies handle, and what's still on you

Home care agencies typically employ the caregivers, handle payroll, and send a replacement if someone is sick or doesn't work out. That's real value, especially when you're managing care from a distance.

What they can't do is assess your parent the way a clinician would, read the family dynamics, or help a parent who is resisting help accept a stranger in their home. Those are the parts that most often make home care fail.

Tammy Gold, LCSW, licensed clinical social workerSecrets of the Nanny Whisperer by Tammy Gold, published by Penguin
20 YEARS HELPING FAMILIES CHOOSE CARE

Guidance from a therapist who has spent 20 years helping families choose caregivers

Tammy Gold, LCSW, is the author of Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer (Penguin) and the founder of the Care Map Method™. She helps families define what a parent needs, evaluate caregivers and agencies, and set up care that lasts.

Book an hour with Tammy — $189 →  Press and media

Questions to ask a home care agency

  1. Are caregivers employees of the agency, or independent contractors?
  2. What training do caregivers have — and in what, specifically?
  3. How do you match a caregiver to a client, and can we meet them first?
  4. Who supervises the caregiver, and how often do they visit?
  5. What happens if our parent doesn't get along with the caregiver?
  6. How do you handle a change in health, a fall, or a hospital stay?
  7. What's the minimum number of hours per shift and per week?

How Tammy helps

Tammy is a licensed clinical social worker with twenty years of experience in family caregiving decisions. She has no affiliation with any agency. She helps you assess what your parent actually needs, evaluate the agency and the caregiver it proposes, plan how to introduce the caregiver to a reluctant parent, and set up routines and communication so care at home holds. When a parent refuses help · More questions for home care agencies.

By city: Home care agencies in Los Angeles · Home care agencies in New York.

A NEUTRAL EXPERT ON YOUR SIDE

A clinician beside your home care decision

One hour with Tammy before you commit to an agency or caregiver.

EXPERT SESSION · 60 MINUTES

$189

  • Evaluate agencies and the candidates they send
  • Tammy joins your interview as a second set of eyes and ears
  • Plan the trial and the first 30 days with the caregiver
Book an hour with Tammy →
FREE

The Nanny Hiring Kit

Screening call, reference questions, clinical interview, and trial-day checklist.

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Questions first? Text (818) 308-1358 · info@caremapmethod.com

Tammy is not an agency and has no affiliation with, or financial interest in, any agency you use. She provides independent expert guidance; hiring decisions remain your family’s. Legal, tax, and licensing questions belong with the appropriate professional or state agency.