In-home caregiver services, with an agency behind every caregiver
A trained caregiver for a few hours a week or around the clock, employed, insured and supervised by us, so you never become anyone's employer.
What caregiver services cover
Caregiver services are help at home with the everyday things that have become hard: bathing and dressing, meals, getting around safely, medication reminders, housework, errands and company. A caregiver comes on a set schedule and follows a written care plan.
Families often find us after trying to manage alone, or after a private arrangement fell through: the caregiver a neighbor recommended stopped answering her phone, or quit on a Sunday night, and there was nobody to call for Monday. An agency is there for that Monday. It knows who it's sending, and it sends someone else when they're sick.
Always Responsive Home Care employs every caregiver we send. We check their backgrounds, train them, carry the insurance and pay their wages and taxes, and a nurse writes the care plan they follow. We're private pay and non-medical, with offices in New Jersey, Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley and Florida. We don't provide nursing, and if that's what your parent needs, we'll say so.
What a caregiver does on a typical visit
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Personal care
Help with the shower or bath, dressing, shaving and hair, teeth, the toilet and incontinence, done privately and without hurry.
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Getting around
A steady arm from bed to chair and chair to toilet, help with a walker on the stairs, and an eye out for anything that could cause a fall.
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Meals
Cooking what your parent likes and is allowed to eat, sitting with them while they eat, and keeping drinks within reach.
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Medication reminders
Reminders at the right times from a filled pill organizer. Caregivers don't give medications or decide doses.
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Housework and laundry
Dishes, wiping down the kitchen and bathroom, changing the bed, keeping the laundry moving.
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Errands and appointments
Groceries, the pharmacy, the post office, and company at the doctor's office.
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Company
Conversation, cards, a walk, the evening news together. For many people this is the part they look forward to.
Each of these has its own page if you want detail: personal care, companion care, homemaker services and respite care. When one dedicated caregiver is the right fit, see private duty caregivers, and in New Jersey, live-in care.
Hiring through an agency or hiring privately
Hiring a caregiver yourself can cost less per hour. It also makes you the employer, with everything that comes with it. Here is how the two compare.
| Through Always Responsive | Hiring privately | |
|---|---|---|
| Background check and references | Done by us before anyone is hired | Arranged and paid for by you |
| Wages, payroll taxes and insurance | Ours. The caregiver is our employee, bonded and insured | Yours, as a household employer |
| When the caregiver is sick or on vacation | We send someone else who knows the care plan | You find cover, often at short notice |
| Care plan and supervision | A nurse writes the plan and oversees the care | Only what you arrange |
| If it isn't working out | Tell us and we change caregivers | You let the person go and start the search again |
In New Jersey there's a legal difference too. Certified Homemaker-Home Health Aides (CHHAs) can't work privately: the state requires them to be employed by a licensed agency and supervised by a registered nurse. Someone you hire directly to give hands-on care in New Jersey isn't working as a CHHA.
Our guide on how to choose a home care agency lists the questions worth asking any agency, including us.
How to get a caregiver through us
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Call and tell us what you need
Which days, which hours, and what has become hard. We'll suggest a starting point and explain how billing works.
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We visit the home
A free visit to meet your parent, see the house and write the care plan with you. There's no obligation.
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We choose the caregiver
We match on the work involved, the schedule and personality, and introduce the caregiver to you and your parent.
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We stay responsible
We handle payroll, insurance and supervision, cover sick days, and change caregivers if the fit isn't right.
What an agency takes off your plate
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Screening and training
Every caregiver is background-checked and trained before we send them to anyone's home.
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Being the employer
Wages, payroll taxes and insurance are ours. You're never anyone's employer.
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Cover when a caregiver is out
Sick days and vacations are our problem to solve, not yours.
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Billed after the care, never before
No deposit, no upfront payment and no long-term contract.
What families are saying
The level of communication and professionalism from Always Responsive is outstanding. They keep our family updated, handle schedule changes smoothly, and their caregivers treat my grandmother with such dignity and respect.
Questions about in-home caregiver services
Still have a question? Call us. Someone is here to talk, any time of day.
(609) 208-1111 What are caregiver services?
Caregiver services are non-medical help at home from a trained caregiver: bathing and dressing, meals, getting around safely, medication reminders, housework and laundry, errands, rides to appointments and company. Through an agency like Always Responsive Home Care, the caregiver is the agency's employee and follows a care plan written by a nurse, for anywhere from a few hours a week to around the clock.
What does an in-home caregiver do?
An in-home caregiver helps with whatever daily tasks have become hard for the person they care for. A typical visit might include help with a shower and getting dressed, making breakfast and lunch, a medication reminder, laundry and tidying, a trip to the pharmacy or grocery store, and company. Caregivers don't give medications, change dressings or provide other nursing care.
Is it better to hire a caregiver through an agency or privately?
Hiring privately can cost less per hour, but it makes you the employer, responsible for background checks, payroll taxes, insurance and finding cover when the caregiver is sick. An agency does all of that, supervises the care and replaces a caregiver who isn't a good fit. In New Jersey, certified home health aides must be employed by a licensed agency, so a private hire there can't work as a CHHA.
Can a certified home health aide work privately in New Jersey?
No. In New Jersey, a Certified Homemaker-Home Health Aide (CHHA) must be employed by a licensed agency and work under the supervision of a registered nurse. CHHAs are certified by the New Jersey Board of Nursing after a 76-hour training course, a competency evaluation and a criminal background check.
How much do in-home caregiver services cost?
Caregiver services are billed by the hour. A typical range for a caregiver is $32 to $55 per hour, depending on where you live, since rates vary from town to town with caregiver availability and the local cost of living. How much help is needed matters too. Always Responsive Home Care gives you a written quote after a free home visit, with no deposit and no long-term contract. We accept long-term care insurance and do the claim paperwork.
How quickly can a caregiver start?
Often within a day or two of your call, and sometimes the same day. We visit the home, write the care plan and match a caregiver, and the more notice we have, the more choice we have in the match.
What if my parent doesn't get along with the caregiver?
Tell us. Personalities don't always click, and we would rather change caregivers than have your parent dread the visits. We'll make the change quickly, without a gap in care.
Let's talk about care for your family
Send the form and we'll call you back to set up a time to talk. There's no cost and no obligation.
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