Visiting Angels - Living Assistance Services - Serving the Northwest with Home-Care Services

Why Choose Home Care?

Hiring Caregivers Yourself
Pros

•	Usually $2 to $3 less expensive than an agency *

Cons

•	Background checks not done
•	No supervisor to oversee quality of care
•	Increased incidence of theft
•	Client is responsible for withholding taxes
•	Client is responsible for workers compensation
•	No backup for sickness/emergency
•	Client/family must take time to manage the caregiver
•	Caregivers usually need full time hours
•	Reliability of the caregiver
•	Client/family must confront the caregiver when issues arise

A Visiting Angels Caregiver
Pros

	Background checks performed on all caregivers
	Caregiver is supervised in quality of care
	Less incidence of theft
	Bonded and licensed by the state
	Agency pays workers compensation
	Agency does tax withholding
	Backups for emergencies/sickness
	Quick response time
	You can interview the caregiver before they start
	Unreliable caregivers are weeded out during the screening process

Cons

Cost can be $2 to $3 more than hiring privately *

* The cost difference becomes negligible when workers compensation and the time it takes to withhold taxes is factored in.

Visiting Angels is structured in a way that allows you to maintain all the pros of hiring privately, such as being able to meet caregivers before starting, while at the same time turning the cons into pros. Even agency cost can be a pro when you factor in workers compensation and the time it takes to work with taxes.