A late arrival rarely shows up as a crisis. It shows up as a few minutes. Then a few more. The start time drifts from the morning you agreed to a window nobody wrote down.
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.
Write down the agreed start
Before the first shift, write the start time on one line and keep it beside the visit sheet. Without that line, the drift has no baseline, and you cannot see it. Agree on the start time and the acceptable window before anyone arrives.
Log the actual arrival
On every shift, note the real arrival time. Use the agency sign-in if it has one. If it does not, a notepad by the door works. Keep the log for a full month before you judge the pattern.
Know the pattern, not the bad morning
One late day is weather or traffic. A run of late days is a pattern. Look for the same caregiver, the same weekday, or the same stop just before your house. If the lateness follows one person, the cause is the assignment, not the road.
Ask the agency what it tracks
Ask whether the agency records arrival times and whether you can see them. Ask what it does when the same caregiver runs late twice in one week. A good answer names the step and the person who takes it. A weak answer is vague, offers no record, and promises to look into it.
When should you act?
Act when the drift starts to break the routine. If the late start pushes meals, rides, or medical appointments the household has already scheduled, speak up that same week. Put the request in writing and include the two most recent arrival times.
For how this desk weighs what agencies say and do, read How We Rate. It explains what counts as a clear answer and what counts as silence.