Every agency will say it helps with the basics. The word basics does not mean anything on a bill. What counts is the written task list behind the rate, because that list decides what you are actually buying.
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.
Why the task list is the real product
When you compare two agencies, you are comparing two promises. One promise covers meal prep, laundry, and a walk around the block. The other covers meal prep only, and everything else is a separate line or a separate visit. Put the two side by side without the task lists and the rates look close when they are not.
What to ask for in writing
Ask each agency for a plain list of the tasks it will perform in your home, and ask for it before you sign and before any visit. A usable list names the work in ordinary words: help getting dressed, help with bathing, meal prep, light housekeeping, laundry, errands, companionship, rides to appointments, and help with phone or video calls. Do not accept phrases like 'as needed' or 'general support' unless the agency defines them on paper.
Mark what is missing
Read the list and mark what is not on it. If the list is silent on laundry, that is a finding. Ask the agency to write its answer down. A verbal yes that never reaches paper is not a task, and you cannot hold anyone to it at the next review.
Compare the verbs
Small word choices change the job. Helps with, assists with, performs, and completes are not the same thing. 'Assists with laundry' may mean the aide folds what you already washed. 'Does laundry' may mean the aide washes, dries, and puts it away. Ask the agency to describe each task step by step, and ask which steps the family still handles.
Check the edges of the day
Ask whether the task list changes for early shifts, late shifts, weekends, and holidays. Ask whether a task that runs longer than planned is still covered within the same visit. A list that covers a clean house on a quiet day may not cover the same house on a hard day, so ask what happens when the work piles up.
Where the list meets the quote
Hold the task list next to the quote. Every task on the list should have a home on the quote, either inside the rate or as a named add-on. If a task appears on the list but has no line on the quote, ask who pays for it. If a line on the quote has no task behind it, ask what it buys. For a full walk through the quote itself, read how to read a home care quote.
Ask these at the tour
Ask the agency to walk you through its task list out loud. Ask what it will not do. Ask how it handles a task a family member requests on the day it comes up. Ask who approves a change to the list and how long that approval takes. Write the answers on the same sheet as the task list, and note whether the agency answers plainly or falls back on a brochure.
Keep the list with the agreement
Once you pick an agency, keep the task list with the signed agreement. When the work changes, change the list in writing and note the change in your own records. The list is the yardstick you will use at every review, so make it specific now. For how this desk scores agencies on plain talk about money, see How We Rate.