Georgia Home Care Agency Checklist

Ask for the agency’s legal name and current license or provisional license, then check Georgia’s official facility information. Georgia’s Private Home Care Provider rules cover nursing, personal care, and companion services, with specified exemptions. If an agency says it is exempt, ask it to explain the basis rather than assuming a business registration is a care license.

Compare the legal name, location, and license information—not just the brand name.

Describe the daily help you need and ask which tasks the agency and assigned staff are authorized to perform. Personal care, companionship, and nursing are different service categories. Do not assume that help with daily routines includes clinical nursing or therapy.

Request a clear list of included tasks, excluded tasks, and needs that require another provider.

Ask how the agency considers language, routines, preferences, and the support tasks involved. Review its screening, training, supervision, and approach to introducing a caregiver. Ask what happens if the match does not work for your household.

Confirm who supervises the caregiver and how to request a change.

Georgia’s rules require a written service agreement addressing services, frequency, duration, charges, and contacts. The service plan should address relevant functional limitations, goals, the schedule, and supervision. Review the documents before services begin and ask how changes are recorded.

Keep a copy of the agreement and plan, with responsibilities and the review process clearly explained.

Ask how the agency handles absences, late arrivals, and unfilled shifts. Confirm the actual hours available and the process for notifying your family. Do not assume round-the-clock coverage or that every replacement shift can be filled.

Agree on a contact, notification timing, and your household’s backup plan before the first visit.

Request a written quote for your proposed schedule. Ask about minimum visit hours, rates, added fees, holidays, cancellation notice, and charges when a visit changes or is missed. Clarify what you may owe and what any payer has actually authorized.

Compare the total cost for the same schedule—not only an hourly rate.

Ask who your main contact will be, how visit updates are shared, and how schedule or care-plan changes are handled. Review the escalation process for unresolved concerns and distinguish routine office communication from emergency help.

Write down the coordinator, supervisor, contact hours, and next step if a concern is not resolved.

Georgia places CCSP and SOURCE within the Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program (EDWP). Ask which specific services the agency provides; participating in a pathway does not mean it provides every program service. A county-based Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) referral can help start the public program process; the state determines approval.

Koi provides Personal Support Services through its EDWP pathway; eligibility and authorized hours are determined by the state, not Koi.