For more information, please call: (847) 433-6470 or email us at infor@apthomecare.co
Evaluating Your Needs
As a full-service agency, Apt Home Care provides the full spectrum of private care services, utilizing our own personal-care assistants, caregivers, companions, and RN-supervised Certified Nurses Aides (CNAs).
Here are a few reasons Apt Home Care is recommended and considered for professional services:
- When you are unable to meet your own needs due to illness, health, aging, or social problems
- When you are recovering from hospitalization
- When you are homebound, lonely, frightened, or feel unsafe at home
- When you only need a 1-hour visit to assist with bathing, dressing, grooming, or other needs
- When you need wake-up and tuck-in for morning/evening care
- When you need assistance purchasing groceries or traveling to appointments
- When you need respite care for a loved one
Knowing Your Options
Private duty home care provides services to assist people with their personal and home needs. Care may also include skilled nursing by licensed professionals. Private duty is usually a private pay service covered by private funds or long-term care insurance, but not by Medicare or Medicaid.
There are three private care hiring options. You may choose from:
- A full-service agency, such as Apt Home Care
- Employment Agencies
- Hiring Privately
Full-Service Agencies
... Typically screen, train, employ, and supervise their staff. They withhold taxes and contribute to worker's compensation and unemployment insurance. Most agencies insure and bond their employees. Illinois law requires that home care agencies perform criminal background checks, and many do drug screening.
Employment Agencies
...Place caregivers with clients and collect a placement fee. To ensure customer satisfaction, some agencies pre-screen and follow up with their placements. In Illinois, employment agencies are not required to conduct criminal background checks. Typically, the agency does not pay worker's compensation insurance or employer/employee payroll taxes. The client must assume those "employer" responsibilities, including paying required withholding and taxes, as required by Illinois labor laws.
Hiring Privately
Companions, aides, or nurses can always be hired privately by the client. Once a relationship is established, the client becomes responsible for all state and federal payroll requirements, unemployment insurance, and worker's compensation costs. There are some instances where the caregiver will be considered an “independent contractor” and is then responsible for his or her own taxes and insurance. The IRS has clear guidelines to determine whether a caregiver is an independent contractor or an employee. To avoid unintentional liability, clients should consider these guidelines and their consequences of privately hiring a caregiver.
One should be very careful to only hire people who are in this country on a legal work visa or who are citizens and avoid any ramifications of hiring someone who is not legally able to work here.
Why Risk It?
Hiring private caregivers may often seem like a less costly alternative, but in reality, you might be putting yourself at far greater risk than you realize. When you are the employer instead of being the client, the risks escalate.
Taxes
The IRS states that individual employers are liable for:
- Social Security tax
- Unemployment compensation tax
- Payroll tax, including an additional tax assessment of up to 100% of the amount owed to the IRS if the employer is considered to have “willfully” failed to withhold taxes
- Interest on any owed underpayment
- Possible civil fines of up to $100,000
- Possible criminal penalties, including imprisonment for up to five years.
Negligent Hiring
The shortage of qualified applicants, and your immediate needs, may sometimes compromise your hiring procedures. Careful background checks, including the investigation of any criminal misconduct, as well as thorough interviews, are standard procedures of any reputable home care agency. In addition, an outside agency can train and supervise the caregiver to ensure that maximum quality standards are met.