Any agency can tell you it’s licensed. In New York, you don’t have to take that on faith — home care agencies are required to be licensed (as a Licensed Home Care Services Agency, or LHCSA) or certified by the New York State Department of Health, and that status is checkable in a public registry.
Verify the license before anything else
New York publishes agency licensing information through the Department of Health’s public home care profiles. Ask any agency you’re considering for their license number, and check it there rather than relying on a logo or a claim on their website. This takes a few minutes and rules out the small number of operators working without a real license — a bigger problem in home care than families expect, given how much unsupervised, in-home access the job involves.
Questions that separate a well-run agency from a struggling one
Beyond the license itself, a handful of specific questions tell you more than a sales conversation will:
- “How often is my aide supervised, and by whom?” New York requires agencies to provide nursing supervision and 12 hours of in-service training per year for their Home Health Aides. A well-run agency answers this specifically — who does it, how often, what it looks like. A vague answer is itself an answer.
- “What happens if my aide is sick or doesn’t show up?” Backup coverage is where staffing shortages show up first. Ask what the actual backup process is, not whether one exists.
- “Are your aides paid in compliance with wage parity?” In New York City, Medicaid-funded home care work carries wage parity requirements on top of the base minimum wage. Agencies that cut corners on pay tend to have higher aide turnover — which shows up as your family seeing a rotating cast of unfamiliar faces instead of consistent care.
- “Who do I call outside business hours?” Home care problems don’t wait for 9-to-5. An agency without a real after-hours line is telling you something about how it’s run.
Red flags worth walking away from
- Reluctance or refusal to give you a license number
- Pressure to sign a service agreement the same day, before you’ve had time to review it
- Cash-only payment arrangements with no formal invoicing
- No written plan of care, or a plan of care that isn’t updated after an assessment or hospitalization
- An aide showing up without any agency introduction, orientation, or documentation
What kind of agency do you actually need
“Home care agency” covers more than one type of service, and the right fit depends on what’s needed:
| Need | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Help with daily activities — bathing, dressing, meals | Home health aide / personal care services, private-pay or Medicaid-funded |
| Medical tasks — wound care, medication management, tracheostomy care | Skilled nursing or private duty nursing |
| Around-the-clock coverage | Live-in care |
| Self-directed care from a family member | CDPAP through a fiscal intermediary, not a traditional agency — see our CDPAP eligibility guide |
How a home care agency should work: assessment, RN supervision, matching
Anna Klyauzova, RN, MSN, MPA, Director of Patient Services at ProLife Home Care, on what she sees in practice:
A registered nurse (RN) from the agency usually does the first assessment. She meets the patient, talks through their health and care needs, and, depending on the program, either visits the home or starts with a phone consultation. A Community Health Assessment by an RN usually takes two to three hours.
She checks whether the person can stand, walk, dress, bathe and use the toilet alone; whether there is a risk of falls, memory problems or disorientation; which conditions and medications affect daily life; whether meals and housework need help; how safe the home is; and what family already does. We look closely at what the person can really do, not just what they say they can do.
Three things separate a good agency. First, RN supervision: a care plan is only useful if someone keeps checking it against the patient’s current condition, and if the person starts falling more or moving worse, the plan changes. Second, matching: an HHA or PCA should fit on language, schedule, location and experience with the person’s needs, not only on certification. Third, replacement: if an aide isn’t right or can’t make a shift, the family should know exactly whom to call.
For private-pay care, we usually match an HHA or PCA in 24 to 48 hours when staff are available, and care can often start within 48 hours. Our stated target for replacing an unsuitable aide is up to 24 hours. Those timings apply mainly to private care; with Medicaid, the start date also depends on the assessment and authorization. The number of RN supervisory visits per month isn’t one figure for everybody. It depends on the type of service and the person’s supervision requirements.
We’re a licensed home care agency in Brooklyn and Queens — licence #2572L001, New York State Department of Health, checkable on the state’s public registry the same way we’d suggest checking anyone else’s. If you want a direct answer about supervision, staffing, or whether we’re the right fit for your situation, call (718) 232-2777 or use our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
How do I verify a home care agency is actually licensed in New York?
Ask for their license number and check it against the New York State Department of Health’s public home care profiles registry, rather than relying on claims made on the agency’s own website.
What’s the difference between a licensed agency and CDPAP?
A licensed agency hires, trains and supervises its own aides. Under CDPAP, the Medicaid consumer hires and trains their own personal assistant directly, through a fiscal intermediary that handles payroll.
What questions should I ask before hiring a home care agency?
How aides are supervised and how often, what the backup plan is if an aide can’t make a shift, whether aides are paid in compliance with wage parity requirements, and who to call outside business hours.
What are warning signs of a poorly run home care agency?
Reluctance to provide a license number, pressure to sign quickly, cash-only payment with no invoicing, no written plan of care, and aides arriving without any formal introduction or documentation.
Does a home care agency need to provide training for its aides?
Yes — New York requires agencies to provide nursing supervision and at least 12 hours of in-service training per year for Home Health Aides on staff.
Licensing requirements can change; verify current status directly with the New York State Department of Health’s public registry rather than relying on this page alone. Checked 27 September 2026.
