What happens during a home care intake assessment?

The intake assessment is the first structured conversation between the family, the person receiving care, and the home care agency. It is the moment the agency learns what actually happens in a typical day, and the family learns what the agency will actually do. Most Southeast Michigan agencies schedule intakes within 24–48 hours of the first call, at no cost and with no obligation to proceed.

The visit is conducted in the home so the assessor can see the environment. A Registered Nurse or trained care coordinator walks through six areas: the six ADLs (bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, continence, eating) and the assist level for each; medication list and administration times; medical history and current diagnoses; cognitive status and behavioral considerations; home safety (throw rugs, lighting, stairs, bathroom equipment); and the family’s existing support system and schedule constraints.

The output is a written draft care plan: what tasks the caregiver will do, at what times, at what safety-precaution level. That draft becomes the shift-to-shift instructions once care starts. Alongside the care plan, the agency provides a proposed schedule (which days, which hours, which shift blocks) and a monthly cost estimate at the applicable Southeast Michigan rate (Companion $27–$32/hr, Personal $29–$37/hr, Specialized $35–$42/hr, live-in $400–$500/day).

Nothing about the intake obligates the family to proceed. Families routinely take the written care plan and cost estimate to a sibling meeting, to a physician consult, or to compare against another agency’s intake before deciding. When care does proceed, the intake RN typically returns for a first-shift check-in and for scheduled reassessments.

For the full breakdown, see the cornerstone: Understanding Home Care Costs guide.