Home Care in Michigan: What Families Should Know

Care Connect at Home started in South Florida and now has an office in Birmingham, Michigan, in the heart of Oakland County. Families in metro Detroit ask many of the same questions as families in Boca Raton, but the rules around hiring an agency are not the same. Here is what to know before you sign anything in Michigan.

Michigan does not state-license non-medical home care agencies

This surprises most people. Florida licenses home care agencies through the Agency for Health Care Administration. Michigan does not issue a comparable license for non-medical home care. The Michigan Attorney General says it plainly: this is an unregulated industry, and it is up to the consumer to determine whether an agency is suitable.

The state does license and oversee certain health facilities and agencies through its Bureau of Community and Health Systems, but everyday non-medical care at home sits outside that system. A license from another state, or from a different kind of provider, does not tell you much about a Michigan home care agency.

What to check instead

Because there is no state license to verify, the screening questions carry more weight. The Michigan Attorney General publishes a checklist for families visiting agencies. The core items:

• Proof the agency is bonded and insured, and that caregivers are covered by workers' compensation.
• State and national criminal background checks on the owner and the caregivers.
• References you can actually call.
• A written care plan and written terms before care starts.

Care Connect at Home screens caregivers with background checks and verified references, and carries the insurance and workers' compensation coverage a family would otherwise have to arrange itself. Ask any agency you compare us with for the same proof in writing.

Our Michigan office

Our Birmingham office serves families in Oakland County and nearby communities. A coordinator visits the home, walks through the day with you, and builds a schedule around it. You get the plan and the price in writing, and you decide from there.