Needing in-home care can be an emotional transition. Caregiving often involves inviting someone into your home, trusting them with your daily routines, and relying on them during some of life’s most personal and vulnerable moments. For many seniors, the challenge isn’t finding a caregiver. It’s finding someone they feel comfortable with and trust.
That’s where 24 Hour Home Care’s Agency With Choice model is different. Rather than assigning an unfamiliar caregiver, eligible Medi-Cal members can choose someone they already know and trust, such as a family member, friend, neighbor, or other trusted person in their community. By building on existing relationships, Agency With Choice creates a caregiving experience centered on trust, comfort, and familiarity from day one. When families know and trust the person providing care, everyone can focus less on managing the caregiving relationship and more on supporting their loved one’s well-being.
“To be able to continue your work, your life, and know that your mom is taken care of is awesome. Thank God for 24 Hour Home Care that they’re here for my mom when I’m not here.” — Marco, son of 24 Hour Home Care member
See Agency With Choice in Action
Bernardo suffers from a terminal illness and needs help with day-to-day activities to keep him safe at home. His wife had been his primary caregiver, but with mobility issues of her own, the situation put them both at risk of falls and hospitalization. They needed help.
“When we talked about having to have someone here for him, he was totally against it. Then we learned about Agency With Choice, the family-selected caregiver model from 24 Hour Home Care. When we were able to tell my father that it was going to be somebody that he knew, had a relationship with, he really perked up and got really happy about the opportunity.”
Bernardo’s family shares how choosing his own caregiver, someone he already knew and trusted, changed everything. Watch their story:
Agency With Choice: When Care Starts with Someone You Know and Trust
In traditional home care, an agency typically assigns a caregiver to a member. Building trust takes time, and not every caregiver-member relationship is the right fit. If a caregiver leaves, changes assignments, or the relationship simply isn’t working, the member may need to start over with someone new.
Agency With Choice takes a different approach. Instead of assigning an unfamiliar caregiver, members choose someone they already know and trust. Because the relationship comes first, care feels more natural, more comfortable, and more sustainable from the very beginning.
Choice matters. Caregiver relationships established through a family-selection are retained 4.5 times longer than those in traditional agency-assigned models.
How to Choose a Caregiver
Under the Agency With Choice model, you get to decide who you trust with your care. To choose a caregiver, think of your circle of trust, who in your community is supporting you already? Is an adult child getting groceries for you? Does a neighbor take out your trash and check in on you? Does someone from ythe community help you with meals? If so, you might have a great candidate for a paid caregiver.
Learn more about in-home care through our Community Supports program, including types of services covered and how to get started >
Eligibility Requirements
Requirements for caregivers:
- 18 years or older
- Pass a background check
- Complete paid onboarding and training (provided by 24 Hour Home Care)
No formal certification is required for non-medical in-home care. Adult children, siblings, in-laws, close friends, and neighbors meeting the above requirements are all eligible; however, in most cases, spouses are not eligible to be a paid caregiver.
Eligibility requirements for members
- Be enrolled in Medi-Cal
- Be a California resident living at home (i.e., not in a licensed care facility or hospital)
- Have a documented functional need for in-home assistance
- Be determined eligible by their Medi-Cal managed care health plan
See our In-Home Care Eligibility Guide to learn more >
How to Refer
Referring a Medi-Cal member to 24 Hour Home Care for Personal Care and Homemaker Services or Respite Care takes just a few minutes. Here is how it works:
- Referral is submitted: A care coordinator, social worker, or health plan submits a referral on the member’s behalf
- Authorization: Our team works directly with the health plan to verify eligibility and secure authorization
- Onboarding: We handle hiring, training, background checks, and payroll for the caregiver the family has chosen
- Care starts: Care can begin with someone the member already knows and trusts, familiar and consistent from day one24 Hour Home Care’s Agency With Choice model is built on a simple idea: care works best when it comes from someone you know and trust. Instead of welcoming a stranger into the home, eligible Medi-Cal members can choose a familiar caregiver, such as a family member, friend, neighbor, or other trusted person in their community.
Visit our In-Home Care Eligibility Guide to learn more >
