Frequently Asked Questions

What is HomeLife Senior Care?
HomeLife Senior Care is an award winning, family-owned, non-medical agency providing a wide range of personal and companion care services available from a few hours a day to around-the-clock. Having faced the same challenges of so many regarding the care of their loved ones, the DiNicola family followed their hearts to give other families who are in need peace of mind.
Who does HomeLife Senior Care serve and where do they provide service?
HomeLife Senior Care is committed to providing the highest quality of service for all seniors regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, national origin, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender-orientation, ancestry, marital status, or other protected status. We are passionate about serving seniors and those in need throughout our community. We service East and Central Contra Costa County, Tracy and Rio Vista.
What is home care?
Home care is non-medical services provided in your home to help maximize independence, including help with personal care or activities of daily living. HomeLife Senior Care caregivers assist individuals of all ages who are recuperating at home after illness or hospitalization and help older adults manage daily life. Our home care services are flexible and responsive to your needs.
What is the difference between home care and home health?
Home care is non-medical care. Home health care is medical care provided in your home for the treatment of an illness or injury. In order to receive home health care, your doctor must determine that you need medical care in your home, you must be homebound, and you must need skilled re in your home. Your doctor will make a plan for these services. HomeLife Senior Care is licensed by the state of California as a Home Care Organization, as required to provide this service.
Who can benefit from home care?
Home care is useful to individuals who feel they need some assistance with activities of daily living. For example, if you have difficulty shopping and preparing your own meals or bathing independently, you may benefit from the services of a caregiver who can assist with these tasks. Your family members, friends, and others may also benefit from home care, because it can provide respite from caregiving as well as the reassurance that their loved one's needs are being met even when they cannot provide the care themselves.
How does HomeLife Senior Care find the right caregiver for me?
Prior to starting services, we will visit you for a FREE in-home consultation to help determine your individual needs and preferences and will work with you to create a care plan. Based on this care plan, a HomeLife Senior Care staffing coordinator will identify the caregiver whose skills and characteristics match your preferences. Our team will work closely with you to ensure that the match is a good one, and that your home care services are well coordinated and meet the highest professional standards. Should a concern arise, a supervisor and staffing coordinator are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to address your needs. HomeLife Senior Care is a full-service home care agency, which means that we employ our caregivers. All caregivers must pass a thorough background and health screening prior to hire. Caregivers are bonded and insured, and we handle all employer responsibilities, including taxes, benefits, training, and supervision.
How much does home care cost?
The cost of hiring a caregiver will depend upon the type of assistance you need. Home care services can be provided on an hourly basis — 3 to 24 hours a day. Depending upon your needs, home care is often the least expensive approach when compared to assisted living or nursing home costs. Some long-term health insurance policies cover home care services. Our fees are competitive with other full-service home care agencies and vary depending on the level and duration of care needed. Please contact us so we can learn more about your needs.
What types of insurance cover your services?
Veteran's benefits and many long-term health insurance policies include home care if certain requirements are met.
What’s the difference between a Home Care Agency and a Domestic Referral Agency or Registry?
Home Care Organizations (HCO’s) are state-licensed and regulated. HCO’s recruit, hire, and supervise their workers. The caregivers who come to your home have undergone an extensive background screening and are state-registered, bonded, and insured. An HCO employs their own caregivers and handles all payroll taxes while providing work-related injury and legal protection. In addition to the above, HomeLife Senior Care meticulously selects, professionally trains, and carefully supervises their caregivers. HomeLife also delivers back up care, 24/7 support, and web portal access for easy viewing and editing of the care schedule and other care related information.

A Domestic Referral Agency or Registry is an employment service for home care workers. They serve as a middleman, providing you with a list of possible independent caregivers for the job. They charge a finder’s fee and once the worker is hired, the caregiver becomes the employee of the senior who will then be responsible for complying with all state and federal laws including maintaining the required insurance, handling payroll taxes, and conducting all supervisory and disciplinary action. Should the caregiver call out for a shift or cease working altogether, it will be the responsibility of the senior to find back up care or pay an additional fee to have the registry place a new caregiver in the home.
How long has your company been in business?
HomeLife Senior Care has served with strength and distinction in East and Central Contra Costa County, Rio Vista and Tracy since 2010. We have a passion for the seniors and families we serve and our goal is to excel in providing quality, dependable, best-in-class care for your loved ones. We are locally owned and operated without the limitations of a franchise. As a result, we have the flexibility to quickly adapt to our clients’ needs while being actively involved in the community as trusted neighbors.
Are your workers bonded and insured?
Yes, our caregivers are fully bonded and insured to protect our clients and are registered through the California Department of Social Services as well. HomeLife Senior Care is a licensed Home Care Organization with a general and professional liability insurance policy in the amount of one million dollars per occurrence and three million dollars in the aggregate as well as an employee dishonesty bond of twenty-five thousand dollars. Unlike some senior care companies who simply serve as a referral agency and do not employ their caregivers, all of our caregivers are employees of HomeLife Senior Care and not contracted workers.
How extensive are your criminal and background checks?
The background checks conducted on all employees prior to being hired with HomeLife Senior Care are nation-wide, LiveScan fingerprinting checks which includes a fingerprint check through both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). In addition, we also run a national Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) check and contact several past job references to ensure good standing in past employment.
Our background check includes all of the following:
    • National criminal background check
    • National driver’s license check
    • Immigration status
    • Previous employment history
    • Reference checks
    • Drug Screening
    • Tuberculosis testing
What type of training do you provide to your employees?
Our caregivers are highly qualified and carefully selected individuals who are dependable and exceptionally caring of others. We look for compassionate, honest people and assist them in becoming the best the home care industry has to offer. In addition to the required training provided to each employee prior to being hired, our caregivers have access to our exclusive Personal Care Attendant (PCA) and Certified Hospice Companion Aide (CHCA) programs. The PCA designation elevates their knowledge and status in the industry and instills in them the highest standards of caregiver professionalism. The CHCA specialized training program was designed by a hospice nurse and educates caregivers on health and dying, how to assist patients and hospice nurses with end of life care, and prepares them for the emotional consequences of caring for the terminally ill. Our caregivers receive continuous in person and online training through this one-of-a-kind curriculum, guaranteeing that HomeLife Senior Care ’s caregivers remain the bar-setting home care professionals in our community.
Do you supervise your caregivers?
We use sophisticated Telephony that enables us to monitor our caregiver work attendance in real time. Our caregivers clock in and out of their shift using the client’s home phone and our office is alerted instantly if a caregiver does not arrive to a shift as scheduled. We’re then able to take immediate action. Additionally, supervisors perform regular random and non-random client visits while the caregiver is present to ensure our clients are receiving the highest level of care. A staff member dedicated to ensuring the quality of the client’s care actively addresses any care needs or concerns including holding “team meetings” with the caregivers and working with the caregiver’s supervisor to ensure the absolute best care possible.
Do you have a 24/7 support line?
While our office is open Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm, it is our strict policy that a staff coordinator and/or member of senior management are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year even on holidays so that no matter what time you call, a HomeLife staff member will always be there.
How do you select your employees?
We meticulously select our caregivers from a large pool of candidates to help ensure we hire only the best workers the industry has to offer. We have a full-time staff member dedicated to onboarding high quality caregivers by utilizing multiple recruitment sources to garner a large pool of applicants who submit their applications and resumes through our website. The Staffing Coordinator then conducts multiple interviews for the most qualified individuals based on their experience and abilities. Prior to being hired, applicants’ previous employment history is verified and their job references are contacted to ensure good standing in past employment. Each applicant undergoes a nationwide national criminal background and driver’s license check, a drug screening, and a negative tuberculosis test is obtained. In addition, each caregiver undergoes a day long orientation and training course and several hours of online training as well. All this is done so that when our caregivers are placed with your family, you will feel comfortable and confident the caregiver is able to provide you with the care and assistance you need.
Can you send me information describing your services and fees?
Absolutely. We have both a booklet detailing important information about our services as well as a rate sheet. This can be mailed or emailed to a specified address completely free of charge.
What is the company’s replacement policy?
Back-up caregivers are available in the event the regular caregiver is unable to fulfill their shift. Scheduling is flexible; a caregiver is available the hours and days of the week when you need care.
What are your financial procedures? Are your rates negotiable?
Because we pay our employees every two weeks often before ever receiving payment for services rendered, we invoice our clients every two weeks as well. Our rates are very competitive where we provide services and are typically $1 - $3 less per hour than other Home Care Agencies. One way by which we do this is by not offering individual discounts so that we are able to spread the discount across to all of our clients rather than bill some clients more to compensate for clients who are paying less as companies often do.
Would you mind providing me with references?
Not at all. HomeLife Senior Care has an impeccable reputation, receiving both the Provider of Choice and Employer of Choice awards from the Home Care Pulse, a third-party company who conducts interviews of past and current clients and employees to receive their unbiased feedback. As such, there are several past clients who would love to speak with you about the service we offer and the difference our care has made in their life and/or the lives of their loved ones.
Can we set up a time to meet to discuss the details of my care needs?
We would love to meet with you. We provide a free, no obligation consultation at which time you will be able to ask any questions you have and we can better understand exactly what your care needs are.
Do you have a web portal where I can view information related to my or my loved one’s care?
Yes, with HomeLife Senior Care ’s Family Connect, our clients are able to view information related to your or your loved one’s care schedule, view a picture and info about the caregiver(s) currently providing care and look over the Care Plan and account information on the account so that you can be in the know at the touch of a button. If you would like to make changes to the schedule, update any information on the account or need to contact the office for any reason, simply click the “Contact Us” button and someone from our office will receive your message instantly.