Your rights as a home care consumer

Your rights

As a consumer of a licensed Pennsylvania home care agency you have the right to:

• Be involved in the service planning processThe plan is built with you, not handed to you.
• Receive services with reasonable accommodation of your needs and preferencesThe one exception in the regulation is where accommodating a preference would put the caregiver's health or safety at risk.
• At least 10 calendar days advance written notice before we end servicesIn writing, with the reason, and with time for you to make other arrangements.
• Dignity, privacy, and choice in your own homeAgency practice, grounded in consumer control and the independent living philosophy.
• Contact the Department of Health or the Ombudsman at any timeIndependently of us, without telling us first, and without any consequence to your care.

Consumer protections per 28 Pa. Code § 611.57(a).

What you get before care starts

Before the first visit, you receive an information packet in a form that is easy to read and understand. It contains all of the following:

1. The home care services that will be provided to you, and the identity of the caregiver who will provide them.
2. The hours when those services will be provided.
3. The fees and total cost, on an hourly and weekly basis.
4. Who to contact at the Department of Health for information about licensure requirements, and for compliance information about this agency specifically.
5. The Department's complaint hotline, and the telephone number of the Ombudsman Program at your local Area Agency on Aging.
6. The hiring and competency requirements that apply to our caregivers.
7. A statement that our direct care workers are employees of the agency, and what that means for tax and insurance obligations. It means we carry them, not you.

Information packet contents per 28 Pa. Code § 611.57(c).

How to raise a concern

You can complain to us verbally or in writing, to a supervisor or to the administrator. We will acknowledge it, investigate it, interview the people involved, and come back to you with the outcome. We document every complaint and its resolution.

You do not have to come to us first. You can go straight to the Department of Health or to your Ombudsman, at any time, for any reason.

If services end

You may stop services whenever you choose. If the agency needs to end services, you receive at least 10 calendar days advance written notice, so that you have time to arrange alternative care.

Advance notice per 28 Pa. Code § 611.57(a)(2).

Reporting abuse, neglect, or exploitation

Every caregiver is trained to recognise and report suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation, and is required to do so. If you suspect something, you can report it to us, to the Department of Health hotline above, or to Pennsylvania's Elder Abuse Hotline. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 first.

Last updated August 23, 2026.