PSW & Caregiver Guide
What Questions Should You Ask When Hiring a PSW?
Finding a PSW for an aging parent is about more than checking qualifications and agreeing on an hourly rate.
The person you choose may be helping your parent with personal care, mobility, meals, medication reminders and other parts of their daily routine. Just as importantly, they may become someone your parent sees several times a week.
That makes fit, trust and reliability just as important as experience.
The right questions can help you understand whether a PSW is qualified, whether they have experience with your parent's specific needs, and whether they are someone your parent will feel comfortable having in the home.
And if you're using a home care agency or platform, there is another set of questions you should ask about the organization arranging the care.
Here's what to ask.
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Before you interview
Start with your parent's needs
Before interviewing a PSW, be clear about what you actually need help with.
Consider:
- Personal care
- Bathing and dressing
- Toileting
- Mobility and transfers
- Meal preparation
- Light housekeeping
- Medication reminders
- Companionship
- Transportation
- Dementia or memory-related support
- Post-hospital or post-surgery support
- Respite for a family caregiver
- Evening or overnight care
The more specific you can be, the easier it will be to determine whether a PSW has the right experience.
If you're still trying to figure out whether your parent needs home care, start with How to Know When a Parent Needs Help at Home.
Questions to ask about PSW qualifications
Start with the basics.
1. Are you a certified PSW?
Ask about their PSW education and certification.
If you are hiring independently, you should verify the information rather than simply taking a job title at face value.
2. How long have you worked as a PSW?
Years of experience can be useful, but don't treat the number alone as proof that someone is a good fit.
A PSW with several years of experience caring for clients with very different needs may not be the best match for your parent.
3. What types of clients have you cared for?
Ask about the types of situations they have encountered. For example:
- Seniors living independently
- People with dementia
- Clients with mobility limitations
- People recovering from illness or surgery
- Clients requiring personal care
- People receiving palliative care
4. What additional training do you have?
Depending on your parent's needs, relevant additional training can be valuable. Ask about experience or training related to:
- Dementia
- Falls prevention
- Lifts and transfers
- Medication assistance
- Parkinson's care
- Palliative care
- Continence care
- Skin and wound care
The important thing is to match the PSW's experience to your parent's actual needs. Vidal, for example, identifies additional qualifications and specialized experience as part of the Caregiver matching process.
How to Choose the Right Home Care for a Loved One explains how to weigh qualifications alongside the other factors that matter.
Questions about your parent's specific needs
General PSW experience isn't enough.
You want to know whether the person has experience with the specific type of care your parent requires.
5. Have you cared for someone with my parent's condition or needs?
Be specific.
If your parent has dementia, ask about dementia care.
If they have mobility challenges, ask about transfers and fall prevention.
If they need help with personal care, ask how comfortable the PSW is providing that type of assistance.
6. How would you handle a difficult day?
Your parent may not always cooperate with care.
They may be tired, frustrated, confused or simply not want help that day.
Ask the PSW how they approach situations where a client is resistant to care.
You're looking for an answer that demonstrates patience, respect and good communication, rather than simply getting the task done.
7. How do you encourage independence?
A good Caregiver should not automatically take over every task.
Ask how they balance helping someone with allowing them to do what they can safely do themselves.
This can be particularly important for seniors who are concerned about losing their independence.
Questions about personality and communication
Qualifications tell you whether someone can provide care.
They don't necessarily tell you whether your parent will like having them around.
8. What do you enjoy about caregiving?
This can reveal a lot about how someone approaches the work.
9. How do you build trust with a new client?
Your parent may be uncomfortable with a stranger entering their home.
Ask the PSW how they typically establish a relationship with a new client.
10. How do you communicate with family members?
Find out how they prefer to communicate and how they handle updates or concerns.
11. Do you speak my parent's preferred language?
Language can make a significant difference in communication, comfort and trust.
12. What type of client do you work best with?
This is a useful question because you're not only evaluating whether the PSW is right for your parent.
You're also asking whether your parent is the type of client the PSW works well with.
Vidal's Caregiver matching considers factors including language, personality and communication style in addition to care needs, qualifications and availability.
Questions about availability
Even an excellent PSW isn't the right choice if their schedule doesn't work.
13. What days and times are you available?
Be specific about the schedule you need.
14. Can you commit to a regular schedule?
If consistency is important to your parent, ask whether the PSW can reliably commit to the required days and times.
15. Are you available on evenings or weekends?
Don't assume availability. Ask.
16. How much notice do you need if we need to change a visit?
Your parent's needs may change from week to week.
Understanding how flexible the Caregiver can be will help you decide whether the arrangement is sustainable.
17. What happens if you are sick or unavailable?
This is one of the most important questions families sometimes forget to ask.
A Caregiver getting sick is inevitable. The important question is what happens to your parent when they do?
If you're hiring independently, you may be responsible for finding a replacement. If you're working through an agency or platform, ask who handles replacement coverage and how quickly it can be arranged.
Private PSW vs. Home Care Agency: What's the Difference? compares how each care model handles scheduling, cancellations and replacement coverage.
Questions about cost
Don't stop at "What's your hourly rate?" Ask about the complete cost of the arrangement.
18. What is your hourly rate?
Get the rate in writing so there is no confusion later.
19. Is there a minimum number of hours per visit?
A one-hour visit and a four-hour minimum visit can result in very different monthly costs.
20. Are evenings, weekends or holidays priced differently?
Ask before assuming the regular rate applies at all times.
21. Are there any additional costs?
Find out whether there are expenses beyond the hourly rate.
22. What happens if a visit is cancelled?
Ask whether there is a cancellation policy and who is responsible for communicating changes.
For a more detailed look at Toronto PSW pricing, see How Much Does a PSW Cost in Toronto?
And if you're trying to determine what you can realistically afford each month, see How to Budget for Home Care for an Aging Parent.
Questions about screening and safety
If you are hiring a PSW independently, screening is an important part of your responsibility.
23. Can you provide proof of your PSW certification?
Don't hesitate to verify it.
24. Do you have current First Aid and CPR certification?
Ask for confirmation if these certifications are relevant to the care arrangement.
25. Can you provide references?
References can help you understand how the person has worked with previous clients or families.
26. Have you completed a background or Vulnerable Sector Check?
If you're hiring independently, understand what screening has actually been completed and how current it is.
27. Can I verify your identity and credentials?
This should be part of your screening process when hiring someone directly.
If you're using a provider or platform, ask what screening they complete on your behalf.
Vidal's current screening process includes identity verification, certification verification, background screening including a Vulnerable Sector Check, a video assessment and a knowledge and standards test. Vidal also requires ongoing maintenance of relevant certifications and standards.
Questions to ask the home care provider or platform
If you're not hiring the PSW completely independently, don't stop your questions at the Caregiver.
You should also understand how the organization behind the Caregiver works.
28. How are your Caregivers screened?
Ask exactly what the screening process includes. Does it involve:
- Identity verification?
- Certification verification?
- References?
- Background screening?
- Vulnerable Sector Checks?
- Interviews or assessments?
- Ongoing credential monitoring?
Don't settle for simply hearing that Caregivers are "vetted." Ask what that actually means.
29. Can I choose my Caregiver?
This is a major difference between care models.
Some families are comfortable having an agency assign a Caregiver. Others want to see their options and have a meaningful say in who enters their parent's home.
If caregiver choice matters to your family, ask exactly how the matching process works.
30. Can I see information about the Caregiver before choosing them?
Ask whether you can review things such as:
- Experience
- Qualifications
- Areas of care
- Languages
- Availability
- Specialized experience
- Other family feedback, where available
Vidal allows families to review Caregiver profile information including relevant experience, qualifications and areas of care before choosing a Caregiver.
31. What happens if the Caregiver isn't a good fit?
This is an extremely important question.
Even a qualified and experienced PSW may not be the right personality match for your parent.
Ask: can I request another Caregiver?
You want to understand the process before there is a problem.
32. What happens if my Caregiver cancels?
Ask who finds a replacement and how quickly.
33. Who do I contact if there is a problem?
You should know whether you have:
- A Care Coordinator
- An agency supervisor
- A customer support team
- A direct contact person
Vidal provides Care Coordination support and invites families to contact the team directly if they have concerns about a Caregiver or the care being provided.
34. How much control do I have over the schedule?
Ask whether you can change:
- Number of hours
- Days
- Visit times
- Frequency of visits
This matters because your parent's needs may change.
Questions to ask before the first visit
Once you've chosen a Caregiver, clarify the practical details before care begins.
Confirm:
- Arrival time
- Visit length
- Tasks to be completed
- Important routines
- Mobility considerations
- Medication reminders, if applicable
- Emergency contacts
- Preferred communication method
- Parking or building access
- Pets in the home
- Anything your parent specifically wants the Caregiver to know
A clear first visit can prevent a lot of confusion later.
How many questions should you ask?
There isn't a magic number.
You don't need to conduct a formal job interview lasting two hours.
What matters is covering the areas that could affect your parent's safety, comfort and experience.
At minimum, you should understand:
Qualifications — can this person provide the care my parent needs?
Experience — have they worked with someone in a similar situation?
Personality — will my parent feel comfortable with them?
Availability — can they reliably provide the care we need?
Cost — do we understand the complete cost?
Screening — has the appropriate screening been completed?
Backup — what happens if they cannot make a scheduled visit?
Support — who do we contact if something goes wrong?
Don't forget to ask your parent
You may be the person arranging the care, but your parent is the person receiving it.
Ask them:
- How did you feel about the Caregiver?
- Did you feel comfortable?
- Did they listen to you?
- Did they respect your preferences?
- Did they arrive when expected?
- Is there anything you didn't like?
- Would you like to have them come back?
Their feedback should be part of the decision.
A PSW can be completely qualified and still not be the right fit for your parent.
What if the first PSW isn't a good fit?
Don't assume that means home care isn't working.
Sometimes the issue isn't the care itself. It's simply the match between the Caregiver and the client.
Your parent may prefer someone with a different personality, language, experience or communication style.
That's why it's worth asking about the replacement process before you hire.
A good care arrangement should have a way to address concerns and find a better fit when necessary.
How Vidal approaches caregiver matching
The questions you ask a PSW are important.
But families shouldn't have to rely entirely on an interview to determine whether someone is qualified to provide care.
That's one of the reasons Vidal has a structured screening and qualification process before Caregivers become available to families.
Vidal verifies identity and certifications, including PSW certification and current First Aid/CPR. Caregivers also undergo background screening including a Vulnerable Sector Check, complete a video assessment and pass a knowledge and standards test. Vidal expects Caregivers to maintain their required credentials and standards over time.
Families can then review Caregiver profiles and consider factors such as:
- Care needs
- Experience
- Qualifications
- Availability
- Location
- Language
- Personality and communication style
- Specialized experience
That's an important distinction.
Screening tells you whether someone is qualified. Matching helps determine whether they're right for your parent.
Vidal's approach is designed around both. How to Find a PSW for an Aging Parent walks through the full process.
Questions to ask yourself before choosing
After speaking with a Caregiver, ask yourself:
- Can they provide the care my parent needs?
- Do they have relevant experience?
- Would my parent feel comfortable around them?
- Can they reliably cover the schedule?
- Do we understand the cost?
- Has the appropriate screening been completed?
- Do we know who to contact if something goes wrong?
If you can confidently answer those questions, you're in a much better position to make a decision.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
The bottom line
The best questions to ask when hiring a PSW aren't just about qualifications.
You want to understand who the person is, what experience they have, how they approach care, whether they fit your parent's personality, and how reliably they can provide the support your family needs.
If you're working with an agency or home care platform, evaluate the organization too.
Ask how Caregivers are screened. Ask whether you can choose your Caregiver. Ask what happens when a Caregiver cancels or isn't a good fit. And make sure you know who to contact when you need help.
Ultimately, you're looking for more than someone who is qualified to provide care.
You're looking for the right person for your parent, backed by the right support system.
That's the approach Vidal takes: families can review Caregiver information, choose based on their parent's needs and preferences, and still have a care coordination team behind the arrangement when support is needed.
Ready to meet Caregivers who are already screened?
Browse vetted Caregiver profiles, compare experience and rates.
And choose someone who feels like the right fit for your parent.
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