Nobody wants to read the end of an agreement on the first day of service, yet that is when the family needs the exit terms most. A household that has to stop care in a hurry will rely on whatever the paperwork says, and those lines are easy to skip.

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What the file should answer. Find the section that covers ending service. Mark each line you find with one of two labels: FROM THE AGREEMENT for words the agency wrote, and DESK NOTE for your own reading. Then check the following:

  • Who must give notice, and whether the notice must be in writing.
  • How much notice the agreement requires from the family, and whether the agency can end service on less.
  • What happens to visits already scheduled after the notice date.
  • How the agency handles a house key, an alarm code, or any other item the family hands over, and when it is returned.
  • Whether the agency will send a written closing record of the visits delivered, and what that record contains.
  • How the client's personal papers and any records kept in the home are returned or destroyed.

Ask the coordinator to walk through the ending section aloud and then point to the exact words. A clear answer will match the paper. If the coordinator says the paper does not cover a situation, ask that the gap be written into the agreement before you sign.

Questions to ask in writing

  • Can the family end service with a short phone call, or must it be a signed notice?
  • If the family ends service mid-week, which visits are still charged?
  • Who in the agency signs off on the closing record?

Desk note: this guide does not tell a family what its agreement must say. It tells you what to look for and what to ask. If a clause is unclear, ask the agency to explain it in writing, and keep the unclear wording for a person the family trusts to review it.

Editorial note: the exit terms often say more about an agency than its brochure does. A short, plain, written ending section is a reasonable sign that the rest of the paper will be read as written.