Training claims are the easiest lines in an agency's brochure to repeat and the hardest to test from outside. This guide shows how to turn a training claim into a written outline, then compare two or more agencies on the same lines. The desk does not verify what is taught in any agency's classes, so the outline is the family's own check.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Turn each claim into a line

Take each phrase the agency uses and ask for its written version. A phrase such as 'trained for in-home work' becomes a list of topics, a name for who teaches each topic, and a note on whether the topic is taught before any visit or after. Editorial: a phrase without a list is still only a phrase. Write the phrase on the left of the sheet and the written line on the right, and leave the right side blank if no line came.

The lines to compare

  • The topics in writing, with the reason each one is on the list in plain words.
  • Who teaches each topic, and whether that person's role is named.
  • Whether a supervisor watches a new worker on the job, and how that watch is recorded.
  • Whether training continues after the start, and what the paper says about repeat sessions.
  • Whether the agency keeps a training record for each worker, and whether the family can ask to see the entry for its own worker.

How to set up the comparison

Use one sheet per agency and the same five rows. Read across each row and mark a line filled if it is in writing and open if it was only spoken. Do not add a score. A filled row is a line the family can point to. An open row is a question to send back to the agency in writing. The agency with more filled rows has shown more of its training on paper, and that is the only thing this sheet measures.

Where this sheet does not reach

Health questions go to the family's doctor. This sheet does not judge the content of any class or the skill of any worker. It shows only what the agency has put on paper and whether the family can see it. Before comparing, it also helps to know which kind of service each agency is licensed to give, since home health and home care are separate categories in Missouri. See home health and home care in Missouri, two different categories.