A shortlist is a snapshot. Between the first look and the signed paper, names change, phone lines move, offices relocate, and coverage notes go stale. This guide says which fields drift, who on the family's side updates them, and what to do when a field changes. It covers the shortlist only. It does not rank agencies, and it does not hold health details.

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The fields that drift

  • The provider name, as filed and as shown on the listing.
  • The office address and the phone number.
  • The counties and cities the agency says it serves.
  • The name of the person listed as the agency's administrator or owner.
  • The certification or registration status shown in the federal file.

Name one person who updates the sheet

A shortlist with two keepers ends up with two versions. Name one family member as the keeper. That person edits the sheet, and everyone else sends changes to that person instead of editing a copy. The keeper also keeps the old values visible, so no change is ever silent.

Write the change beside the old value

When a field changes, do not overwrite it. Write the new value in the cell, leave the old value struck through or in a note beside it, and tag the source of the change: LISTING if the Google listing showed it, AGENCY if the agency told you directly, FILE if the public record showed it. An agency's own word is useful, but it stays a NOTE until a file matches it.

Recheck the file when the provider changes

A new name, a new office address, or a new county on the sheet means the file check is no longer valid for that row. Run the lookup again for that row only, and mark the row as rechecked with the reason. The lookup steps are in How to check a provider yourself, in five lookups.

When a listed agency stops appearing

Sometimes a provider on the list no longer shows up in a search. Do not assume the agency closed, and do not assume it is still operating the same way. Mark the row NOT FOUND in the file column, keep the listing copy, and write the gap down as an open question. Send that question to the agency, ask for the answer in writing, and file the answer beside the row.

Between tours, confirm the fields in person

Before each tour, read the sheet's fields aloud to the agency's visit contact and ask them to correct anything that has moved. Keep their corrections in the NOTE column. Then compare the corrections with the file. Where the two disagree, the file governs the check, and the disagreement goes onto the question list.

A shortlist is only as current as its last edit. Keep one keeper, keep the old values visible, and recheck any row whose provider details changed.