Home Care Directory by ZIP Code
Home care pricing and provider supply change from one ZIP code to the next, not just one city to the next. Pick your ZIP below to see the local agency rate band, how the five kinds of providers compare, the licence checks to run before you sign, and which Medi-Cal and county programs pay. Across this service area, licensed agencies quote $37 to $50 an hour for non-medical personal and companion care.
Conejo Valley
San Fernando Valley
Simi Valley
How to Verify a Home Care Licence in California
California licenses home care agencies, and it maintains a public registry of the caregivers they employ. Running these six checks takes about twenty minutes and rules out the unlicensed operators that advertise the lowest hourly rates in this area.
1. Ask for the HCO licence number
Every legitimate non-medical home care agency in California holds a Home Care Organization (HCO) licence issued by the Department of Social Services. Ask for the number before the in-home assessment, not after.
2. Look the licence up in the state registry
Search the CDSS Home Care Services Bureau public database for the HCO number and confirm the status is current, the business name matches the quote, and there are no open enforcement actions.
3. Confirm the caregiver is on the Home Care Aide Registry
Individual caregivers must be registered and background-checked through the state Home Care Aide Registry. Ask for the aide's registration number and verify it separately from the agency licence.
4. Get proof of workers' compensation and liability insurance
Request a current certificate of insurance naming the agency, not a broker letter. If the caregiver is a private hire, you are the employer and your homeowner's policy usually will not cover an injury in the home.
5. Check skilled home health separately on Medicare Care Compare
Doctor-ordered nursing or therapy comes from a Medicare-certified home health agency, which is a different licence. Compare star ratings on Medicare Care Compare before accepting a discharge referral.
6. Read the service agreement before you sign
Confirm the shift minimum, cancellation window, holiday and overnight premiums, mileage policy, and how supervision visits are scheduled. Anything a salesperson promises verbally should appear in the agreement.
The agency we point families to
We keep this site independent, and we do not sell placement. When families ask us who to call first, we point them to SYNERGY HomeCare because it meets every item on the checklist below for non-medical in-home care. You are free to interview several agencies, and the questions further down this page work for any of them.
- Licensed as a Home Care Organization with the California Department of Social Services
- Caregivers are employees, background-checked through the state Home Care Aide Registry, bonded and insured
- Written care plan with a local care manager who visits the home
- Flexible schedules from a few hours a week through 24-hour and live-in care
- Experience with dementia, Parkinson's, post-surgery recovery and hospice support