How are Indiana in-home support services different?

Indiana's personal care services agency licensing program identifies three related categories: attendant care, homemaker services, and companion services. All may support a person at home, but they should not be treated as interchangeable labels. The right starting point is the person's actual goals and support needs, followed by the applicable assessment, service plan, authorization, payer rules, and provider scope.

Short answer

Attendant care centers on approved personal support and daily routines. Homemaker services center on household tasks. Companion services center on fellowship, protection, escort, and related social support. The written plan—not the name alone—determines what a worker may do.

1. Attendant care: support with daily living

Attendant care may be considered when a person needs approved hands-on or standby support with daily routines. The exact definition, tasks, frequency, and hours depend on the program and plan. Indiana Medicaid lists Attendant Care among possible authorized services under the state's Health and Wellness and PathWays waiver information.

A family should ask which activities are specifically approved, whether assistance is hands-on or cueing, what mobility or safety instructions apply, how privacy will be protected, and which needs require a nurse or another licensed professional. A personal attendant should not be assumed to provide skilled clinical care.

2. Homemaker services: help with household routines

The Indiana Department of Health describes homemaker services as assistance with or performance of household tasks. Its examples include housekeeping, shopping, laundry, meal planning and preparation, and cleaning.

Those examples are a general description of the licensed service category, not a promise that every task will be covered or available in every arrangement. Families should clarify which rooms, errands, laundry, food preparation, supplies, and household routines are included; who pays for purchases; and whether the service is authorized for the participant rather than general household convenience.

3. Companion services: fellowship, protection, and escort

Indiana describes companion services as fellowship, care, and protection for a client. State examples include transportation, letter writing, reading mail, and escort services. Companion support may help reduce isolation, maintain routines, or make it easier to participate in everyday community life.

Companionship does not automatically include personal care, housekeeping, medication administration, financial decision-making, or unrestricted transportation. Before services begin, discuss the person's preferred activities, communication style, mobility, transportation method, spending boundaries, privacy, emergency contacts, and what the worker should do if plans change.

A practical side-by-side comparison

  • Primary purpose: Attendant care supports approved daily-living needs; homemaker service supports approved household tasks; companion service provides approved fellowship, protection, and escort.
  • Typical planning question: “What personal assistance is needed?” for attendant care; “Which household tasks are needed?” for homemaker services; and “What social or escort support matters?” for companion services.
  • Key boundary: None of these labels should be used to assume clinical duties, unlimited errands, financial control, or tasks outside the written plan and worker's role.
  • Documentation: The worker should document the authorized service actually delivered according to agency, payer, and program requirements.
  • Schedule: Timing and frequency depend on the person's approved plan, preferences, provider capacity, and staffing—not on a standard package for every client.

Medicaid-authorized care and private-pay care are not the same

For Medicaid HCBS, Indiana explains that eligibility requirements apply and that approved services are identified through planning and authorization. A service coordinator helps develop a personalized plan for PathWays members who need HCBS. The provider should follow that authorization and should not promise extra covered hours or tasks outside it.

Private-pay arrangements may allow a family to purchase agreed services without Medicaid authorization, but the agency's licensed scope, assessment, service agreement, safety standards, staffing, and payment terms still apply. Ask for a written explanation of rates, minimum visit length, cancellation terms, holidays, transportation costs, permitted tasks, and how plan changes are approved.

Agency-directed care and self-direction

In an agency-directed arrangement, a licensed provider agency generally recruits, employs, schedules, and supervises workers. Indiana's INCharge Self-Directed Services option gives eligible waiver participants more control over who provides certain supports and how those supports are delivered.

Indiana says self-direction may include responsibilities such as writing job descriptions, interviewing and hiring workers, deciding pay within the approved budget, training, scheduling, supervising, creating a backup plan, and ending employment. Case managers or service coordinators and Financial Management Services provide defined support. Families should ask which model applies before assuming an agency or family member will be the employer.

Eight questions to ask a provider

  1. Which service category best matches the person's goals? Ask the provider to explain why, using the plan rather than a generic package.
  2. Which tasks are included and excluded? Request plain-language boundaries and examples.
  3. Is the arrangement Medicaid-authorized, private pay, or another funding source? Confirm who approves the service and who receives bills.
  4. How are workers screened, trained, matched, and supervised? Include communication, mobility, dementia, behavior, and cultural preferences when relevant.
  5. What is the backup plan? Ask what happens when a worker is unavailable and what coverage can realistically be offered.
  6. How are transportation and community activities handled? Clarify authorization, vehicles, insurance, mileage, scheduling, and accessibility.
  7. How are concerns and changes reported? Get the day-to-day contact, after-hours process, complaint pathway, and emergency instructions.
  8. What must be complete before the start date? Confirm referral, assessment, authorization, service agreement, staffing, orientation, and schedule.

How Veracity Systems DBA Hoosier Care Givers can help

Veracity Systems LLC does business in Indiana as Hoosier Care Givers. We provide information about personal attendant, homemaker, respite, and companion support within our approved scope and current capacity. We can review a general inquiry, discuss the requested county and schedule, and explain the next steps needed to evaluate service fit.

Start with our Indiana service page, review the earlier personal attendant care overview, or submit a service or family inquiry. People seeking employment can review caregiver opportunities paying $18–$21 per hour depending on state, role, experience, and assignment or complete the secure caregiver application.

Questions families often ask

What is the difference between attendant care and homemaker services in Indiana?

Indiana describes attendant care, homemaker, and companion services as separate service categories. Homemaker services focus on household tasks such as housekeeping, shopping, laundry, meal planning and preparation, and cleaning. The exact tasks within attendant care depend on the applicable program, assessment, authorization, and written plan.

What can an Indiana companion caregiver do?

Indiana's licensing information describes companion services as fellowship, care, and protection that may include transportation, letter writing, reading mail, and escort services. A provider should explain the approved duties and boundaries for the specific arrangement before services begin.

Does a licensed personal care services agency provide all three services?

Indiana licenses personal care services agencies that may provide attendant care, homemaker, and companion services. However, an agency's approved scope, contracts, staffing, service area, and current capacity still determine which services it can accept.

Will Medicaid pay for attendant, homemaker, or companion services?

Coverage cannot be assumed from a service label. Indiana Medicaid lists Attendant Care and Home and Community Assistance among possible authorized waiver services, but eligibility, assessment, program enrollment, plan authorization, network participation, and other rules apply. Ask the assigned service coordinator or case manager what is authorized.

Can a person choose agency-directed or self-directed attendant care?

Indiana offers self-direction for certain services on specified HCBS waivers. Self-direction carries responsibilities such as recruiting, hiring, training, scheduling, supervising, and maintaining a backup plan. Availability depends on the person's waiver and approved plan; an agency-directed arrangement works differently.

Does contacting Veracity Systems guarantee that care will start?

No. An inquiry starts a conversation only. Eligibility, authorization, service fit, provider acceptance, staffing, safety, location, schedule, payer requirements, and current capacity must be confirmed before services can begin.

Authoritative resources

General-information notice: This article is educational and is not an eligibility decision, service authorization, guarantee, or medical, legal, financial, employment, or individualized service-plan advice. Service definitions, waiver rules, health-plan networks, authorizations, provider scope, rates, and availability can change. Confirm current requirements with the applicable Indiana agency, health plan, service coordinator or case manager, payer, and provider. For an emergency, call 911 or the appropriate emergency service.