Why Us?
As experts in senior care, we know what we’re doing.
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How It Works
Getting help is easier than you think.
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What we do
Be safer and more comfortable living at home with home care
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Expert
We know seniors.
Our care team is managed by qualified senior care experts. Learn More
Responsive
We’re there for you.
We are always available, and are responsive to your changing needs. Learn More
Secure
You’re in safe hands.
We are Licensed, Bonded, and Insured. All of our caregivers are carefully screened and supervised. Learn More
Every person deserves care that promotes independence, dignity, and well-being.
Our mission is to provide home care that enhances quality of life for our clients and their families through teamwork, problem-solving and senior care expertise.
Caregivers
We love our caregivers! They are the most important part of our team, and we do everything in our power to ensure they have the tools to provide great care.
We have a multi-step screening process, and hire less than 10% of caregiver applicants. Learn More
Once hired, our caregivers go through a day long orientation to understand our model of care and procedures. We continue to monitor, supervise, coach, train, and support them to provide the best care for our clients.
Staffing Coordinator
Our Staffing Coordinator is in charge of scheduling caregivers for shifts and making sure they have the information they need to do a great job. She helps match the right caregiver for each client, and solves problems along the way.
Hiring Manager
Our Hiring Manager recruits, screens, and orients great caregivers to join our team. He works hard to find caring, skilled people who share our passion for working with seniors.
Client Services Director
Our Client Services Director is in charge of meeting potential clients, assessing needs, and working with our client care team to ensure a smooth start of care. She also meets with other senior care professionals to get the word out about our service.
Client Care Manager
Our Client Care Manager is a Gerontologist, and is in charge of understanding our clients’ needs and making sure care goes well. She acts as primary contact for clients and families, and supervises caregivers working onsite with clients.
Meredith Caplin,
Founder and CEO
Meredith Caplin, Founder and CEO, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She received her Master’s Degree in Social Welfare with a specialization in Gerontology from UC Berkeley in 2004. Prior to founding CSS, she was a Medical Social Worker in hospital settings and provided psychotherapy to older adults. In addition to her professional training and experience, Meredith’s commitment to senior care is informed by her mother’s own struggle with early onset Alzheimer’s disease, as well as close relationships with her grandparents.
Meredith started CSS Home Care in 2010 with the belief that everyone deserves care that fosters independence, dignity, and well-being. As a geriatric specialist, she knows how important it is to recognize and support older adults as whole people, addressing safety, physical and mental health, emotional well-being, and social engagement.
Locally owned and operated in the San Francisco Bay Area.
We serve Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco Counties.
Personal Care and Hygiene
Medication Reminders
Light Housekeeping and Meal Prep
Outings, Errands, and Appointments
Mobility and Exercise
Activities and Companionship
All of our clients are assessed and supported by our Client Care Manager, who has a master’s degree in Gerontology, with special training in Memory Care.
With a care plan in place, our caregivers are continually supervised and supported during the course of care to use the most effective behavioral therapies, including validation therapy, as well as Teepa Snow’s Gems and Hand-Over-Hand approach.
Coming home from the hospital can be a huge relief. However, during this period people are at a high risk of falls and injuries, which can land them right back in the hospital.
In order to stay safe at home, people need time to recover and get back their strength. CSS Home Care can help with a wide range of tasks post-hospitalization, to help our clients stay safe and comfortable at home during their recovery period. We can also help with appointments, errands, and rehab exercises.
Many seniors living in facilities require more than the facility can handle.
If home is an Assisted Living Community, Board and Care Home, or Nursing facility, CSS Home Care caregivers can provide additional one-on-one attention and care, outings and errands, monitoring for wandering, companionship and emotional support.
We can help when your loved one is receiving hospice or end-of-life care.
Hospice is a Medicare benefit, focused on support and comfort rather than treating disease. Hospice team members, including nurses and social workers, provide care at home to address medical needs. Hospice provides some limited, intermittent help with personal care, and does not help with other daily living tasks.
CSS Home Care can supplement Hospice by providing ongoing daily care, household tasks, and emotional support. We work closely with hospice teams to ensure comfort and quality of life.
Our Model
Founded and managed by social workers and gerontologists, we know strong leadership, careful planning, and teamwork are the keys to providing the best care. We listen to your needs and create a care plan that makes sense. Our clients benefit from our team’s passion and expertise. In addition to compassionate caregivers, our team includes dedicated senior care professionals working behind the scenes to make sure care goes smoothly.
Our goal is to help create a home life where our clients feel comfortable and respected, and family members can sleep easier knowing their loved one is cared for well.
Our Process
Our process is simple.
- We start with a phone call, then meet with you in person to understand your care needs and answer your questions.
- When you are ready to start, we create a care plan, set a schedule, and match you with a caregiver we think will be a good fit.
- After care starts, we check in, monitor care, problem-solve issues, and keep in contact to make sure care is going well.
Reviews
Client Reviews
Professional Reviews
Caregiver Reviews
What it’s like, to work at CSS….
I have worked for a few home care agencies.
CSS is, for me, the best company due to strong organization and commitment from the staff. The team building atmosphere is phenomenal. I feel protected, and very much a part of the team
Scheduling Care
What is a Home Care Assessment?
At a Home Care Assessment we meet you at your home or residence to answer your questions and understand your needs, including details about the kinds of tasks that would be helpful, schedule, and what type of caregiver may be the best fit. Assessments are free and there is no commitment.
If you are planning to start care after a hospitalization, then if possible we like to meet with you at the hospital before discharge, so that we can plan for any special needs, including things like physical therapy exercises or specialized medical equipment.
How do we set or change our schedule?
Once we have met with you for an assessment, we can typically start care soon after, since we have a large pool of qualified caregivers. Our goal is to match you with a caregiver we think would be a great fit, and orient your caregiver to your specific needs. For updates or changes to your schedule during office hours, you can notify your assigned Client Care Manager. After hours, you can call our on-call staff.
Our goal is to give you consistency, matching you with caregivers who can get to know your needs and preferences. To this end, we’ve found it helps to set up a regular, set schedule with longer hours. However, if you just need help a few hours here and there, we can accommodate that too!
How do I keep track of the schedule and care?
Caregivers
How do you select caregivers?
As a licensed home care agency in California, all our caregivers are registered as home care aides with the state. To even be considered for hire at CSS, all our caregivers must pass a fingerprinted background check with the DOJ and FBI, maintain current TB testing, and complete yearly training requirements.
In addition, all our caregivers go through a multi-step screening process, evaluating skill, reliability, personality, and professionalism. After we review an application for relevant skills and experience, we conduct a phone screening, where we fill in details and begin our interpersonal assessment. An applicant may then be invited to an in-person interview, where we continue to evaluate their skills, personality, reliability, judgment, and professionalism. At this interview, we also administer a written skills assessment. If the applicant passes the interview and exam, we then conduct and perform a professional reference check and employment verification.
What if my caregiver is not a good fit / not working out?
What is the difference between independent contractors vs. employee-based Home Care companies?
CSS Home Care is a licensed home care agency and our caregivers are employees. We cover employer payroll taxes, carry workers’ compensation insurance, and we have more control over how our caregivers carry out their job duties. CSS caregivers also get overtime pay, sick time, and benefits like 401K savings plans.
Companies that use independent contractors instead of employees have fewer protections and benefits for their clients, workers, and themselves. They do not carry workers’ comp insurance, pay payroll taxes, nor can they instruct their caregivers on how to do their jobs. Independent contractors are also not entitled to overtime, sick time, or other benefits.
If the applicant passes all of these steps, they attend a paid, 5-6 hour in-person orientation to orient them to our brand of care and expectations, including specialized dementia training. After hire, we continue to actively evaluate, coach, and supervise our caregivers for skill, reliability, and professionalism.
Paying for Home Care
How can I get help paying for home care?
I have long term care insurance. How can you help?
Want to Join Our Team?
Supporting the Safety of Clients and Caregivers
We’ve enhanced our protocols and policies to help mitigate infection exposure in light of coronavirus.
As a home care provider serving older clients—many with preexisting health conditions which make them more vulnerable to infections, including the coronavirus and seasonal flu—we’re taking our responsibility to our clients, their families, our community, and our caregivers very seriously.
We understand that many facilities have new guidelines for admitting third-party caregivers and we’ve created a highly responsive, dedicated team to respond
to changing conditions. Our care team can work with your facility to address your specific screening criteria for care professionals. Our top priority is always to support the safety and well-being of our clients and Care Pros. By working together, our Care Pros can support your staff members by providing individualized care to our shared clients.
- If a Care Pro exhibits any flu-like symptoms, we immediately begin work to re-staff their visits with another Care Pro. We’ve also expanded our clearance process for any Care Pros returning
to work after being sick. And we’re instructing Care Pros to stay home if they feel sick and not penalizing them for missing any visits. - We’ve updated our client consultations to screen for flu-like symptoms so we can ensure proper protections are in place before care begins.
- We have new infection controls to help mitigate transmission such as requiring Care Pros to wear masks, gowns, and gloves when interacting with clients exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
Care Pro Safety Precautions
- We’re sending frequent reminders to Care Pros, reiterating the importance of taking universal precautions, including thorough, frequent handwashing and using disinfectants.
- We’re making key safety tools available to Care Pros, including hand sanitizer, flu shots, and gloves.
Here’s how we’re enhancing protocols and policies to help mitigate infection exposure during this unprecedented time.
Enhanced Protocols and Instructions for Our Care Pros
Heightened Infection Controls
- We’re implementing a new pre-check-in process for all Care Pros before they can start a shift—and building it into our app. To mitigate the risk of transfer, we’re rolling out a requirement for every Care Pro to take their temperature prior to a care visit and let us know if they’re experiencing any of these symptoms of illness such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat,
or nausea. And we prompt them to wash their hands before doing anything else for the visit.
Up-To-Date Guidance
- We’re actively adjusting our protocols based on the latest local and federal guidelines—and reaching out to public health officials in every county we serve to stay up to date.
- We’re in close contact with all facilities we serve to stay informed of their most recent guidance and instructions.
Our clients’ safety is our top priority—and we’re working around the clock to navigate through these challenging circumstances. We hope this information is helpful to you and inspires ongoing trust in our Care Pros and confidence in our abilities to support our clients’ care needs.
