Home / Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions How long has the agency been in existence? During what hours is the agency available to receive calls? How far in advance do arrangements have to be made? What is the process of hiring someone? What's the difference between hiring help privately or hiring through the agency? How are home health aides recruited? What is the length of their training and experience? Are the aides licensed and/or bonded? Does the agency have references for each caregiver? Is care available on a live-in basis? Part time? Full time? Must live-ins have to have their own rooms? What hours (and how many hours) are aides available for work during the day, at night, and/or on weekends? What are the minimum and/or maximum hours that can be arranged? What are the aides' usual job duties? Can aides be asked to perform additional duties? What are the aides' records for punctuality and attendance? Do aides have their own cars or do they rely on public transportation? Will you be required to provide transportation after certain nighttime hours? Will you have to pay for carfare? Are care needs assessed periodically by a nurse? If so, how often? If the assigned aide calls in sick or doesn't show up, will a substitute be available? If so, how soon? If there is dissatisfaction with the assigned aide, will a substitute be available? If so, how soon? Are caregivers hired directly by the patient, the family, or through the agency?   Why does your agency charge a fee? Why are there other agencies who don't charge a fee? Can the interview be done at my house? What risks are there if I just hire someone from another person I know? How long has the agency been in existence? We have been in business since 1992. During what hours is the agency available to receive calls? Our business hours are from Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 4.00pm. We also have an emergency line for our clients that they can call 24 a day 7 days a week. The emergency number is recorded on our answering machine. Just as a reminder this is an emergency line only. How far in advance do arrangements have to be made? All we need is a 24 hour notice. What is the process of hiring someone? You can hire someone over the Internet, by phone, or in person by making an appointment and coming to one of our office locations. We are located in Wallington (Bergen County), NJ and in mid-town New York, NY. What's the difference between hiring help privately or hiring through the agency? Differences are as follows: Issues: Home Based Supportive Care (Private Hire) Home Health Care (Agency) Employer Client is the employer. The agency is the employer. Taxes Client is responsible for paying employee and for performing all the necessary deductions by himself or using professional payroll service.  The agency pays the aide and performs all the necessary deductions through payroll service: Paychex. Inc. Training and Orientation Client’s responsibility. Agency's responsibility.  Insurance Client is responsible for covering employee with insurance. Check with your insurance Agent to verify if you have coverage under your homeowners policy. All employees are bonded and insured through ICONNEL. Recruitment and Interview Client or Power of Attorney interviews and chooses your own candidate. Agency's supervising personnel chooses the most suitable person for your needs based on information provided to us. Screening Process Client’s or Power of Attorney’s responsibility based on information provided to you by an employee and the Employment Agency. All personnel is screened and fingerprinted as required by the state certification process. Guarantee Enjoy peace of mind: a continuous guarantee to substitute your employees for their time off on weekends and holidays. You can change the aide at any time with one week's notice. Fees Your cost is negotiable depending on your service needs. Live-in: $120-$195 per day, plus room and board, minimum 4 weeks, (agency fee included). Hourly: $15-$20 per hour, minimum 4 hours per day, 5 days per week, minimum 4 weeks, (agency fee included).* *(Explanation of agency fee: Charged weekly for temporary and permanent placements:  30% of gross pay first month  20% of gross pay second month  10% of gross pay starting third month)  ICONNEL invoices you weekly based on the amount of services performed. Live-in: $250-300 per day, plus room and board, minimum 4 weeks, (agency fee included). Hourly: $25-30 per hour, minimum 4 hours per day, 5 days per week, minimum 4 weeks, (agency fee included).*  We ask that you sign the weekly time sheet for our employee, at which point an invoice is also generated along with a copy of the invoice which is all sent to you for your records.  We require a two week deposit that will be credited to your account that can also be used for the last two weeks of service. Minimum time to hire There is no minimum time period for which you have to hire the person. There is a one month minimum for using our service. Service Rates Client or Power of Attorney can negotiate the rate with the caregiver directly during the interview with the potential employee.  The rate is not negotiable. Duties of Caregiver Client can design independent caregiver’s duties accordingly to the Client's changing needs and condition. The duties of your independent caregiver are not limited by any certification or union programs and can be personalized specifically to your needs. Duties of Certified Home Health Aide are limited by State, Insurance and Agency’s company regulations. For example in NJ Certified Homemaker Home Health Aide may not change bandage, may not apply eye drops, may not measure sugar level, may not give insulin shots, may not feed client using feeding tube, may not drive client. How are home health aides recruited? Our aids are referred to us by our employees, clients and neighbors. What is the length of their training and experience? Every person applying for a job at ICONNEL has to present at least a two years of experience working with elderly people. We make an exception on an occasion, but all clients will be privy to such exceptions. We do not provide formal training, but we continuously test caregiver’s knowledge.  We believe that length of training or training credentials do not necessarily demonstrate a caregiver's actual knowledge or ability.  As a result, we have our own RN who reviews test results of available candidates on a weekly basis. Are the aides licensed and/or bonded? The aids hired directly through the agency are licensed bonded and insured Does the agency have references for each caregiver? All of our aids have references. Most of the references are from our previous clients not strangers. Clients receive complete information regarding previous caregiver’s work record that we have on file. Is care available on a live-in basis? Part time? Full time? We have Aids available for Part-time, Full-time or on Live-in basis, and substitutes for weekends and Holidays. Must live-ins have to have their own rooms? Separate rooms are not required but many of the aids will not take a live-in position without having a separate bedroom. Our employees are hard working people, they need a comfortable place to rest to do a good job. What hours (and how many hours) are aides available for work during the day, at night, and/or on weekends? Aids are available any period of the day; the hours have to be the same every day. What are the minimum and/or maximum hours that can be arranged? There is no maximum hours, there is only a 20 hour minimum ( 4 hours a day 5 days a week) What are the caregiver's usual job duties? Our caregivers perform many different duties like; medication reminders, cooking, light-housekeeping, changing patients, washing, shopping, keeping company etc. Clients can also design independent caregiver’s duties accordingly to the Client's changing needs and condition. The duties of your independent caregiver are not limited by any certification or union programs.  Consequently, ICONNEL's arrangement allows the Client to receive cost effective personalized care with substantially less paperwork and cost. Can aides be asked to perform additional duties? Job description might change as the condition of the patient changes, any extra duties should be checked with the agency. What are the aides' records for punctuality and attendance? Aids are very good with attendance and punctuality. They are expected to be on time every day no matter what the circumstances are because elderly patients get very frustrated even over couple of minutes. Do caregivers have their own cars or do they rely on public transportation? Most of the caregivers working on hourly basis have their own car.  Some live-in caregivers have their own cars.  Others have driver's licenses. Will you be required to provide transportation after certain nighttime hours? We provide transportation for the ICONNEL employees only. All other candidates are required to take care of their own transportation. The client is not required to provide transportation at any time. Will you have to pay for carfare? Client does not have to pay for transportation. Are care needs assessed periodically by a nurse? If so, how often? A nurse from ICONNEL comes in first to do the assessment after the paperwork is prepared and does once a month visits to monitor the caregiver. Clients can also hire their own independent case managers to manage their own employees as frequently as needed. If the assigned aide calls in sick or doesn't show up, will a substitute be available? If so, how soon? If one of our aids calls in sick, a substitute would be available within approximately 2 hours from the phone call. If there is dissatisfaction with the assigned aide, will a substitute be available? If so, how soon? If the client is not happy with the caregiver provided another aid would be available within 24 to 48 hours depending on the circumstances and the nature of the job. Are caregivers hired directly by the patient, the family, or through the agency? Clients have an option of hiring caregivers privately, or through ICONNEL. If a caregiver is hired directly by the Client, the caregiver is also compensated directly by the Client.  When a caregiver is hired thorough the agency (ICONNEL), then ICONNEL will compensate the caregiver. Why does your agency charge a fee? ICONNEL charges a fee to cover the costs of registering, pre-qualifying and checking each candidate that is presented to you.  Our office also covers for scheduling replacements as you continue to employ your caregiver.  The feedback we receive from our Clients provides us with important information that helps monitor the performance of each of the caregivers who our placed through our agency. Why are there other agencies who don't charge a fee? While there are other agencies who do not charge the client any placement fees, we believe that those agencies are charging caregivers the fees.  We also serve as a watchdog for agencies who operate illegally without proper licensing or fee schedule approval by the State of NJ.  Agencies who charge caregivers are obligated to find satisfactory jobs for the fees collected.  In comparison, ICONNEL clearly defines the CLIENT as the person(s) in need of care, not the caregiver in need of a job.  We do the hard work of filtering out bad caregivers and present you only with the best people in the industry.  We are under no obligation to find any of our caregivers a job.    Can the interview be done at my house? No, but an interview is not necessary with our guarantee.  The more information you provide us about your needs, the more accurately we can send you the right person from the very beginning.  However, the guarantee allows you to request a different caregiver at any time so that you can terminate employment with your existing caregiver. What risks are there if I just hire someone from another person I know? Hiring a caregiver through someone you know, (e.g. local travel agent, pharmacist, doctor, book store, butcher, neighbor, friend, or acquaintance) who also charges you or the caregiver a fee may be dangerous, especially if the agent is operating illegally without proper licenses.  What is "easy money" for them could be a life bearing risk to the person who needs the care and a greater financial risk to you. In addition, hiring a certified home health aide represented and compensated by a licensed home health care agency does not guarantee a safe arrangement. Our professional observation has shown time and time again, that agency employed certified home health aides are paid less than private home based supportive care givers, thus, have less incentive to work responsibly.  In fact, no regulation, certificate, background check, bonding or insurance of any kind will guarantee protection of a Senior from harm. Who really knows what goes on when you close the door behind you when leaving the elderly alone with a caregiver? This is why the most important aspect of providing caregiver services is to select the right person and to re-validate the selection process with as many people as possible.  We help you with this by providing you with our input and expertise represented by over 30 years of combined experience from our agents who work together. Some mistakes that can put your elderly family member in jeopardy are as follows: Beware of interviewing in your home, especially if the Agent is unlicensed.  A person who claims to be the "agent" typically brings people in a car for you to meet.  Having several strangers in your house can be intimidating and dangerous.  It is often difficult to verify credentials when they are already in your house.  Beware of caregivers who are getting too close emotionally to your elderly relatives. Many are sincere, but your intervention with the caregiver during his/her employment is critical in maintaining an arm's length relationship where appropriate.  (In other words, don't just protect your elderly, protect your will and estate!) Manage the caregiver, and manage finances separately.  If you keep a checkbook or credit card in the house, make sure that there are limited funds in the account.  We don't recommend having a check book in the house without a contingency plan or a way to reconcile the the check book by someone else on a daily basis.  Caregivers can be clever.  You may look at the front of the checking book, but there may be checks missing in the back. Do not hesitate to change your caregiver. Some caregivers became too demanding and will negotiate the unreasonable work terms, based on fact that Senior likes them. If your senior relative does not complain about the caregiver, this does not mean that the caregiver is doing a "good job."  The relative may be afraid to complain since he/she is at the caregiver's mercy as soon as you close the door behind you. Ensure that your caregiver doesn't bring other people into the house by enforcing a strict rule.  Trouble often starts with too much leniency. Please remember that the care you give your parents may be similar to the care your children are going to give to you when you will need the same.

When you call us after hours the recording will give you the cell phone number of the person on call.
	Telephone 1-800-915-ICON (1-800-915-4266) or 973-340-1818 Fax 1-888-301-ICON (1-888-301-4266) Postal address 48 Locust Ave. Wallington, NJ 07057 or 246 West 38th St. 10th Floor, NY, NY 10018 Electronic mail General Information: inquiries@iconnel.com