New Jersey home care
Live-in home care in New Jersey
A live-in aide stays in your parent's home, usually for several days in a row, so someone is there for mornings, meals, evenings and the night.
You don't pay. There's no fee.
Who live-in care fits
Live-in care fits a parent who should not be alone for long stretches but still sleeps through most nights. It is common after a fall, a hospital stay, or when memory changes make evenings hard.
If your parent is up several times every night, needs two people to transfer, or wanders, live-in care is usually not enough. That calls for 24-hour care with aides working awake shifts, or a look at assisted living or memory care.
Live-in vs 24-hour care
- Live-in: one aide stays in the home, gets a private place to sleep and real breaks, and is paid a daily rate.
- 24-hour care: two or three aides rotate awake shifts, so someone is always on duty. It costs much more because every hour is paid.
- Many families start with live-in care and move to 24-hour shifts if nights get harder.
What the home needs
- A private bedroom for the aide, not a couch.
- Time for the aide to sleep and eat, written into the plan.
- Groceries for the aide's meals, which most agencies expect the family to cover.
- A plan for the aide's days off, so another aide covers and your parent is never alone.
What to budget for
Agencies quote live-in care as a daily rate, not by the hour. For context, the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey puts New Jersey's median for a non-medical in-home caregiver at $38 an hour, the highest end of the region. A live-in day rate usually works out well below paying 24 hours at that hourly rate.
We do not publish any agency's prices. Each agency quotes its own rate and minimum in writing, and we ask you to get that before care starts. See home care cost in NJ vs NY for the full survey numbers.
Paying for it
Medicare does not pay for live-in or hourly personal care. Families usually pay privately, and many use a long term care insurance policy. If your parent is on or applying for Medicaid, we point you to the New Jersey ADRC at 1-877-222-3737 on the first call.
How we help
We sit with you first: your parent's day and night, the house, language and food, and your budget. Then we introduce licensed private-pay agencies that staff live-in care in your parent's county, and you choose. You don't pay. There's no fee. Call (201) 686-8232 if the need is this week.
We help families in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Morris, Union, Middlesex and Monmouth.
Tell us about the live-in need
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
- Does a live-in aide work 24 hours a day?
- No. A live-in aide needs time to sleep and eat. If your parent needs someone awake all night, ask for 24-hour shift care instead.
- How fast can live-in care start?
- It depends on the agency and the match. Some starts happen within days. Tell us the date you need, and we ask agencies who can staff it.
- Can we meet the aide first?
- Ask the agency for a meeting or a call before the first shift. Most will arrange it.
- Do families pay you?
- You don't pay. There's no fee. A licensed agency may pay us a referral fee after a successful private-pay start of care. We do not take a fee on Medicaid funded care.
Ways to start
Sit with us first. Then pick the home.
- Call (201) 686-8232. Best for an immediate need such as a discharge this week.
- Take the two minute care quiz
- See how we help families
- Print the tour question checklist
- Communities and agencies: partner with us
Informational and referral only. Not medical, legal, or insurance advice. We do not operate communities or employ aides, and we do not publish community prices, waitlists, or bed counts. Verify licensing and current rates with each community or agency.
This site is not medical or financial advice. Confirm coverage with the plan or the state Medicaid office. Facility fees are set by the community.