Agency with Choice (AWC) vs. Traditional Home Care: Which is Right for Your Family?
When an Arizona family receives authorized in-home service hours through the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), they are faced with a major decision: How do we actually staff these hours?
For decades, the only real option was a Traditional Home Care Agency. Today, families have another powerful option: the Agency with Choice (AWC) model.
Understanding the difference between these two models is the key to creating a care environment that actually works for your family's daily life. Here is a side-by-side comparison.
The Traditional Home Care Model
In a traditional agency setup, the agency is the sole employer. They are in complete control of the caregiving staff.
Recruiting: The agency finds, interviews, and hires the caregivers.
Scheduling: The agency assigns a worker to your home based on their availability, not necessarily yours.
The Drawbacks: The biggest complaint families have with this model is the "revolving door" of strangers. Because caregiver turnover in traditional agencies is notoriously high, families constantly have to retrain new staff on their loved one's specific behaviors, triggers, and routines.
The Agency with Choice (AWC) Model
The AWC model is a self-directed approach built on a "co-employment" partnership. It splits the responsibilities between the family and the agency.
Your Role (Managing Employer): You are in control of the care environment. You recruit the caregiver (often an aunt, adult sibling, or trusted friend), set the schedule that fits your life, and manage their day-to-day performance.
The Agency's Role (Employer of Record): The agency works behind the scenes as your administrative and HR department. They process the payroll, withhold taxes, provide workers' compensation, and bill the state.
The Benefits: You get to bring someone you already know, trust, and love into your home. The individual receiving care gets long-term consistency, and the family caregiver gets paid legally and professionally.
Which is Right for You?
If you do not have anyone in your personal network who can step in to provide care, a traditional agency is necessary to help you find staff.
However, if you already have a family member, neighbor, or friend who is helping out—or if you are a parent or spouse ready to become the paid caregiver yourself—AWC is the clear choice. At Nova Z Health Services, our entire AWC program is designed to empower Phoenix and Scottsdale area families to take control of their care without taking on the burden of HR paperwork.
