Overnight hours do not sit on the same ledger as daytime visits. A daytime visit has a start time and an end time. An overnight block can mean a sleeping aide on site, an awake aide on watch, or an aide living in the home for a stretch of days. Put those three shapes side by side and the totals stop being comparable. Before any side-by-side comparison, ask each agency which overnight model it offers and write the answer under the agency name.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Three overnight models to name in writing

  • Sleep-in. The aide is on site overnight and may sleep between needs. Ask when the sleep period stops and working time starts, and what happens when the household calls the aide during the night.
  • Awake overnight. The aide stays awake through the block. Ask how long the block runs, what break the aide takes, and whether a second aide is ever added for a heavy night.
  • Live-in. The aide lives in the home for a set run of days. Ask about the private room, meals, days off, and the plan when the aide is unavailable.

What moves the overnight total

Four things change the total more than the headline line does. The first is how often the night is interrupted. A household that rarely calls at night has a different shape of total than a household that calls most nights. The second is the notice period for adding or removing a night. The third is whether the agency sends the same aide each night or rotates a pool of aides, since rotation often adds orientation time that the family does not see on the schedule. The fourth is the back-up plan. Ask what terms apply when the regular night aide cannot come and the agency sends someone else.

What it costs: The Missouri median for non-medical in-home care is $33 an hour, per the CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025 state data tables, released March 2026. New Plan Care's standard rate is $34 an hour with a four-hour minimum, so a visit starts at $136 (newplancare.com/services).

Questions to put on paper

  • Which overnight model is this, and can you show it on a sample week?
  • When does the sleep period end and the working period begin?
  • What breaks does the aide take, and who covers them?
  • How much notice do you need to add or remove a night?
  • If the regular aide is not available, what terms apply to the replacement?
  • Who is the single office contact for a night problem, and what hours does that contact answer?

Compare on a shared sample

Write one sample night in plain language: the hours, the calls the family expects, the tasks the aide is asked to do, and the time the aide leaves. Send the same sample to each agency and ask for the same written answer. Two answers that differ on the same sample show the difference in the total more clearly than any headline line. Keep the answers on one sheet so the comparison stays on the same page.

For the supply side of overnight openings in the region, the page on finding help where supply is thinnest explains how a thin local supply of home care businesses shapes the choices a household has. Finding help where the supply is thinnest

Decide the night plan before the first night

Name who the aide calls first during the night, who the aide calls second, and when the family wants to be woken. Write that order where the aide can see it. Health questions go to the family's doctor, and this page does not offer health guidance. The family decides the order of calls; the agency sets the terms of the block.