You scan your dashboard first thing Monday morning and see that two caregivers have dropped shifts. A critical client’s care plan got updated overnight. There’s a new state memo about wage rules sitting unread in your inbox. Your phone buzzes with a marketing lead — and then another — but there’s no straightforward process to follow up.
This isn’t a scenario. It’s every week.
As a home care agency owner, you live in the tension between caring for clients and managing chaos. You need your people scheduled right. You need compliance nailed. You need growth — not just in clients, but in margins and stability. Yet every day feels like you’re playing catch-up.
What if two days could pivot your trajectory? What if you left with a hard drive full of strategies, connections, and a crystal-clear plan for 2026? That’s precisely what the 2025 HCAOA National Home Care Conference will deliver for leaders who refuse to settle for “just staying afloat.”
The home care industry is evolving fast. Demand for in-home care is soaring as America’s population ages:
At the same time, agencies face significant challenges: caregiver shortages, rapid tech innovation, and shifting regulations.
In fact, over 59% of home care agencies report ongoing caregiver shortages, even though employment of home health & personal care aides is estimated to grow 21% from 2023 to 2033 – nchstats.com
It’s a paradox: tremendous opportunities, but also hurdles for those running a home care business. Today, staying on top of industry trends is not optional – it’s necessary for survival and growth. From new labor laws and compliance requirements to emerging technologies like AI-powered home care software, to creative staffing and marketing strategies, there’s a lot for home care leaders to keep up with.
That’s where the HCAOA National Conference comes in. It’s a timely chance to get ahead of the curve on home care industry trends and beyond, so you can lead your agency with confidence into the future.
Mark your calendar: The event takes place October 20–21, 2025 (Monday and Tuesday) at the Hyatt Regency Dallas Hotel in Dallas, Texas. It is THE premier personal care agency conference in the U.S. for home care organizations offering non-medical personal care. In other words, it’s built specifically for providers like you – home care agency owners, executives, administrators, and managers who deal with the unique challenges of home care.
Oh, and did we mention fun? It’s not all work – you’ll also enjoy networking breakfasts, a vendor lunch, and even a lively reception. Dallas is a fantastic host city with excellent sights (the conference hotel is steps from Reunion Tower and other attractions), so it’s a chance to mix business and a bit of pleasure, too.
Why invest your time (and money) to attend? Here are the biggest benefits of attending the 2025 conference:
Stay ahead of the curve on what’s shaping home care and beyond. From demographic shifts to emerging care models, you’ll hear data and forecasts firsthand. (For example, a featured session “Home Care 2030: Factors Affecting the Future of Home Care Over the Next Five Years” will unpack where our industry is headed – more on that below!). Knowing the trends means you can plan your agency’s strategy proactively, not reactively.
Curious about how AI or new software can make your agency run smoothly? This is your chance to see it in action. The conference will spotlight AI-powered home care software and leading-edge tech tools designed for agencies.
You’ll learn how automation can help with everything from caregiver recruiting and scheduling to client engagement. Bonus: The expo hall will have dozens of vendors (including CareSmartz360!) demoing the latest solutions you can try out on the spot.
Labor laws, wage-and-hour rules, licensing regulations – the rules seem to change constantly. At this event, top legal experts who specialize in home care will break down what you need to know for 2025 and beyond.
You’ll get updates on employment law, HIPAA, Medicaid, and VA program changes, and more. This kind of intel can save you from costly compliance mistakes. Instead of combing through updates alone, you can hear directly from attorneys who have done the homework for you.
There’s immense value in connecting with fellow home care professionals. Over coffee or cocktails, you can share tips & form relationships with like-minded people.
Many attendees say the networking alone is worth it – you might meet a mentor who’s already solved the challenge you’re facing, or a new agency owner who becomes a future business partner. Plus, you can meet HCAOA leadership and even national policymakers who often attend to hear from providers. It’s networking on a whole new level.
Nearly every session has takeaways to help your agency grow or operate more efficiently. Whether it’s learning how to boost caregiver retention (a huge growth factor), mastering marketing to get more clients, or streamlining operations, you’ll come home with a notebook full of ideas.
One of the biggest highlights of the conference is the lineup of breakout sessions – 16 in total – led by experts across various fields of home care. These are smaller group sessions where you can choose topics most relevant to your interests (from technology and marketing to recruitment, finance, and legal compliance). Here’s a look at these sessions on the agenda:
Shareholder, Littler Mendelson, P.C.
There are 10 to 15 common wage and hour mistakes I’ve seen home care employers make, but a few of the costliest are:
Founder & CRO, Home Matters Caregiving
Attorney & Founder, Legally Nanny
Agencies must use open-ended questions when interviewing caregivers and avoid those tied to protected traits. Also, while gender-based staffing is only allowed in home care for tasks like bathing or personal care, agencies must document this clearly to prevent legal issues.
Founder & Chairman, Alvita Care
Founder & CEO, Senior Care Marketing Max
Since ad costs will rise with more competition, home care agencies should target narrow, high-intent keywords instead of broad ones and focus on smaller, high-value local areas rather than large territories.
President & Owner, Adultcare Assistance Homecare
Owner & Founder, Digital Champions
Simply claiming to have the “best caregivers” doesn’t set an agency apart—sharing your personal “why” through authentic storytelling does. By opening up about the deeper reason you started the business, you build an emotional connection with clients, caregivers, and referral partners.
Founder & CEO, Caring Senior Service
KPIs are vital, and instead of just tracking client losses, agencies should distinguish between controllable vs. non-controllable losses. This reflection helps identify areas where they can improve retention and keep clients longer.
Chair, Home Health & Home Care Practice Team, Pierson Ferdinand, LLP
Founder & CEO, Breakaway 365
Hiring the right caregivers from the start is more valuable than filling shifts quickly, since early turnover is costly. Be intentional—screen for values, take long interviews, and even turn down cases if needed—to build a long-term, committed team.
Home Health, Home Care & Hospice Chair, Polsinelli
CEO, Leading Home Care (A Tweed Jeffries Company)
Top-tier home care leaders succeed because they have a clear long-term vision, build strong cultures, differentiate their companies, and lead with purpose through storytelling. They also hire great teams, think in systems, and use data-driven performance measurement to stay ahead in a crowded market.
President/CEO, corecubed
CEO, A Better Solution In-Home Care of Raleigh, NC
Managing Director, The Home Care CPAs
Agencies should track total billing (with a breakdown by payer source as a bonus), total payroll (separating caregiver wages from admin costs), and total hours billed. Comparing billing to payroll gives a quick pulse on short-term cash flow and highlights whether labor costs are in line with revenue.
Tracking these consistently can help catch issues early—like creeping overtime or underperforming contracts.
Pretty impressive lineup, right? These speakers include well-known home care CEOs, legal gurus, marketing experts, and technology and workforce innovators. Over the two days, there will be four breakout session time slots (two each day), with multiple topics running concurrently – so you can choose what fits your needs.
Tip: Bring a colleague or two from your agency so you can “divide and conquer” the breakout sessions and share notes later. There’s so much great content that you’ll want to capture it all!
We’d be remiss not to mention that CareSmartz360 will be at the conference, too! As a leading provider of AI-powered home care software, CareSmartz360 is proud to be a vendor and solution provider at HCAOA.
We are passionate about helping home care agencies like yours streamline operations, improve caregiver-client coordination, and use technology to fuel growth.
Be sure to stop by the CareSmartz360 Booth #203 in the exhibit hall – we’ll be there live and in person, ready to connect! This is a great chance to see our latest features in action, including smart scheduling, electronic visit verification (EVV), billing/payroll automation, and analytics tools that can give your agency the competitive edge.
Whether you’re curious about optimizing intake processes or implementing intelligent scheduling recommendations, we’ve got exciting innovations lined up for you.
You can even schedule a one-on-one demo with us during or after the event to delve deeper into how our software can support your agency.
The HCAOA conference is your ticket to fresh ideas, smarter strategies, and a stronger network in home care. We hope to see you there – let’s learn, network, & grow together.
Here’s to turning those daily struggles into success stories!
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