Program Sponsor

Judges Guide

​​Thank you for helping HCAOA recognize exceptional caregivers across the country! Here's what you need to know for judging in 2026.

Nominations

• The nomination period will be May 20-July 15, 2026.
• Nominations will be categorized into five regions: West, Northern Tier, Central, Northwest, and Southeast.
• One finalist will be selected from each region.
• All five finalists will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Home Care Conference.
• One winner will receive a $2,500 cash prize.

Judging Process
There will be two judging rounds: a first round where all nominations are scored, and a final round involving 25 top-scoring semi-finalists.

First-round judging

• Each judge will be assigned to a region different from where they're located.
• Judges are encouraged to score entries on a rolling basis as they're assigned to you.
• To standardize scoring between judges and differentiate scores in a large field of entries, a 20-point scoring system will be used for the first round. Judges will evaluate the strength of each nomination in four areas: compassion and heart, impact on clients, professionalism, and peer and client feedback.
• First-round judging will end July 26.

Final-round judging

• The five top-scoring entries from each region will advance to a final round. 
• If there are tie scores in the top five, the field will be expanded to accommodate as many as needed.
• Each judge will review and score all semifinalists with an eye for "the best of the best." This round will use a simpler 8-point scoring system that weights the judges' favorite nominations.
• Final-round judging will end by August 3.
• During the week of August 3, we will hold a judges meeting to confirm the finalists and select a winner!

Judging Process

• To streamline the judging experience and eliminate manual tabulation, judging will take place on a contest platform called JudgingHub.
• You'll receive an invitation to the platform via email. After establishing your password, you can log in by going straight to the contest page and clicking the Judge Portal button.
• Judging is quick and easy — you can even do it on your mobile phone. Here's a quick tutorial.

Questions?
Contact Allison Dolan, Senior Director of Communications, Marketing, and Education at HCAOA.

Thank you again for your role in celebrating the caregivers at the heart of home care!

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