What should a live-in Caregiver be paid?

Where should I check to find out if I can get paid for the care of my parent

Helper, i would be interested in the answer to that question as well. I quit my job to be home full time to take care of my mother. We BOTH now live on her SS and retirement which is not much. She gives me money each month but is out the money that I was helping her with when I was working. So, basically the household income has gone down 800 a month. Just curious if there is goverment/other assistance availible.

I am taking care of a terminally ill friend. Since he moved in with me, I have been buying all his food and toiletries. Just last week, he clogged up my septic system with paper towels costing me $800. I cannot afford to support him and he has no where else to go. His SS is his only income and he feels he should pay off his credit cards instead of helping me out with his costs. I drive him to his Dr.'s appointments which is 70 miles away once a week. He finally agreed hopsice could come in once a week, but if I am not there he will not answer the door. I am a full time RN and need my job plus more to take care of him. Who do I contact for this information. I need help now.

A tad Late,
but,
In Arizona basic live in services for a certified caregiver is at 120 a day, paid as an employee.
Private caregivers can charge 100 to 200 per day, of 10-20 per hour for the first twelve.
These are just averages in my experience. You need to base your pay on the level of care that one requires.
I recommend you have a written agreement prior to beginning any position.
If you are driving your personal vehicle for errands and as transport, factor in upping your auto insurance for your protection, saying 'they wouldn't do that to me" is nieve because some where, someone else said that and I am sure they regret it. don't forget mileage reimbursment!
Factor in medical insurance; if they offer it, you are lucky, if they do not; be over cautious in your body mechanics it only take one wrong move to injure your back and then what? Factor in that this is elderly care and eventually everyone will pass, always consider the possible length of a job, I am sure it sounds cold but I have worked in senior care for 10 years and privately for the last 3 years, there is nothing worse then finding yourself jobless and homeless after a week, granted no one knows how long any position will last, but at least think about it.
I am iffy on offering room and board as part of one's compensation. If you are required to be there 24/7, your time should be paid other wise you would go home at night.
Food is always included as a live in.
Most importantly you must have time off! any one who works 7 days straight is setting them selves up for danger. Even if it is one day a month each person needs a little r&r...
I hope this helps.
The Private Caregiver

OMG! Im a live-in caregiver taking care of an elderly husband and wife which included there 480 pound son that lived there aswell. First the husband died, that left me as caregiver to his wife who has Alzheimer's and is wheelchair bound. Second, the 480 pound son died just one (1) day ago of a heart attack which I had to give life support until he was picked up by ambulance. Now this is where everything gets screwed up. The son had POA and now some cousins and such took the wife, who is now the only one still alive, whom I am still her live-in caregiver out of her own home to an assisted living facility without a word to anyone, including me, just 8 hours after her son died. All this happened Friday night 4/5/13. I can't get a hold of the Attorney that has the son's will and directives until monday and now told me to leave the home today. Can somebody PLEASE HELP ME ON WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO SAY, HOW TO GET MY PATIENT BACK TO HER HOME, ETC.... Can I get a restraining order against those people or what? I'm frantic and worried for both my employer (wife of dead husband and son) who is also my patient.
PLEASE HELP ME TODAY..... PLEASE... Thank You, Linda

Check with social services, Dept of Aging in your area. Ask for an assessment of your loved ones needs. If the financial issues are just or wrong(depending on what you are looking at) the loved can be entitled to outside help from social services. if this is the case, ask for an application for YOU to be the caregiver/companion. my mom is eligible for 12 hours of companionship/caregiving free of charge to her a week. i decided to look for something else to make money as my mom enjoys seeing another face other than me sometimes(dont we all?). there are also family caregiver grants available in some states/cities. im in virginia and its only $500 a year and it was not given out last year do to lack of city funds. it wasnt alot of help, but maybe it can give a good start to some..good luck to all.

Given the costs that I described in my previous post, and the burdons on myself for managing finances and house maintenance, large medical issues, and covering the care gaps, assisted living++++ would have been the ideal solution, however, Mom was never the independent social person her sister was, and was ill-equipped to fare well in that environment until three years later when she went from hospital to rehab, to assisted living++++. In the meantime, the costs of assisted living came down to a more affordable level and different all-inclusive services package deals became available in our area. Assisted Living++++ costs ranged up to $84,000 per year in 2006, and NH prices ranged up to $120,000 in 2010 in our area. Mom is well-taken care of for $5500 per month now. This makes sense if you can reduce the cost of the patient's maintenance by eliminating the costs of housing, utilities, house maintenance contracts, security monitoring, dish TV, lawn service, snow removal, and food which would liberate at least $14000 per year from the budget toward the cost of Assisted Living++++. The AL facility has excellent gerontologists visit weekly, as well as a hairdresser. Easypeasy.

Moorhead - room and board implies that this is a hotel type situation for the roomer. It's not. They are doing all the work in the "board" for not only their own food, but that of the person they are caring for, who most likely has much different dietary needs than the caretaker. Add to that the fact that the caretaker will be on call 24/7, and yes, you will need to pay a wage. This is not a job I would ever sign up for, especially on a live in basis. You can't go home to get off duty, because your home is your workplace. You can't go anywhere to de-stress. It's a tough job. Pay well.

I have been a live in caregiver for 3 years for the same person. The family pays for my food which I make for the person and their special diet. They pay for my gas at .55 cents per mile. I do all shopping, errands clothes buying, doctors appt,., dental, etc.. I help dress and take to swim exercise class weekly. They are on a walker and needs assistance, dementia increasing. I am their companion. I do some yard work and keep yard watered( not mowing the lawn ) and clean house with help every 6 weeks. A family member comes once a weekend evening to stay while I go out. I do have 2 days off once a month and a weeks pay for a vacation once a year. I treat the person as I would my child or parent and all that's included in that. So I receive a room and bath to myself plus an area as an office. My question is $700 a month enough? I do take a day off most weeks, on my own and check in to make sure everything is alright.

I am a Live in care giver to a 93 year old woman. I have a private apartment inher home that the family pays all utilities for. I also get 200 per week and money for gas and they pay my medical and dental. In my contract is a stipulation that I will be allowed to stay for 3 months upon the death of their mother. My job entails making sure she takes her meds 2x a day and light housekeeping, making sure she has groceries and making dinner for us. We had to dismantle her stove because she would cook everything on high and walk away forgetting she was cooking. Her son comes every other week for the weekend and relieves me. The daughter lives less than a mile away and has been to see her mom 2 times in the year I have been here. Sad.