Can you get paid for taking care of a disabled person who is not a family member?

NO. I tried. I live in AZ. Maybe it is different elsewhere. Best of luck & MANY BLESSINGS,,,,

Thanks for asking, Sherry. I think your question helped me provide a more complete answer.

Sherry, it's just an option. It's up to the OP to determine what she wants. If you're asking about the advantages, try this one on for size. If the disabled person does not have the money to put the caregiver on payroll - which I tend to think is the case; she doesn't need the group to tell her the disabled person can give her cash- then that disabled person likely qualifies for medicaid. With medicaid, they can get hours of an aide's time paid by the government. At least to start, the aide must be certified and come through an agency. Certification is not hard. After the person needing services is established, s/he can choose to instead hire her own aide and not go through the agency. She can continue to use her friend privately and this would continue to be paid by medicaid. So my suggestion is kind of a back door way for a caregiver to get paid when there are no funds available. Original Poster, can you comment on the helpfulness of my answer? I think it addresses the intent if the question.

Christine, why would anyone want to register through an agency and pay them the lion's share of the charges collected? Is there any benefit to doing that that I don't know? I use a PEO for employment for my mother's caregiver and for my staff at work. They handle all the paperwork and the responsibilities for employment, ie workman's comp, employment taxes, etc. They "lease" the employee out to me for a nominal fee and everybody is happy. No agency fees envolved.

You can take the class to become an aide, register with an agency, and have the disabled person request you.

Yes, but it depends on their age and disability. State agencies do pay for the care of disabled persons, so check with your local & state agencies regarding care for disabled and or elderly disabled.

Both family members and non-family members can get paid for providing care for a disabled person, but need to be careful to avoid jeopardizing the disabled individuals future benefits as well as tax issues for both parties. I would recommend that you consult with an Elder Law Attorney and have that Attorney assist you in the preparation of the Contract and the proper way to document your work. The concern is whether the disabled individual may need Medicaid assistance for long term care at some point in the future. In many States the Department charged with approving Medicaid applications have strict requirements for any family member caregiver and if these standards are not met the payments are treated as improper transfers causing a period of ineligibility for Medicaid. While you are not a family member, I still recommend you follow the same procedures. Several States are now questioning care agreements and or payments to non-family members where it is an individual receiving the payments as opposed to a professional corporate service. This is a trend that I see continuing as many States are heavily in debt and are seeking any way to reduce expenditures. I generally recommend that any such agreement at a minimum include: detailed scope of work, amount of compensation and evidence it is based upon comparable local rates for similar service, record keeping requirements and automatic withholding of appropriate taxes using a payroll service. Depending upon how many hours you work, and whether you work for anyone else, you have certain legal obligations as to tax withholding. While many individuals seek to pay cash or not withhold, while this can seem like a smart move at the time, in the long run it can lead to potential civil and criminal liability with the IRS and State taxing authorities for both the employer and the employee. I strongly recommend that anyone considering hiring an individual caregiver, especially if it is a family member, as well as the caregiver retain an experienced elder law attorney in their area to make sure that the agreement is structured correctly.

Sure, the person you are taking care of can pay you a weekly or hourly salary. You would need to put together an employment contract which states the number of hours each day, the hourly rate of pay, and who will do the payroll taxes.