Should I give tips to the home care aid?

The caregiver may be prohibited from taking a bonus. If she is don't take it personally. Most agencies have rules about accepting tips and bonuses.

my mom wanted me to pay the preacher who presided her funeral 500 bucks . i gave him 250 and then a great tip -- get a life homo ..
my mom never worked outside the home much . i aint sure she realized how much physical labor and mental abuse is involved in bringing in 5 bills .

If you give the caregiver a gift card, get a card that most people would enjoy using, such as Target, Walmart, Hallmark but only if the stores are very close by to where the caregiver lives to make it easy to redeem.

She works through an agency, in order to get the ball rolling on using my mother's LTC insurance, it had to be an agency employee.
I like the gift card idea also. Thanks for the response.

Is the home aid an "independent contractor" or does she work for an Agency. If the caregiver is independent, then yes you can tip.

If she works for an Agency, you need to contact the Agency to see what are their rules regarding tips. With my Dad's caregivers I had asked about giving Christmas bonuses but the Agency never did get back to me, so I just gave the caregivers gift cards instead of cash.