How do I find an independent caregiver not associated with an agency?

The receptionist at the community where my mom lived when she was in independent-living had a couple of names of sitters for me. You could try stopping by a place like that. Also, church ladies in my area know people who know people. You could turn up at a church fundraiser, buy a brownie and ask around about caregivers.

Call a couple local hospice agencies. They often have a list of caregivers not affiliated or employed by them but who have been caregivers for people in the past. Local caregivers sometimes give their name and contact info to hospice agencies because they know families often need help and they want to do this work for payment. You have to call, interview, check references and work out payment details with the caregiver yourself. And word of mouth in your community.

I found the aide that I used with my late husband after calling our local Senior Services and got a recommendation from them on one of their old employees that had worked in their Adult Daycare Center and that had recently gone out on her own.

Care.com is not a scam site. I found a lot of work using that website. You're not using it correctly. NextDoor is a possibility too.

We found great people on NextDoor. You will need to check references but the three women that we hired to care for my parents were simply fantastic.

I posted a job description and in which neighborhood and requested that they direct message me. I also wanted people who did not have to travel very far to get to work.

Hello Heather, am looking for a private care giving job. I don’t know how to contact you.

Hello Heather, am looking for a home care job in Atlanta. I just don’t know how to connect with you.

One possibility is "word of mouth": Ask people in your community (neighbors, work, religious group, health club, etc.) whether they know about anyone who is seeking this type of work.