Does anyone have an independent caregiver?

We hired a woman my sister knew from church. She wanted to be paid in cash which we did and it was $10.00 an hour. This woman loved my parents like her own. We had a very good experience but I have read that others on this site where not so lucky.

We got a person for my MIL through a friend who was very good, and she was paid through a state or county program. Check with your local Dept of Aging or equivalent, and see if they have something available that you could find your own caretaker.

Last resort. Use an agency and only try to manage your professional caregiver(s), if you've really given up on agencies and absolutely cannot find an agency near you that you can live with. There are SO many risks -- like liability insurance coverage, etc, that no one has mentioned. Yes, you can hire people to handle payroll and tax withholding, etc, but it's still very, very risky, unless you have a lot of experience recruiting and managing household staff or the time to handle it all. Even the best of us get screwed quite often. Be careful.

We were using an agency, which worked out for a while, until my father passed and my mother with dementia needed 24/7 care. We hired a live-in caregiver and a couple of backups to give her two days and nights off per week. We use Homework Solutions, they do the payroll and taxes. They also did the background checks but we also checked references. We found everyone on Craigs List and interviewed them- they have all been trained and have experience with elder care. It has been working great for a few months now.

I have an independent caregiver, part time. She is wonderful and I am so lucky to have her. I had been looking for someone for 2 years with no luck. This wonderful lady had been caring for a 92 year old who passed. She put an ad in the local paper and I called. If you want info on what I pay her, just private message me.