We are seeking advise on a legitimate resource offering Live-in home healthcare services for aging parent. Discussion around using an agency or hiring directly as independent service provider/employee. Any advice?
If you hire someone yourself there is a lot of paperwork that you should do to make it "legal" You should also check with your insurance company and ask about Workers comp. If a caregiver is injured doing their job it could be a disaster. Also taxes should be taken out, income reported so the caregiver gets credit for Social Security. Background checks are important, references are important as well. If you are going to need someone 24/7 there are limits as to how long a person can work and the breaks they must be given. Also hiring more than 1 person is a good idea so you have a back up in case one can not be there for any reason. And you should instruct caregivers that they are not to come to work if they are ill. In many respects it is easier to hire through an agency so they have taken care of all the paperwork, insurance and they have back ups if a caregiver does not show or is ill. In some respects it is less expensive to hire privately but there is the paperwork that is involved. And there are other options that are sort of in between the two, a company like Care.com is like a "go between" but again you need to do all the "legal" stuff...
bnwbass, what I did for my Dad was hire 3 shifts per day of caregivers through an Agency. That way, each person worked 8 hours, went home to be with their family and have a restful sleep until their shift started on the next day. Plus the Agency was licensed, bonded, insured, and their caregivers had their TB yearly tests, and their flu shots.
Live-in help is fine if the person needs some help, but for someone with memory and mobility issues [as per your profile], that's a lot to put onto just one person. You will find that caregiver will burn out quickly, and you are back to square one looking for someone new.
My Dad found it was more affordable for him to sell his home and move into senior living, as it was costing him $20k per month [cost in my area] to have the caregivers at home, and with senior living the cost was closer to $6k per month.
Dad really enjoyed senior living, loved being around people of his own age group, and he was quite pleased with the restaurant style menu meals :)
By the way the two best caregivers I ever hired or were employed by an agency were two that I got through my local Community College. The College has a Nursing program and in our state (not sure if it is this way all over)anyone going through to Nursing school must complete a CNA program So between the end of the CNA program and the start of Nursing school these "kids" usually work at a facility but I got lucky and interviewed 2 and they were ANGELS. I still am so thankful for both of them. Just an idea where to look if you are looking to hire privately. Be willing to work around class schedules if you truly like the ones you hire this way.
My family had a very bad experience with a "well-loved" and highly recommended private hire. If you hire privately, you are basically an employer and need to carry on business like one. You find subs. You need to carefully check all the references. You need to do background checks. You do all the problem solving. You may not have much recourse if things go bad legally, medically, criminally. For the past 6 years I've been having a great experience through an agency that's a national franchise. I wish you the best in finding the right fit!
You should also check with your insurance company and ask about Workers comp. If a caregiver is injured doing their job it could be a disaster.
Also taxes should be taken out, income reported so the caregiver gets credit for Social Security.
Background checks are important, references are important as well.
If you are going to need someone 24/7 there are limits as to how long a person can work and the breaks they must be given.
Also hiring more than 1 person is a good idea so you have a back up in case one can not be there for any reason. And you should instruct caregivers that they are not to come to work if they are ill.
In many respects it is easier to hire through an agency so they have taken care of all the paperwork, insurance and they have back ups if a caregiver does not show or is ill.
In some respects it is less expensive to hire privately but there is the paperwork that is involved.
And there are other options that are sort of in between the two, a company like Care.com is like a "go between" but again you need to do all the "legal" stuff...
Live-in help is fine if the person needs some help, but for someone with memory and mobility issues [as per your profile], that's a lot to put onto just one person. You will find that caregiver will burn out quickly, and you are back to square one looking for someone new.
My Dad found it was more affordable for him to sell his home and move into senior living, as it was costing him $20k per month [cost in my area] to have the caregivers at home, and with senior living the cost was closer to $6k per month.
Dad really enjoyed senior living, loved being around people of his own age group, and he was quite pleased with the restaurant style menu meals :)
Just another option to think about.
Just an idea where to look if you are looking to hire privately. Be willing to work around class schedules if you truly like the ones you hire this way.