Is there any financial assistance programs to help?

Jill, what are dad's resources? Pension, SS, savings, investments, house?

It sounds as though your dad is getting to the point where he's going to need full time care, which means 3 shifts of caregivers. What sort of work do you generally do? Before you make any decisions, take some time to read some other caregiver stories on this board.

jilljaunbral, here is one thing to think about if one is trying to decide whether to not accept outside work to care for an aging parent.... on average if a working woman quits work she will lose over the years $325,000 [salary, net worth of the health insurance, pension, other benefits], and a working man quits work he will lose over the years $285,000. Would any of us write our parent a check for $325,000 or $285,000 so that parent could remain in their own home? That gives all of us a lot of food for thought.

Are you looking for a government assisted program? Check to see if your parent could qualify for Medicaid…. each State has different eligibility requirements the parent must meet. If your State has such a program to pay a grown child to care for a parent, you might feel your parent needs 12 hours of care, the program might decide only 5 hours. And you may need to take some health care courses to qualify. Plus there is a question as to if the State will pay a relative if he/she already lives full-time with the parent.

AHA! you brought the Alaska weather with you, eh? Just joking. I am in Buffalo and totally sympathize. Is Dad on Medicaid? Can his MD order in home care so you can go to work? Medicaid won't pay you, they only contract with licensed agencies. Go up to Search Site and enter your city and state and a lot of information pops up.