I need to paid to take care of my elderly disabled mother. To take care of her I have to be available at various times therefore I cannot hold a job. I need to find out how I can get paid to take care of her.
Penmanlelw, one very important question, will you have access to health insurance?
Unfortunately those who feel they need to quit work to take care of a parent forget about the cost related to items such as health insurance. If your employer gives their employees health insurance, please note that is a huge expense if you have to go out on your own for a policy.
If your Mother is still competent, you should, if she is willing, get a Durable and Medical Power of Attorney as soon as possible. If she is not competent then you will have to go through the court system to get one. If your Mom is willing to pay and can sign checks then the POA would just be for any eventuality. If your Father was a Military Veteran then she should qualify for VA Aid and Assistance and can use that funding to pay you. It is somewhat demeaning but there is always your county Social Services. Good luck in your endeavors and thanks for taking care of your Mother,
If she has money to pay you, and I don’t mean $3 an hour, then she has money to be in a facility. Work with Medicaid and find a good place for her. What do you do when you need care and have no job/pension/etc?
That is the $64,000 question..no job, no pension and a very low SS...I always have to scratch my head and ask...what are they thinking? Then I wonder... maybe the care taker just doesn't want to work and have a career.
The usual way that a person is paid for caring for someone is the person you are caring for pays you. There are some cases where if the person you are caring for is a Veteran there are programs through the VA where you can get paid for caring for the Veteran. There may be other programs where you could get paid. I would contact Senior Services or Area on Aging and see if there are programs that you would qualify for. You may have to accept that you will not get paid, if there are no funds and you can not care for her because you need to work to support yourself you may have to apply for Medicaid for her and start looking for a facility that will take her as a Medicaid patient so she will get care and you can return to work.
Every state has programs that pay family caregivers. The VA doesn’t have family caregiver programs. What they have is aid & attendance and the recipient can use that money to pay a family caregiver.
Does she have income? Do you have her Power of attorney? Ask her to set you a weekly salary so that you get paid and don’t have to ask her for money all the time.
If she self pays, as Dollyme suggested, she must keep very detailed and accurate records of that and purchases. Please check with your county's Dept of Health and Human Services for everything you need to know.
If she is not yet on Medicaid, this will be especially important as there can be a 5-year "look-back" period when she applies. Anything that isn't accounted for with receipts and timesheets may be viewed as gifting which could prevent or delay her from qualifying.
Your profile says your mom is only 70. Ditto to what Upstream posted. Many on this forum have stories to tell about caregiver burnout (paid or not paid!). You will not get paid much to do this very demanding job (even if it's not demanding now it will get so as time goes on). If your current job is satisfying and pays better than $15 p/hr you may want to consider having your mom go into a NH for her care so that you won't completely sacrifice your future. There is no paid vacation, no 401K, no other benefits for full-time caregiving. Physical injury for you is a concerning possibility as you lift and strain and twist attending to your mom. Then who will tend to her and you? Please think about this in as non-emotional way as possible. In a NH your mom will have way more social exposure and activities. You won't be able to provide that (and your social life may whither due to caregiving realities and demands). I wish you peace in your heart with whichever path you choose!
Ah, the burning question. Sadly, full-time care for an aging parent by the unfortunate child typically results in poverty. Get her on Medicaid and in a facility so you can stay employed.
Unfortunately those who feel they need to quit work to take care of a parent forget about the cost related to items such as health insurance. If your employer gives their employees health insurance, please note that is a huge expense if you have to go out on your own for a policy.
If your Father was a Military Veteran then she should qualify for VA Aid and Assistance and can use that funding to pay you. It is somewhat demeaning but there is always your county Social Services. Good luck in your endeavors and thanks for taking care of your Mother,
There are some cases where if the person you are caring for is a Veteran there are programs through the VA where you can get paid for caring for the Veteran.
There may be other programs where you could get paid. I would contact Senior Services or Area on Aging and see if there are programs that you would qualify for.
You may have to accept that you will not get paid, if there are no funds and you can not care for her because you need to work to support yourself you may have to apply for Medicaid for her and start looking for a facility that will take her as a Medicaid patient so she will get care and you can return to work.
If she is not yet on Medicaid, this will be especially important as there can be a 5-year "look-back" period when she applies. Anything that isn't accounted for with receipts and timesheets may be viewed as gifting which could prevent or delay her from qualifying.
Your profile says your mom is only 70. Ditto to what Upstream posted. Many on this forum have stories to tell about caregiver burnout (paid or not paid!). You will not get paid much to do this very demanding job (even if it's not demanding now it will get so as time goes on). If your current job is satisfying and pays better than $15 p/hr you may want to consider having your mom go into a NH for her care so that you won't completely sacrifice your future. There is no paid vacation, no 401K, no other benefits for full-time caregiving. Physical injury for you is a concerning possibility as you lift and strain and twist attending to your mom. Then who will tend to her and you? Please think about this in as non-emotional way as possible. In a NH your mom will have way more social exposure and activities. You won't be able to provide that (and your social life may whither due to caregiving realities and demands). I wish you peace in your heart with whichever path you choose!