Looking for independent caregiver

beckystump

Hello! I am looking for an independent caregiver (not with an agency) for my 80 year old father who has moderate stage Alzheimer's. I would appreciate any advice on good ways to go about finding someone, please. Thank you!

Victoriaredux

Hi beckystump—

Unless you are getting a personal referral- from say a friend who no longer needs a caregiver who worked out well for them getting an independent caregiver is risky and requires a lot of work and thought.

How will you do backround checks? What will you do if they are sick or on vacation? Will your insurance cover them for worker's comp [if required in your state] or your auto policy if they run errands for you?

If your father needs reliable service—can't be left alone— an agency while it costs more will provide a backup if the regular person cancels. And when they leave for good , an agency will usually have someone ready to fill in. Without that—your schedule could be empty for days or weeks while you restart the process..

Lethe

I found help on care.com.
It’s best to be very specific as to what you are looking for. People then apply online and you can see reviews from people who have used them before. Then you interview them in person, and check some references. Care.come also has an accounting piece you can pay for monthly to use for payment etc if you plan to take medical expenses as a deduction for Taxes.

dcare45

If I hire someone off of care.com say, are they now my employee and do I now have to deal with all the tax things? Are they a "contractor" and I have to fill out a 1099? Workers comp? What happens if they get hurt on the job or my LO gets hurt?

Victoriaredux

@dcare45

Not a lawyer but my understanding is they become your employee based on IRS rulings and then you have the employer taxes, worker's comp etc to deal with. Because the work performed is under your direction vs say a gardener who makes their schedule and rarely needs instructions .

See care.com website for articles about it . Not posting link as they are a for profit .

Karen711

I have no personal experience with care.com but I know having a personal referral is very important. Neighbors have been a good resource for me. In California you are legally required to pay payroll taxes and it’s smart to beef up homeowners liability insurance if you own your home (but it doesn’t add that much extra expense). Caregiver employees are classified as W2 employees in California, not independent contractors (1099). All in all I pay about the same hourly rate with payroll taxes and added insurance as I would pay to an agency. At least this way I’m giving that money to our employee not the agency. As said above, the drawback is you don’t have a substitute if your employee gets sick or goes on vacation. A payroll company (surepayroll) can make paying them easy once you set it up. But agency expenses are deductible as well. What’s not deductible is when you hire “under the table”. To hire independently is more work initially and it is a disadvantage to not have back up but since I am the built in back-up I was willing to do it in the hopes of finding a high quality employee.

​fesk

I've hired many caregivers over the years - privately, through care.com and friend recommendations. In my opinion, there's no guarantee with any method that you'll get the caregiver that works for you. You may have a better chance of getting someone trustworthy from a friend's recommendation but that does not mean the caregiver will meet your expectations in other ways.

Agencies are expensive and do not always have the staff to send a backup if your caregiver calls out. They also don't always provide someone capable. It does handle many other responsibilities so you don't have to (background checks, payroll, etc.). You should speak to several agencies and make your expectations clear. See what they provide their caregivers. There's a better chance you'll get a quality caregiver if the agency treats them well.

If you hire through care.com, please run the background checks and be on alert for anything that seems off to you. Be careful of providing personal information. I believe there are people on care.com solely to scam (identify theft, etc.).

If you hire personally, there are companies that run background checks for individuals. Also, I cannot speak for your state, but in ours, you would be considered a household employer. Taxes will be handled differently for household employers. There are companies that can provide the payroll service for a small fee every month. No one I hired through care.com wanted anything other than cash, though.

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to try to help. It's difficult to get the right fit. I wish you the best of luck.

jfkoc

Ask your friends and check the obits which often thank caregivers.

Timmyd

I have a private caregiver. I use Poppins payroll for payroll, taxes and such. Their fee is $50 a month and they handle all the payroll and related taxes. I felt a bit daunting at first but it ended up being very simple. They have US based phone support that I have used a couple of times and been very pleased with their service. I do not hesitate to recommend Poppins payroll if you are concerned with how to legally pay your private caregiver.

Victoriaredux

Background checks , and I guess legal working status these days , matter . Even if you go through an agency ask WHEN was your last check - if not super current - have them update it.

Had a large agency place a convicted felon guilty of accessory to the murder of their elderly spouse [ recent widower of the woman she had been "caregiving" ] - the placement of the unvetted person approved by APS —they didn't ask anything I guess —so it's serious — check and double check who is taking care of your LO.

beckystump

Thank you for the feedback, everyone. Has anyone had particularly good experiences with agencies and which ones if so, please?

​fesk

The agencies are usually independently owned. In my opinion, a good experience with one in one state may not lead to a good experience in another. You really do need to research the ones local to you. You can try to ask local support groups for their experiences.

jfkoc

I am in Oklahoma City and have used Home Instead several times….mostly to sit with my husband when he was in the hospital.