Somewhere around 8 million Americans need a little help to carry out their activities of daily living, such as dressing, bathing, cooking, and getting around. As our society ages, more and more people need this kind of help. If you are in a situation where you or a loved one need assistance at home, this article can help you get started.
Some people think that they need to hire a nurse to care for an elderly or disabled person. In many cases, that’s not true. For daily hygiene and housekeeping needs, no degree is necessary. Any person who is trustworthy, conscientious, attentive, and careful can probably be trained to perform the non-medical tasks you need. A person who does this kind of work may be called a home health aide, an attendant, or a personal care assistant. In most states, classes and state certification tests lead to becoming a certified nurses’ aide, or CNA, to meet requirements imposed by Medicare, Medicaid, and some private insurance companies. But if you are paying privately, you can decide on workers’ qualifications yourself.
One option is to use a home health agency; you will probably find many of these listed in your local phone book. You can also contact your state’s health department for names and contact numbers of agencies in your area. Keep in mind, though, that if you use an agency you will pay a lot more for the services. Your payment will have to cover not just workers’ wages, but also the agency’s overhead costs such as management salaries and office space rent. Some people are willing to pay the higher cost, in order to let agency supervisors take responsibility for recruiting and managing the home care workers. Other people choose to hire workers directly, to avoid the middle person, save money, and have more control over who comes into their homes.
If you pay privately, and hire directly rather than using an agency, you should expect to pay somewhere between $10 and $20 per hour, depending on a variety of factors including your local economy, the level of skill you need in a worker, and the number of hours you can offer. For example, if you are hiring someone to work 6 to 8 hours a day, you may be able to pay less per hour than if you need someone for just an hour or less.
If you do decide to recruit and hire your own home care workers, you should be aware of applicable employment and tax requirements for domestic helpers. If you expect to pay any one worker more than about $500 in a calendar year, you may be obligated to report these payments to the Internal Revenue Service. (This also means that you may be able to deduct these payments from your own taxes, as a medical expense.) Consult a tax attorney, or the IRS.
How can you find people who are both willing and able? Here some suggestions and tips:
*Place a newspaper “help wanted” ad. Big-city dailies can be very expensive — hundreds of dollars for even a short classified ad. Small-town papers, community or neighborhood publications, or alternative weeklies may be much more affordable, and may allow you to target potential applicants in your area. Keep it brief, but be sure to include at least the basic information: position, general job description, required and preferred qualifications, hours (full-time or part-time and time of day), and contact information. You may also want to include sample duties, neighborhood, and rate of pay.
*Post a flyer at your local grocery store, library, community center, or at your place of worship. If you live near a university or community college campus, this can be a great place to advertise; many students need part-time work. In addition to the information listed above, you may also include on your flyer some language designed to appeal to potential applicants. If applicable, consider using phrases such as “flexible schedule,” “casual comfortable work environment,” “valuable hands-on experience.”
*Post an ad on one of the online community advertising services, such as Craigslist. This is less expensive than newspaper advertising; it may be free. (Note that while Craigslist charges for job ads in some cities, ads for personal care workers can be placed in the “domestic gigs” section for free.
When you start getting responses to your advertising, it’s important to approach the hiring process in a professional, systematic way. Develop a short job description that you can share with people who contact you, along with a list of a few basic questions designed to narrow applicants down to those who are truly promising. Such screening questions may include the following:
“Have you ever done this kind of work before? If you have previously provided personal care, what kinds of tasks did that include?”
“Are you available in the mornings?” (or whatever hours you need a helper to work).
“Do you have reliable transportation to get to work?”
You may also want to include questions about any “deal-breaker” issues such as ability to lift a person, smoking, pet allergies, and so on.
Once you’ve decided that an applicant is worth interviewing, arrange a mutually convenient time and place. Make sure they have the address, directions, and your phone number. Develop a second, more detailed list of questions to ask during the face-to-face interview. Make sure to ask some open-ended questions designed to get applicants to express themselves and give you a sense of their personality and attitudes. Such questions might include: “What makes you interested in this particular job?” “Why do you think you would be good at this job?” “How do you handle stress?” “How is this job different from other jobs you’ve had?”
Always ask applicants to provide names and phone numbers of previous employers who can give them a reference, and always check those references. Ask these former employers about the applicants’ skills, attitude, reliability, ability to follow directions, ability to take responsibility, and whatever else is important to you.
Once you decide whom to hire, negotiate a mutually agreeable schedule, wage, and other terms. From the beginning of your working relationship, and throughout the person’s employment, strive to maintain clear and open communication. Ideally, you can develop a mutually beneficial work arrangement that will meet your personal assistance needs.
