Is there a way to get paid to take care of elderly mother?

Question

She is 83 diabetic, blind and cannot do much of anything for herself without getting confused and giving up . Also she is in a wheelchair.

Answer 1

Whoa, prepare to be flamed by a lot of people.
Call the Adult Protective Services division of your Department of Health, Human Services, whatever it's called in your state. They should be able to give you resources to help with transportation, medical care, daytime recreational programs, other services, but probably will not provide you with cash.
If your expenses are exceeding what you can handle, you can request food stamps or other aid from the government as well. Churches also might be able to provide food boxes.

p.s. Being someone's parent is a choice. Being someone's child is not. If you take on all the work and expense of caring for your parent out of guilt, it will cause nothing but pain for both of you. Personal experience talking here.

Answer 2

I believe you need to call the Social Security Administration for more information for this. But, there is a program that pays primary caregivers such as yourself. My aunt was paid to take care of both my grandmother and my aunt before they both passed away.

Sorry about your mother. My 86 year old mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's four years ago and currently lives in a nursing home. For me, it's been difficult, knowing the person my mother once was, to see how Alzheimer's has taken that from her. It almost feels like I've already lost her.

One suggestion - after you get the information you need for monetary assistance with taking care of your mother, you might also want to look into joining a caregiver's support group. Caregiving, as anyone who has done this, can be very taxing, both physically and mentally. So, try to remember, as you help your mother, not to forget to take care of yourself. I wish you well with what you're going through.

For the people who have flamed this poster, I wouldn't be pointing fingers - we don't have the whole story here. As much as I love my mother, there would be no way I could afford to not work, or work part-time, so I could be my mother's caretaker. To be able to do that, I would need monetary assistance. That is just a financial reality.

And, JJ the information you've given this poster is totally incorrect. Assistance is available here.

Answer 3

Sometimes...my ex mother-in-law cared for her mother 24-7 and was being devastated financially. She was spending this amount of time with her mom even though the elder care service via the dept of social services sent someone out 4-5 days a week...they just wouldn't/couldn't give her the same care a daughter/son would. She became a CPA, was employed by the elder care services dept, and was paid for a portion of the time she spent caring for her mother. This allowed her to give her the care her mom deserved without the burden of ruining her family financially. It took some time investment with the CPA classes, but it was worth it!

Answer 4

To take care of an elderly person is something very difficult and you should speak to the social services. A lot of people criticize people who ask for money to help their parents but social services may be able to fund you if you reister as your mother's carer but they may also be able to employ a full time carer for her paid for by them if you cannot afford it.

Answer 5

The only way to "get paid", unless she is willing to pay you herself, is to claim her as a dependant on your tax refund. Other than that, you might want to call your local Department of Human Services.

Answer 6

Honestly I don't know your financial situation and I don't know if you have children, but as a parent let me tell you this: you take care of your children from birth not to mention the pain of the actual birth experience, change diapers, wipe noses, take care of them when they are hurt and sick and try getting through the teenage years(which is worse than chinese water torture), pay for school, clothes, food, rooves over their head and give in to the pleas for $100 nikes, stay up waiting for them to come home safely and cry many, many tears as they make mistakes you wish you could stop them from making. I would certainly hope that in my elder years my children will take care of me because they love me and are grateful for the many years of love and support I gave them. And I would also hope they wouldn't expect to get paid for it. Remember, the years you will take care of an elderly parent are nothing compared to the number of years it takes to raise a child.

Answer 7

If she is your mom, you might be able to apply for some type of benefits for HER, not you.

If she is someone else's mom, yes you should be paid for taking care of her. Usually people hire nurses who are trained to take care of the elderly.

Answer 8

If this is your Mother you're referring to, why in the world would you want or expect to get paid for taking care of her? If the shoe was on the other foot and you were the one that was sick she wouldn't expect to get paid to take care of you, which i'm sure she did many times.

Answer 9

I can't believe anybody would stoop that low as to expect to get paid for taking care of their own mother. I think raising a child for 20 years is payment enough.

Answer 10

No, you're on your own. Call a hospice maybe they will have room for her in their facility. Ask her doctor for telephone numbers of hospices in your city.