Private Caregivers Near Me: Help Find Independent Caregivers Here

13 Jan Private Caregivers Near Me: Help Find Independent Caregivers Here

Do you need help finding a private caregiver? We offer the most comprehensive guide to help you recruit and hire private caregivers. Plus, we show you alternate ways that you can help get caregivers, including the pros and cons of using a home care agency. Finally, greater Philadelphia and Pennsylvania state resources are discussed and presented. 

Many families and their senior loved ones that are ready to search for and hire caregivers must evaluate and consider the pros and cons of different options. Often, individuals will use the services of a home care agency or home health company to oversee and manage the caregiving process in full. Alternatively, some disabled adults or seniors in need of a caregiver will hire their own private caregivers. 

Each has very distinct pros and cons. By hiring private caregivers, families will ultimately find the lowest cost option available. They will save, on a per hour basis, around 30 to 40 percent over the cost of a home care agency service. However, they will need to factor in additional costs like taxes, payroll, worker’s compensation, and/or insurance. 

A home care agency, above all else, provides a huge convenience to the caregiver process. In addition to including all of associated expenses and liabilities mentioned, there will be other factors that make the process easier and more straightforward. Home care agencies like Chosen Family Home Care will help recruit and properly screen all caregivers, including background checks and employment history. Plus, they can deal with caregiver and personnel issues that might come up and need to be addressed through proper supervision. Finally, if a caregiver is sick or unavailable, they can arrange or will have in place backup services to make sure that there are no service interruptions. 

In any case, we help you determine what is the right course of action. We discuss the option of hiring your own private caregiver or home health aide as a family. Plus, we present the option of using a home care agency. Finally, we discuss a third approach of hiring home care workers privately with business support in different capacities such as hiring, supervising, training, and tax and payroll compliance. This approach can support the independence and cost savings of hiring your own caregivers with the added advantage of personalized caregiver and family support where it is needed. 

Steps to finding and using private caregivers

Some families may decide that the cost benefits of hiring private caregivers outweighs the use of a home care agency. There are several options and processes of options for finding, recruiting, and hiring private caregivers in the state of Pennsylvania as well as Philadelphia. We discuss those below. 

Finding and hiring a private caregiver

 

 

If you already know which schedule you want and are prepared to seek out and hire a caregiver, you can go to a job posting website such as Indeed and create a profile as an employer. 

You could use the job description example that we created and modify it for a job posting to be used in your quest to search for hiring a caregiver. We recommend having your job description reviewed and written in advance. This can help to determine what the needs and expectations of a caregiver are in advance. 

Indeed.com is by far the most popular search tool for jobs, but other options include Craigslist, Monster, and LinkedIn. Our hiring guide for caregivers provides good insight to where caregivers and home health aides go to search for and find employment. 

Determining a pay rate to pay your caregiver or home health aide

See our guide to how much caregivers make as a starting point in thinking about what to pay a caregiver. 

There is one caveat to this information. This is what individuals get paid as an average from established home care agencies. These agencies may be able to offer things that individuals cannot, like paid vacation, medical and dental insurance, and other benefits like a retirement plan. Because of this, private families will generally need to offer a higher starting pay rate than the average listed. 

 

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Other articles you may be interested in:

• What is the lowest cost & most affordable home care provider in Pennsylvania?
• 9 Steps to Introducing A Caregiver When Your Family Member Refuses Care
• Get Paid to Care For A Loved One in Pennsylvania: A Guide

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In addition, if you are looking for caregivers part time or offering inconsistent hours, you may also need to offer a higher starting salary to attract qualified caregivers. 

Finally, caregivers and home health aides are some of the fastest growing jobs in America. Plus, many companies are already facing a shortage of caregivers. This could make it difficult for families and seniors that are looking to hire caregivers and should keep this in mind when considering hiring caregivers independently. 

Selecting and hiring a caregiver

Next you will need to find a caregiver to hire. Whether you hire from a job board or from a referral, your process should be the same. 

If reviewing resumes, make sure to start by ensuring that they meet whatever qualifications you have set out initially, like a previous home health aide or CNA certification, high school diploma, or required level of experience. Be sure to look at the resume not just for grammatical errors, but consider short or inconsistent work histories as well as gaps in employment. While these certainly shouldn’t disqualify a caregiver, it would be beneficial to ask caregivers about them. 

We recommend starting with a brief phone screen with potential candidates before proceeding with an in person interview. This can help make sure you are both on the same page as far as pay, job expectations, and that you are both on the same page with what you can offer to each other. While a phone screen can bring a variety of topics and comprehensiveness, consider at least the following:

• Get to know the candidate a bit, both personally and professionally
• Ask briefly about past work experience and any gaps in employment
• Confirm the employee’s pay rate they are looking for to make sure it matches up with what you can or will offer
• Discuss the expectations of the role and caregiver and make sure that it is suitable and acceptable to the inquiring caregiver
• Reiterate the job location and determine that the commute is acceptable to the candidate

 

 

Move on with a face to face interview either in person or virtually via programs like Skype and Zoom. Have a set of questions ready such as the ones listed here. If possible, have the interested candidates meet with the person or persons they will ultimately be caring for. This can help determine if there is a personality fit as well as a fit based on experience and qualifications. 

Don’t skip or skimp on the caregiver background check

A background check will usually incorporate some or all of the following:

• Confirming the candidate’s work history and prior employment
• Asking the candidate for several personal and/or professional references and then checking them
• Verifying and checking on one’s license or certification. This could be as simple as having them present a diploma or GED or work certificate (like home health aide or certified nurse aide). You can check a candidate’s status as a CNA in Pennsylvania here. 
• Completion of a criminal background check. If you want to mirror what home care and home health agencies do, you can use the Pennsylvania system for accessing one’s criminal history. If the individual has lived in the state of Pennsylvania for less than 2 years, you may consider having an FBI background check done instead. There are several ways this can be done, but fingerprints are a requirement. One way is through visiting the FBI’s website for an identity history summary for this report. Fingerprints are required and the standard fingerprint form (FD-258) is found throughout the instructions. Check out the Pennsylvania website for fingerprinting information. It lists locations where fingerprints can be obtained. Please contact the location first to confirm that they do process them. The cost is provided as the application completes the application.
• Checking credit reports may be a consideration for families or loved ones
• Obtaining DMV records, especially if you are considering using the caregiver or home health aide for transportation purposes.
• A PA child abuse clearance may be a good idea as well if there are children or minors present or that come around on occasion. 

 

Not all of the above may be necessary, but in any case we strongly recommend being as thorough as possible. Remember, these individuals will be spending a large portion of time in one’s home or residence and are often working with vulnerable populations like seniors, children, or the disabled. Chosen Family Home Care does comprehensive background checks as well as monthly screenings for all of its caregivers, for example. 

Have a caregiver or home health aide work or employment contract in place

When you have found a caregiver or home health aide to hire, you will need a job or employment contract signed and put into place. This agreement should be written and documented while including the following:

• Employee’s start date
• Any expectations you have, both personal and professional
• Amount of compensation. Don’t forget to spell out the pay schedule too
• Any additional benefits, such as vacation, healthcare, residential benefits, etc.
• A comprehensive list of caregiver job duties and responsibilities

 

The caregiver contract is vital and an important way to protect individuals as the employer in the event that issues or concerns come up. For live-in caregivers, we found an excellent contract here that can be used or edited to your liking. Another example of an independent caregiver contract agreement can be found here. Make sure two copies are signed with one party each getting a copy (the hiring employer and the caregiver). 

Legal and other considerations

 

 

Be sure to follow the following steps to ensure that you are set up on the right foot:

Employer Identification Number

Complete your Employer Identification Number (EIN). You may also see this referred to as the FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number). The EIN or FEIN is a nine-digit identification number one obtains from the IRS. You will need this number to file both the IRS as well as other tax forms for the employee. Many employers are often required to list their EIN as a part of other forms and documents. That’s why it’s a good idea to do this step first. 

State employer withholding

Register with the state of Pennsylvania employer withholding. If you are looking for a different state, just google search your state name and “employer withholding”. Note that not all states have employee taxes. 

Workers Compensation Insurance 

Worker’s compensation insurance is a must for hiring any employee or independent contract. Worker’s compensation insurance offers protection for both the employer and employee if an injury occurs. This type of insurance can help cover medical bills or lost wages as a result of an injury. In most states, including Pennsylvania, this is a requirement. 

In Pennsylvania, with only one employee, the only way you can get worker’s compensation is through the State Workers Insurance Fund (SWIF). Worker’s compensation insurance can be expensive. This link can help you understand costs. The rate for all employees can be found here. For example, most independent caregivers will likely be classified as 0943 Home Care Services. This has a premium of $5.77 per $100 in salary and a minimum premium of $1726. So, for example, if you hire a caregiver who earns $35,000 per year, the premium will be $2019.50 (calculated at 35,000 x 0.0577). If you hire a caregiver who earns $20,000 per year, the premium will be $1726, which is the minimum amount to be charged. This is because the premium would be $1154, but this amount is less than the minimum premium amount of $1726. Therefore, a caregiver or home health aide premium amount in this case will be the $1726 minimum. 

Complete and file the USCIS I-9 form

This form, as found here, is a document which checks an employee’s immigration status and employment eligibility. This is done to ensure that one is eligible for employment in the U.S. In other words, it confirms that they are a U.S. Citizen or a legal alien. It is a required form and it must be completed prior to or on the employee’s first day of work. Plus, it also must be kept and stored in the employee’s files. 

Employee fills out the state W-4

This form is simply the Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. It is put into place by the IRS. The W-4 dictates how much federal income tax should be withheld from an employee’s paycheck. A W-4 must be completed and submitted prior to the first pay period.. Note, household employees, such as private caregivers, are not required to have federal income tax withheld from their paychecks. However, they may do so if they wish. To assist one in determining how much federal income tax they would like deducted, click here.  

Report the newly hired caregiver to the state of record

You can report the caregiver or home health aide to the state of Pennsylvania here. Each state may have its own distinct requirements. 

Continued employer responsibilities of hired caregivers and home health aides

There are many other responsibilities that the employer will need to consider when they hire their own private caregiver. We could go into great detail about them, but be sure to consider the following as continued commitments. Among them include some of these responsibilities:

• Supervising, training, and managing the hired caregiver employee
• Tax issues, like paying the employer and caregiver employee taxes to the state and to federal entities. 
• Managing the payroll process including pay schedules and tax withholdings
• Properly managing employee records and timekeeping

 

Balancing the cost savings of hiring caregivers privately versus other options

 

 

Are you looking for a caregiver? We can offer not just one but two innovative options to help fit your budget when it comes to hiring a caregiver. 

Home care agency services

As we discussed earlier, one of the options is to hire the services of a home care agency, such as Chosen Family Home Care. Based in Philadelphia, Chosen Family Home Care is licensed and can offer caregiver and home health aide services across the state of Pennsylvania. 

Home care services can be a major expense, as we discuss in our guide on the cost of home care services in the state of Pennsylvania. 

However, Chosen Family Home Care is the only home health provider in the state of Pennsylvania that publishes their rates online. We make our rates visible because we are not only committed to being transparent but also we deliver on our commitment of being the lowest cost and most affordable home care service provider in the entire state of Pennsylvania. Our rates start at only $20 an hour!

Because our rates are so low, it makes the need to hire caregivers privately less compelling. However, we do offer another great service for families that want to hire family caregivers for seniors and disabled loved ones. 

Support and consulting services to for independently hired caregivers

Chosen Family Home Care offers so much more than home care agency services. We utilize our expertise to help families that have caregiver needs in a variety of other ways. These services are specifically designed for families and individuals that hire caregivers independently and privately as we discussed in this article. 

We can provide a wide array of services that are specifically intended to help you reap the benefits and cost savings of hiring caregivers privately while offering you a tailored and personalized plan based on helping you meet your needs as a family employer. These services can include a variety of support options. Some tailored ways we can assist you to hire or ensure compliance include one or more of the following:

• Help hiring, recruiting, and screening potential caregivers through our personnel support tools (including home health aides, nannys, babysitters, and other providers of direct care and support)
• Tax processing and support across the spectrum of federal and state requirements. We can help you prepare, file, and remit required taxes, set up federal and state tax accounts, and file new hire reports with required tax and state agencies
• Payroll management services, such as calculating an employee’s withholdings and pay, regular payroll processing, direct deposits, and tracking accruals such as paid time off. 
• Onboarding employee services, which can include support in creating and managing employee forms and new hire packets as well as other required forms
• Assistance in creating and setting up your own business, based on your individual or family’s needs and to ensure proper compliance
• Support in training employees, including an online certification to be a personal care aide or caregiver
• The ability to mentor, supervise, or help manage employees when the need arises through management and/or human resources consulting services
• Other tailored and concierge support to fit whatever your individual needs are. 

 

A one stop shop for your home care or caregiver needs

 

 

As you can see, Chosen Family Home Care offers a variety of services that can help you with caregiver support. From comprehensive home care agency services to independently tailored support for privately hired caregivers and compliance service, we can meet whatever your needs are. 

Contact us now and get started with your free consultation, or with any questions at all you may have. One of our team members can help you determine what can best fit your needs and budget, or the needs of the individual that requires care and support.