Family Caregivers and Work
Almost 20% of family caregivers report experiencing financial difficulty when caring for an aging adult. The more hours of care that are provided, the more of a financial strain is felt. Younger caregivers also feel more financial stress than older caregivers.
Family caregivers usually find it challenging to work full-time hours while also caring for aging parents. That creates several problems with current finances and future ones.
When there is financial strain, being unable to build any savings or retirement fund is the leading problem. Taking on additional debt, burning through savings, and paying bills late are common issues family carers face. Some family caregivers end up having to borrow money from others.
Your mom has a chronic health issue. As her disease worsens, you realize her care needs will increase. How are you going to help her out without leaving your job? But, how do you leave your job when you’re trying to save enough for retirement? How long can you keep working?
Go Over the Tasks She Can Still Do Independently
What can your mom do without help? Can she use the microwave to heat a meal if you’re at work? Does she remember to take her daily medications, or do you need to be there? Can she walk around without help?
Use the activities of daily living (ADLs) as a guideline for how much assistance your mom needs. If she can do things independently for a few hours, you’d be okay working at least part-time. If she can’t, it may be time to stop working.
Talk to Your Siblings
If you have brothers and sisters, talk to them about your mom’s care needs. They should help out as much as they can. Dividing your mom’s care needs between you can help alleviate the need for anyone to stop working for now.
Her care needs will change as time passes. By working as a team with your brothers and sisters, you have time to look at all of the options. It can help you continue to work as long as possible.
You May Qualify to Get Paid for Your Mom’s Care
What if you can’t afford to leave your job? You could be paid to be her caregiver.
Does your mom qualify for Missouri State Medicaid? If so, she may be eligible for Consumer Directed Services. Through this program, your mom chooses her caregiver and can pay that person through her benefits.
To qualify, she needs to be unable to complete activities of daily living like bathing and dressing, cooking meals, and keeping her house clean. If she can do these things independently, she won’t meet the qualification of being disabled.
When your mom reaches a point where she cannot be alone, Consumer Directed Services allows your mom to pay you to help her. Talk to an expert in Consumer Directed Services to learn more about this Missouri program that allows an older adult to pay a qualifying family member to provide their care.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering CDS (Consumer Directed Services) in Ballwin, MO please contact the caring staff at Home Care MO today. (314) 501-5330
We offer consumer directed services (CDS) in St. Louis County, St. Louis City and St. Charles, as well as Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Montgomery, Pike, St. Francois, Ste Genevieve, Warren and Washington Counties.
Sources:
https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/2021/05/caregiving-in-the-united-states-50-plus.doi.10.26419-2Fppi.00103.022.pdf
Home Care MO was established by veteran home care agency owners. Home Care MO is a home care agency that works with Missouri’s Consumer Directed Services (CDS) program. CDS is a Medicaid-funded program that enables you to hire the person of your choice to help with your care. This caregiver is also called a personal care attendant (PCA).
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