I have to hire my first live-in caregiver

[Uncle Peter]

My father is going to assisted living and I do not want to be in a five-bedroom house all alone.

I will keep my current caregivers. The live-in will be here mainly at night in case of emergencies.

What questions should I ask the candidates and what kind of background checks should I do?

[SCI-Nurse]

Make up a job application form and include on it information such as name, date of birth, SS#, current address, previous addresses in the last 10 years, phone number, and e-mail address. Include references from previous employers (even if not working as a PCA). You will need this information to do a background check. We also required proof of either citizenship or green card for our PCAs.

This is an example:

Name:_____________________________________________ _____________

first middle last
Street Address:__________________________________________ _________
Telephone number:________________________
Cell phone number:________________________
e-mail address___________________________________________
Driver's license number and state ___________________________
Social Security Number___________________________
Birthday_________________

License or certificate: (HHA, CNA, LVN, etc.) # State______
Education: circle Less than high school High school or GED
Trade School(what?)_____________________ Some college College
degree_________________

If you are under 18 years old, provide documentation that you are eligible to work.If you are not a native born USA citizen, provide proof of appropriate VISA or "greencard" or naturalization.

Have you been convicted of a felony? No Yes (explain):

Will a background check reveal anything that you want to tell us about now?

Do you smoke? No Yes

Describe any specialized training or experience relavant to this positon:

List 3 previous employers, dates worked, work performed, and contact information for supervisor. Start with your last job. Include any military service or relevant volunteerwork:
1.
2.
3.

List 2 personal references not listed above, with contact information.
1.
2.

Are you fully capable of perfoming the physical requirements of this job as described in the job description you have been provided? No Yes

Do you have reliable transportation? No Yes____________________________________

When can you start work?What hours or days are you available?

I certify that all answers given are true and complete to the best of my knowledge. I authorize investigation of all statements contained in this application for employment as may necessary in arriving at an employment decision

Signature________________________________ Date_____________

(KLD)

[SCI-Nurse]

Write up a detailed job description. We put ours in the order that care needed to be given (such as "wake client up, perform straight catheterization, do ROM and skin check, transfer to shower/commode chair, give shower 3X weekly, do bowel care every other day, transfer back to bed, get dressed, transfer back to wheelchair, assist with oral care and combing hair, prepare and assist with eating breakfast", etc.) as well as the hours of work and the pay. Provide the job description and review it when interviewing.

We always did interviews at a coffee shop, and did not take the person to the house or give them our home address until we decided we liked them.

I had an interview schedule I used for all interviews. Don't have a copy handy right now, but here are some of the questions:

Tell us about your previous experience in providing personal care for another person. This could be in a job or as a family member:

Why do you want to do this kind of work?

Tell me about your work habits:

If I were to talk to your friends and family about you, what would they tell me?

(I will get you some of the other questions later)


Keep a written record of the interview, and use information from this when doing your background checks.

I personally called the job references provided the same date as the interview and asked about whether the person would hire the candidate back (pretty much all you can ask legally). For personal references I asked questions about things like reliability, trustworthyness, and honesty.

We only did background checks on our top 1-2 candidates, and used a private investigator that I knew personally, but she has done checks for other people I know too, and it runs a little less than $100 per case. She checks things like DMV records, arrest and conviction records, verifies the SS#, verifies residences, verifies citizenship or legal immigrant status, etc. through databases that she subscribes to for her work.

We also had the person(s) we actually hired sign a contract which spelled out things like work hours, pay, any benefits, what areas of the home and features they had access to or were restricted from (like pools, yards, bedrooms of other family members, your desktop computer, your vehicle, etc. etc.) and conditions for termination; either immediate or with notice. It also requested they give at least 2 weeks notice of need to adjust schedule or quitting.

(KLD)