Average cost for 24/7 caregiver?

poetry21, on average there are 730 hours in a month. At just $10/hour that equates to $7,300/month and at $25/hour it's $18,250/month, with the latter being in the range of what an agency will charge. Generally, in-home 24/7 care will cost significantly more than a care facility will charge, even without including the costs of housing, food and utilities for in-home care. Add in the problems of monitoring, supervising and coordinating several shifts of in-home caregivers and figuring out what to do when one calls in sick at the last minute and it quickly looks like moving to a care facility, where there's the socialization opportunity bonus, can be the better option.

If you decide in favor of in-home care, you may be able to minimize the cost by finding several unlicensed, untrained, and unbonded people on your own to share the responsibilities of around the clock caregiving for $9 or $10/hour, but I wouldn't recommend it, unless they were well-trusted friends and/or family members. If you go that route, make sure you have a personal care agreement (PCA) that specifies the care to be provided, hours worked, wages, etc. AgingCare.com explains this at https://www.agingcare.com/articles/personal-care-agreements-compensate-family-caregivers-181562.htm

Good luck and best wishes.

If you go through an agency, the rate will probably be $20-$25 an hour. At the low end of the range, that would be over $14,000 a month. If she qualifies for Medicaid, the only 24/7 option would be a nursing home.

I live in GA. My mom’s 24/7 caregivers make $9.00 per hour. Here, this is more than new CNA’s make in a nursing home, so they are happy. The only thing my mom can pretty much do for herself is lift a spoon or cup. Can’t walk and some days she has a hard time speaking. Again, this is GEORGIA.