Questions to ask of an independent care giver would be appreciated. Have a person recommended from another recommendation.

If you go the private route, hire a payroll service to do the payroll. They essentially become the employer, but you are in complete control of the employee. They will do all the proper taxes, insurance and forms, including workers compensation. Yes, they charge a percentage of the payroll, however you can get a break down on the actual costs ie, matching SS/Medicare is 7.65% that is for everyone and not part of their mark up, worker's compensation is based on every 100 dollars paid so it varies and it is level of risk, secretary pays 14 cents, ironworkers pay 33 dollars, caregiver??? but it's an actual expense and not a markup. My point is that you need to know what you are getting for your dollar. I personally would use a payroll service if I hired an independent caregiver just to be legal and all I have to do is send in their hours weekly and send a payment when I get an invoice. It really ensures that there is not backlash in case of injury or the need to fire someone, they can't come after you or your mom personally and that is truly worth a few bucks. One thing I would also do, have the caregiver sign the weekly timesheets to verify that they are getting paid for all hours worked, this will stop anyone from saying they didn't get paid for all their hours. I used a form that said, I agree that these are my hours in there entirety for this payroll period, signature of person. That was done with every check and if there was a problem it got dealt with and they had to sign for the corrected check, I never let it go. You really have to cover your butt.

Hire yourself and then give you a gigantic raise and the day off.

Counsel your mother about false economies. And it's all true enough: what you save on the private route you'll probably end up spending on back-up and other costs down the line - companies don't take their cut for nothing.

If your mother is only looking at the $ signs, tabulate the rest of the information too and award marks out of ten (or check/cross) for, say, flexibility, hours available, years of experience, qualifications, security screening, back-up, personal rapport, continuity of care, and so on. This way she can see all of the factors laid out, not just the money.

Where did the personal recommendation come from? It could be the best possible kind of referral, but only if it comes from someone whose judgement you have confidence in AND whose situation is directly comparable to your mother's.

Be sure to have a list of things you expect the caregiver to provide for your Mom. Ask the care giver's previous experiences with those tasks. References AND then call those references.
As always, remove all items of value before you bring anyone into the home: financial statements, tax returns, items of monetary or sentimental value, Have financial paperwork rerrouted to you or POA. remove checks too.

After hiring either type, be sure to pop in unexpectedly from time to time . See how things are going

Click on "Care Topics" on Blue Ribbon on top of website and search "hiring caregivers".  You will find several postings regarding various aspects of hiring a caregiver to work in your home.

Contact your local "Area on Aging" office for list of caregivers.

I am sure that other people/posters have other suggestions regarding hiring caregivers.

Yonderfarm1987 also posted this question:
https://www.agingcare.com/questions/interview-tips-for-home-care-448255.htm?orderby=recent