My mother doesn't drive and my father has been told to stop driving. I am willing to move in with them to care for them but it means I will have to quit my job and I cannot ask them to pay me. Can I get financial assistance for myself to take care of them? IE: Will the State pay me to take care of my parents rather that putting them in a state run facility if I move into their home?
Ask yourself if you would have enough money saved up to retire? If your parents are only dealing with age related decline, they could live for many more years which would be great, but could you afford to be out of work for years? My parents have age related decline and at the rate they are going, they could live to be 100. They still live on their own. They might outlive me.
What about your own health insurance? Are you old enough for Medicare and how would you pay for the secondary health insurance? If not old enough for Medicare, what would you do? Or do you have health insurance through the ACA list of health care providers?
Is driving the only issue with your parents? My parents stopped driving 6 years ago. It became so overwhelming for me to keep driving them all over hill and dale that I became fearful of driving. A senior citizen driving older senior citizens. Not always a good match :P
I am so glad I didn't resign from my career, it is now my *sanity* and my *vacation*. I can always use "sorry, I have to work" as a legit excuse not to drive my parents to whatever big box store they want to go to.... I tell them I will order it on-line and have it delivered to their house. I do that with their groceries and with mine now.
I do not know if MD has money to pay family caregivers. From what I've seen, most states do not. If the parents qualify for Medicaid and Aid & Attendance, there may be some money IF the state allows family to be paid. I do not know how this works. I hope people more knowledgeable about it will comment if your parents might qualify.
I have the feeling that because you are concerned about being paid that you do not have a huge nest egg already. I think the advice given in the above thread is very good. It is important to consider these things when making a decision about quitting your job to care for parents.
The states fully expect the elder to spend down their assets & income before the state will start to pay for anything. If both your parents will need a NH and apply for medicaid to pay for it, they will be expected to basically be impoverished at 2K in non-exempt assets & about 2K in monthly income. This is important to know because their $ will need to get spent down. If they can spend down by paying you that is a win for all of you. Your parents get SS & perhaps retirement income. They probably have a nestegg.There is no reason why your parents cannot pay you for caregiving. They do a totally legal " personal services contract" & pay you what a home health agency would pay their workers. This is all above board with taxes aid, W2, W9 & I9 done. Contract does need to be done by elder law attorney so that there are no Medicaid transfer/ gifting issues later on if Medicaid is ever applied for.
Some states have caregiving programs in which individuals take a course ( basics of caregiving, maybe a red cross CPR training) and then are paid minimum wage or so for a few hours a week of caregiving. It will not be a living wage nor will it be whatever salary you gave up to care for your folks.
Personally the whole caregiving for free is a women's political issue. The laws & rules are based on a 1960 & 70s mindset with women staying at home, doing whatever for free out of a sense of duty or family responsibilities. The vast majority of lawmakers are men who have wives who do not have a job outside the home so they are clueless on the true costs of caregiving or on supporting programs for individual caregivers. State $ is there for NH to be paid for r&b but not there to pay you to keep mom @ home & get that r&b $.