Respite care is temporary, provided care (usually from professionals) to give relief to the family member(s) acting as the current primary caregiver. Respite care is a great option for any family member in this role. While in this circumstance respite care refers to a caregiver coming to the home, it can also be defined as care from an outside facility, such as assisted living or a nursing home. Respite care is especially beneficial to individuals that require full-time care. 

It's important to find a happy medium with your loved one when it comes to the amount of time and attention you give them. In these situations, loved ones can become difficult to reason with, so if this happens, be sure to set restrictions on when you can be available to them. The more often you give in, the more often they will expect you to spend time with them. If they react negatively when discussing such matters with them, it's best to stay level-headed and avoid arguments. Ignore them if you have to. But always be sure to respond positively and with great encouragement any time they agree and understand. Positive reinforcement will go a long way. When you do spend time with them, try to engage in activities or something they find pleasurable to help stimiulate their brains. 

You can start by identifying your relatives immediate and long-term needs. Once you've done this, research your options by asking questions. 

First: Does your loved one require medical assistance or medical attention? (Physical thereapy, speech therapy, wound care, etc.) If that's the case, then you need to look for skilled or home health care to hire a certified professional. Your loved one's primary care physician or senior care advisor will provide you with more information about just how much care is required—whether it's just a few hours per week or 24-hour care.

Second: Does your loved one need help with housekeeping, transportation, meal prep, or maybe even just companionship? Homemaker services would be what you need to look for in this instance. Depending on what you would be looking for exactly, you can hire a private-duty caregiver or go directly through an agency. 

Third: Does your loved one need memory training, specifically with help remembering to take medication? If that's the case, a homemaker caregivver is still an option, but memory care might be a logical solution as well. 

There is no one, across-the-board answer to this. Home care costs vary depoending on factors like location, type of care and level of care. According to Genworth, $20/hour is the average rate for home health caregivers. Homemaker services (housekeeping, meal prep, companionship, etc.) has an average yearly cost of $44,616. Home health services for hands-on medical aid has an average yearly cost of $45,760.

Remember that there are always financial assistance options available, as well as alternative, more cost-effective care options. 

Ask yourself: "What type of services does my loved one need?" If they require housekeeping, meal prep, transportation, medication reminders or other types of hands-off care or services, then you likely will not need to hire a certified home health aide. On the other hand, if your loved one is in need of hands-on care or services, such as bathing, getting dressed, medical assistance, using the facilities, physical therapy, etc., then a certified home health aide would need to be hired. Please note that only a few states have legal requirements for certified home health aide employment. If you live in such a state, be sure to confirm with the agency that their caregivers are certified.

It's okay to be uncomfortable with a stranger in your home. The best way to calm this anxiety is to hire your caregiver through a reputable agency, rather than seek out an independent person. Most agencies do thorough screening and background checks on all of their caregivers. However, if you ever have concerns about the caregiver you receive, you can contact the agency to address the issues, and you can even be assigned a new caregiver if necessary. 

The main benefit to home care is that it allows your loved one to remain independent in the comfort of their own home. If you think your loved one requires more assistance than what a caregiver can provide, a home care facility may be the better option. Here are some factors to consider:

Does your loved one suffer from dementia or Azheimer's disease? If so your loved one may require round-the-clock care. 

What has your loved one's primary care doctor recommended? If he/she believes that a 24-hour care facility is what's best, hiring a caregiver may not be the best route to take.

Most definitely! Hiring a familiy member as a caregiver (assuming they are capable of performing the necessary tasks) can be a fantastic idea. The family member would need to take off work from their current position, but they can receive compensation for whatever services they provide. The benefits of hiring a family member include more trust on your end, as well as a more familiar, comfortable feeling for your loved one. However, it may be wise to first draft a contract to outline all responsibilities as well as compensation.

Medicare can help to finance family caregivers as well. The VA also offers financial assistance to family caregivers, so if you or your loved one is a US veteran, you should contact the VA. 

There are pros and cons to both situations. Hiring a private caregiver is definitely the more convenient option, as they don't have minimum care requirements. (Most agencies have a minimum number of hours per week the caregiver must work.) These private caregivers don't have an agency fee to cover, so their cost will always be less. These people are often recommended by other friends or family, in which case you may have more trust in them. However, you will need to interview them yourself, since they haven't had any background checks conducted by an agency. On the other hand, hiring through an agency will be more expensive. This does come with the added benefit of quality and security assurance, since all caregivers are thoroughly screened, as well as insured (very important) and bonded. If you ever have any problems with your caregiver, you can always express such concerns to the agency, who can then assign a new caregiver.

It's important to find out the specific government benefits your relative will qualify for, and you can do so through online questionnaires. BenefitsCheckUp.org or Benefits.gov are both useful. You can also visit ElderCare.gov for more information. 

Medicaid might not exactly take your property, but the program will likely file a claim looking for reimbursement of the long-term care expenses. However, they do allow homeowners to keep their homes, so long as they are still living there and receiving care. One the care recipient and their spouse are no longer living, Medicaid will very likely request that the house be used to cover any unpaid expenses, allowing the family to pay off Medicaid without needing to send in money. Please visit medicaid.org for more information. 

Long-term insurance is an insurance plan that covers long-term care of several kinds. Such types of care include all types of in-home care, residential facility care, community care, as well as family caregiver compensation. Medicare and most insurance policies most often do not cover long-term costs. This means that long-term insurance is an alternative to cover your expenses. Premium costs can vary depending on a number of factors, including age, wealth, current health and other factors. For more information and resources, please visit aarp.org.