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Due to advancing age, disability or chronic illness, you or a loved one may one day no longer be capable of living alone. What are your options? While nursing homes provide highly skilled care 24/7, what if you need only minimal help with daily activities and want to retain your autonomy and independence? Over the past 25 years, assisted living has gained popularity among the growing senior and disabled community. Two types of assisted living are currently available, depending on your needs: in-home care and residential care facilities.

IN-HOME CARE
Within 70% of American families, family members take turns caring for their senior or disabled loved ones; however, when that is not possible, in-home care may be the solution. In-home care allows your loved one to continue living in his or her residence amid familiar surroundings, while providing assistance with activities of daily living. You may choose to hire an individual or contract with an in-home care agency, which is licensed and insured through your State. Such agencies also provide nursing, occupational and physical therapy and social services, and work with your healthcare providers to ensure that you have the appropriate assistive devices, mobility devices and assistive listening devices. If you hire an individual, be advised to conduct a credential and background check, for they need not be licensed, bonded or insured.

Also called homemakers, caregivers and personal care attendants or aides (PCA's), 767,000 in-home care providers in the U.S. provide companionship and assist with housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, shopping and other errands. They also help with personal care needs, such as eating, toileting, bathing, dressing, remembering to take medications and assistance with transferring, sitting and standing. In-home caregivers may visit a few hours a day or live in, according to your needs as assessed in a personal interview by a social worker and recommended by your healthcare professionals.

In most states, in-home care is provided for senior and disabled persons through the Department of Health and Human Resources (Welfare), the Division of Aging Services or the Division of Aging and Independent Services or In-Home Supportive Services Division (California). Although Medicare may or may not pay for in-home care costs, Medicaid and private insurances usually do. Many states will not pay spouses and immediate family members as caregivers. In any case, no state pays full-time hours for a single

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