A. E. Benjamin

Paying Friends, Family Members, or Strangers to Be Home-Based Personal Assistants How Satisfied Are Consumers?

This study describes consumers who hire friends, family members, or strangers as paid personal assistants and compares service satisfaction among the three groups. From surveying 511 consumers of self-directed home care services, the authors found that consumers who hire friends as workers are younger and more educated than consumers who hire family members and strangers, and they are more impaired than consumers with strangers as workers. The friend cohort experiences more stability with their personal assistants than does the stranger cohort but not as much stability as the family cohort. On some dimensions of consumer satisfaction, friends as workers are perceived by consumers to be either the same as or better than strangers, but they also are perceived as either the same as or worse than family workers. Using friends as paid workers is an important resource. Researchers and policy makers should further explore this approach because the need for home-based personal assistance continues to increase.

“Intent to Stay” Among Paid Home Care Workers in California

ABSTRACT The continuing shortage of entry-level healthcare workers highlights the need to understand worker retention and turnover. This study focuses on intent to stay among 618 paid home care workers in California, half from agencies, and half employed under a consumer-directed model that includes both relatives and non-relatives of the client. Most workers (63.3%) report that they will very likely be working as a caregiver in 12 months, but more family than non-family caregivers say so. Being related to the client, and having fewer clients, more training, more job satisfaction, and hopes for a raise, all predict intent to stay. However, when we analyze family caregivers separately, there are no significant predictors of intent to stay.

A Portrait of Older Californians With Disabilities Who Rely on Public Services to Remain Independent

Low-income older adults with disabilities in California depend on a variety of public programs to help them remain in their own homes. The availability of those services has been in flux since 2009 because of cuts caused by the recession. This article reports on a qualitative study of 33 California seniors who depend on fragile arrangements of paid and unpaid assistance. Thematic analyses of in-depth interviews conducted with these older adults and their caregivers indicate that the disability needs of these individuals are often unstable, with both physical and mental health status sometimes changing day to day. Most have nowhere else to turn for help if their public services are cut. All share the common goal of staying at home and maintaining their independence. Public services serve as a crucial link in the support networks of these individuals.

Of Family, Friends, and Strangers: Caregiving Satisfaction Across Three Types of Paid Caregivers

ABSTRACT This study examines the experiences of 609 family, friend, and unrelated caregivers hired directly by clients under a consumer-directed model of home care. Using telephone survey data of clients and workers in Californias In-Home Supportive Services program, this research compares outcomes and identifies predictors of caregiving work satisfaction across these three groups. In the total sample, feeling well prepared for the work predicted higher levels of satisfaction, while being Latino/Hispanic (as compared to being White or Black) predicted lower levels of satisfaction. Predictors varied depending on the caregivers relationship with the client. In particular, friend caregivers who felt prepared were more satisfied than either strangers or family members. Understanding more about caregiver-client relationships and satisfaction is important to future workforce recruitment and retention efforts.