What should I look for in a dementia caregiver?
Experience with dementia specifically, and evidence of it in how they talk about it. A caregiver who has done this will describe behaviour without judgement — the repeated question, the refused shower, the late-afternoon agitation — and will have a way of handling each. One who has not will talk about tasks.
Continuity matters more here than anywhere else in care. A person with dementia may not remember a new face, but they respond to a familiar one, so the caregiver who stays for two years is worth more than the perfect caregiver who stays four months.
What should I ask in the interview?
Ask for a story, not a qualification. “Tell me about a client with dementia who refused personal care — what did you do?” A good answer is specific, unhurried and slightly boring; it involves backing off and trying again later, not winning.
Then ask the practical questions everyone forgets: what happens if my mother will not let you in; what do you do if she says she has not eaten when she has; who do you call first if something frightens you. And ask what they will not do, so you find out now rather than in week three.
How do I set up the first few weeks?
Overlap. Be there for the first visits, then leave for an hour, then for a morning. You are building a face your parent recognises, and that takes repetition at a time when your parent is least able to do the adapting.
Write down the routine — when they wake, what they eat, what settles them, what sets them off, which words work. A person with dementia cannot explain their own preferences to a new caregiver, so the written routine does that job on their behalf.
How many hours will we need?
Most families start with a few mornings a week and increase. The trigger for more is rarely a medical event; it is usually that the family carer is exhausted or that nights have become unsafe. Plan for the increase before you are in the middle of it, because hiring in a crisis narrows your choices to whoever is free.
What does it cost?
The 2026 national median billed for non-medical in-home care is roughly $35 an hour, and hiring a caregiver directly typically runs 20–30% below agency pricing for the same hours. The full breakdown is in how much does in-home care cost.
Where do I find someone?
Search caregivers near you on The Care Royal. It is free for families, you contact caregivers directly, and we take no percentage of what you pay. We do not select, employ or supervise anyone on the site — you hire directly and the choice is yours, which is why every profile says exactly what we did and did not check.