My team of awesome caregivers is funded through Georgia Medicaid’s Independent Care Waiver Program. Under this program, individuals with disabilities are tasked with finding, hiring, and maintaining their own care staff. Program participants use a fiscal intermediary that acts as a payroll agency to formally hire and pay their employees. The fiscal intermediary that I use is called Acumen Fiscal Agent.
The Independent Care Waiver Program does not require care staff to have any prior work experience. The Program does mandate that employees are 18 or older, pass a background check, be eligible to work in the United States, and become certified in CPR and First Aid.
Georgia Medicaid gives every participant in the Independent Care Waiver Program an annual budget for hiring care staff and sets employee payment rates. While I have limited control over the financial side of my care team, the Program does guarantee the following…
- Payment every 2 weeks on a set payment schedule through direct deposit, check by mail, or pay card
- Tax withholding: All employees are W-2 workers
- Unemployment insurance
- Workers’ compensation insurance
In addition to these basic benefits, there a few perks to joining my team of awesome caregivers…
- CPR and First Aid certification: I will pay for you to become certified
- Flexible scheduling: Need to take time off? With proper notice your shifts can easily be switched or covered
- COVID-conscious work environment: High quality masks, gloves, and home Covid tests are provided to all caregivers as needed
- Snack bar loaded with your favorite foods and beverages
- LGBTQIA+ affirming workplace
- Mentoring: I am a people person with a varied background that is always interested in helping others navigate their educational goals and career aspirations
- Medical training: All care team members will be provided paid training on everything from how to operate Hoyer lifts to how feeding tubes work
- Neurodivergent-friendly environment
- Skill-sharing: I am a Jack of all trades, master of some. Let me share some of my skills with you!
- Access to my cat, Gio, who has been described by one of my caregivers as a “sentient teddy bear”
- Social services navigation: Need help accessing low-cost mental health care? Or maybe you’re looking into taking some free financial literacy classes? Being disabled has forced me to be extremely resourceful. I can share those resources with you.
- Travel opportunities: Accompany me on trips and get an all expenses paid working vacation
- Have something else in mind? Let’s talk about it!
If you decide to join my team of awesome caregivers, I promise to make it worth your time. Don’t just take it from me, though! Here’s what a few of my current and former caregivers have to say about working with me…
“I spent 4 years with Maria (2 years longer than planned) and those years had some of the best memories of my 20s. I didn’t expect to learn as much as I did and tag along to as many cool events and experiences. She also converted me to a cat lover.”
“I’ve enjoyed working with Maria for five years. This gig is more like hanging with a friend than work. Maria is always entertaining and insightful and working for her is a joy.”
“I’ve been working with Maria for over 5 years and have no intention of stopping any time soon! Maria is the best boss ever. She is easy to work with, fun, flexible, considerate, and communicates well.”
“Working for Maria has been one of the few workplaces I felt 100% safe in! She is a considerate and patient boss who always made me laugh. I could write paragraphs about how much I loved working for her but I’ll let you experience what I enjoyed for yourself.”
“Working with Maria has provided me with valuable skills and an amazing new friend. I highly recommend this position to anyone looking for something part time that is also fulfilling and fun!”
“Maria is the best to work with!!!! Not only is she super smart and fun to talk to and hang out with, she makes the job very easy because she is really good at communicating her needs. I’ve had some of my best times working with her. From out of town trips to help her during vacations or when we went to South By Southwest when she was presenting at the conference and we got to attend the premiere for Jordan Peele’s movie Us, to overnights and helping her get ready for work in the morning, to attending local events or gatherings, I’ve really enjoyed my time with her. I couldn’t recommend a job more than this one! Maria is the absolute best!”