Work At Home Series: Respite Care

I have wanted for along time to do a series on work from home opportunities for Mom's. It is something that is really close to my heart. I have all through our marriage always done something to bring in a little extra money. I have made jewelry, had a little ceramic business and as a licensed stylist cut hair from home. Many times it was just "fun" money and other times it really made a difference in our lifestyle. I consider couponing a wonderful "part time" job, but sometimes and especially in this economy, you need a little more.

For the past year I have been working outside my home as the Director of a Private Christian Preschool. It is perfect for me and such a blessing because my little kids get to come to work with me. I know that for many of you this would also be ideal but the opportunity has not come up, or you would rather stay at home either way. I looked in the past for opportunities that would bring in some extra income but was never sure if it would work, if it was legitimate or worth my time. So, I am really excite to profile a few women who have taken the time to tell us what they do so that we might learn something form them or get some good ideas!

Work At Home Profile: Susan B.

I am 40 years old, and was finally able to have our first (and perhaps only) little baby May 2009. I was a career gal before that, and with two incomes we never had to worry about much of anything. We were able to take off at a moments notice and not have to budget it into the family budget. -Let alone clip coupons-.

Why did you start:

After Susan had her baby: "I went back to my office job, they actually held it for me, can you believe that? I worked one week, and I cried all the way to the office every day because I had to leave her. Pumping breast milk in the bathroom during lunch and then hurrying home to feed her was the pits! I remembered something a lady at church told mea few months earlier. I was the nursery leader and her daughter is special needs. Sometimes she would bring her into the nursery to play even though she is much too old to be in nursery. This sweet sister introduced me into the wonderful world of RESPITE care."

What does it take:

I got myself and my home certified by the state of Arizona and got the word out that I was certified and was taking new clients. Withing days I had two clients. They bring them to my home, we play games, read stories, watch movies, play outside, you name it.... All the things I already am doing with my 15 month old daughter. And my daughter loves to play with these clients. I love to see them interact with each other and I know that this is an important time in my daughters life to teach her to be compassionate towards everybody. I now have 3 clients and right now thats a good number for us.

How many hours a week do you work:

Well, that depends on my clients and their schedules. I actually just finished a two week 24-7 job. Its not always like that though. I usually have each client aproximatley 5-20 hours per week. Like I said, it really just depends on what their needs are.

What is an estimate of what you can earn:

Again, this all depends on each individual client. I have one client that has some health issues and I haven't even seen her in about 6 weeks. I get paid on an hourly basis up to 13 hours in a 24 hour period. That is all the state alots for. Each client is allotted a certain amount of hours in a calendar year. If they use up all of the hours in the beginning of the year then there will be no more given until the next year. This is all based on individual needs.

If I am unable to work certain days due to being out of town, a holiday, or sick. I just let them know in plenty of time so they can find another care giver or make other arrangements. I run a business out of my home but I keep in mind that I actually work for each of my clients and I so, I try to be available for their needs. 90% of the time the care is given on a set schedule, however, there is that occasional call from a parent needing to drop off their child for a few hours or so, and typically its not a problem. I can have up to 3 clients at a time. So, I really can't answer that question. It varys month to month. I will say that I started at $9.00 an hour and since then I have recieved a small pay increase.

How long have you been doing Respite Care:

I have been doing this for only about 6 months

How long did it take to get certified and how much was it:

Certification was a breeze. There are 4 classes I had to take with TESTS, but they were all pretty easy! I had a background check done, I had to get a fingerprint card, and my driving record was pulled. I think thats about all. The coolest part was that the company i decided to hang my "licence/certification" with took care of all of the costs for me. There was zero out of pocket expence for me. With the promise that I would stay with their company for 12 months.

As far as getting my home certified.... That was pretty easy as well. I made an appointment with the state inspector and that was the longest part, It took about two weeks for him to come out. The only expence I had was buying and installing smoke detectors in each bedroom in my home and purchasing a new fire extinguisher. there are some rules about keeping chemicals and medicines locked up but that stuff was easy. You can just go to your state website and there will be a checklist of all the things they will check to certify your home, and believe me, they will check! All in all I think it took close to a month to complete everything.

Susan, thank you so much for taking the time to tell us about what you do! This is such a great idea and I honestly know a few women who would be wonderful at this and do really well.

If anyone has any questions leave a comment and I am sure that Susan can help answer them. Again, a HUGE thanks for your time Susan!