I'm wondering if anyone knows what legal responsibility the home care company has regarding this. A caregiver they employed for a short time (maybe 7-8 months) was my aunt's sole caregiver. She came a couple of hours, twice a week. She did NOT do a good job, sat around instead of doing the tasks set out for her, pressured my aunt to initial checklist items as completed that weren't.
My cousin and I are both out of state and going by what my aunt tells us, along with a family friend who checks on her regularly. We were working with the company on how to deal with the situation. The company was trying to work with this person to develop her into a better caregiver, but had doubts about her willingness. Then the caregiver up and quit herself. Problem solved?
No. In monitoring my aunt's phone activity (long story, past history of falling for just about every phone scam out there) I noticed this former caregiver calling her. I called my aunt to see, and she said she's also been "stopping by unannounced" telling her she's pregnant, can't afford her car payments, can't pay her bills etc. We're all very concerned.
We informed the home care company and they are concerned as well. They are no longer her employer, but the owner called and told her this is making my aunt, her family and them very uncomfortable. The woman agreed to stop contacting my aunt.
Then she turned around and called my aunt, told her everything the owner had told her about her and us all not wanting her contacting her, being nervous she was wanting to ask for money. Then she told my aunt she would be stopping by again soon! We are furious!
My cousin and I are willing, and about ready to call this person ourselves and tell her she is not to make any further contact or there will be legal action against her. But we feel the company may have some legal responsibility for hiring this person and perhaps not screening her carefully enough.
Is it their responsibility to take this matter in hand so that we don't have to?
go to settings on your aunt's phone. silence all unknown calls, and also block the caregiver's number. and tell your aunt not to open the door to any surprise visits.
"My cousin and I are willing, and about ready to call this person ourselves"
go ahead. there's no reason to wait. do it right now :).
take matters into your own hands; that former company won't help you.
speak in a calm, nice way (because people can and do retaliate in subtle ways, so be careful). withhold your number when you call her. i'd keep it simple, "we wish you well, but please don't contact my aunt. she/we don't want contact with any former caregiver, not just you. we thank you for your caregiving in the past."
I think a restraining order from the police is appropriate right now. Be aware that people break restraining orders all the time, and the caregiver may not heed it. But often it puts the fear of God into them and they get scared and stop contact.
I wouldn't advise talking personally or any personal contact with the caregiver. That could have consequences you wouldn't like, such as their seeking you out and starting an argument. They could be armed. You don't know.
You should think about helping your aunt find a facility where she can live from now on. If she's falling for scams, her judgment isn't good. Do you really trust her to know when to keep bad people out of her home? She could be prey to others besides this caregiver, and her safety is at stake.
This woman texted on my phone and asked why couldn’t she care for my mom. It was unsettling to see this person contacting me. I completely ignored her text messages because I felt that I didn’t owe her an explanation.
I felt that this worker was out of line to contact me directly and that she could discuss her employment situation with the agency.
There was another worker at the agency who was a perfect fit for my mom and I requested for her to be my mom’s caregiver.
I was fortunate that she didn’t push the issue when I ignored her text. Had she continued I would have asked her not to contact me again.
You had every right to contact the police. I don’t think the agency can do anything else though because she is no longer an employee of their company.
You can talk to the police about getting a restraining order.
I think if she is no longer employed by the agency they do not have any responsibility at all.
I do not think the Agency has a legal responsibility if the employee went through the hiring process that was supposed to be done.
And if she was terminated they can not tell you "why" all they can tell you is that she is no longer an employee.
Screening only goes so far. It does not show everything and if a person is a real "whack job" that can be covered up for a while, eventually there is a point where everything falls apart though.
If I were you I would contact this person myself. If for no other reason than they will then have your number as well.
If blocking the number does not work and the restraining order does not work then a "nice" letter from your Aunt's attorney should take care of it.
If your Aunt does not have a video doorbell I would have one installed and even from a distance you can see who comes and goes, if this person shows up call 911 immediately.
Keep in mind, even though I mentioned a restraining order that is "just" a piece of paper.