Jacklyn Ryan

She is someone like you. When a crisis happened, she instantly faced that heart-wrenching time in life when her parents were no longer able to care for themselves. Reaching out for help and trusting home care agencies, she soon discovered that appearances can be deceiving. In the trenches of caregiver nightmares, Jacklyn has learned the pitfalls and landmines of inappropriate and unscrupulous “ScareTakers.” With powerful personal stories, and extensive research on this undeniable problem, Jacklyn is armed with life-changing information that can revise the process for those looking for appropriate and trustworthy care for their loved ones. Are Your Trusted Caregivers Ripping Off Your Parents or not caring for your loved ones appropriately? With an aging population, families are struggling with dependable, trusted care. This process is riddled with problems. It’s rampant. 40+ million Americans are providing some type of care for an older relative. Even if your relatives are currently in sound physical and mental health, at some point, they're likely to need assistance whether they're living on their own or already in assisted living. You must understand what caregiving entails. "What do you need?” the caregiver asked. What? “What do you need?!” the caregiver said in a louder, stronger voice. "Toothpick," the man replied. "Bad answer! Very Bad Answer!” "What?" "Bad answer! You Need Me!” “Well, yes, I do!” Some adult children and seniors find it very difficult to discuss the "golden years." Now, some are calling it the "rusty years"! There are many stories that illustrate difficult situations that have arisen because of a lack of communication, misunderstandings, fraudulent caregivers, and other opportunists. There's no guarantee that a caregiver will not "turn on you" or defraud you nor that you are isolated from scams. You might be in a position where you need to hire a caregiver for 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 months or even 6 years! Treat this like your business because it is your personal business! This article is a snippet of my book, CareGivers ScareTakers. It’s purpose is to help your family begin a conversation about your state of affairs and potential threats. These are my stories and others about fraud and manipulation, true anecdotes that did happen but are frequently only exposed in courtrooms and behind closed doors. The goal is to raise the awareness of both the seniors and their adult children and to encourage these critical discussions. Lastly, I found a contact to work on House Bills that it will become Law to Require All Caregivers to be Fingerprinted & Background checked. Who are these people who do Not have these credentials entering your vulnerable loved one's home? They make $10-$15/hour as an independent contractor. Raising the Bar on Caregivers will Raise the Bar on the Quality of Care.