Respite Care Companion

Consumer Direct Care Network; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 17,000 - 22,000; Part time

Job summary

Consumer Direct Care Network (CDCN) is seeking a compassionate companion care provider for a part‑time role in Madison, WI. You will offer intellectual companionship and hands‑on care, including walks, light exercises, reading aloud, and creative activities tailored to the client’s interests.

The role emphasizes respectful, patient communication, English language support, and developing meaningful routines with the client. A background check is required; CNA or related credentials are preferred.

Qualifications

• Dementia care experience
• Strong verbal communication
• Interpersonal skills
• Reliable and compassionate demeanor

Responsibilities

• Provide companionship and conversational engagement during shifts
• Assist with daily activities and light personal cares as needed
• Lead activities like walks, art, reading, and light meal prep
• Maintain daily logs and food logs
• Ensure safety and report any concerns promptly

Job description

If you would like more information about our company, you can visit our website here: Who We Are - CDWI

This is a heartwarming opportunity for compassionate providers who love making a difference! We work with members throughout Wisconsin to find providers that fit each of their needs. Our goal is to help individuals be in more control of their own supports and to have a say in who is assisting them. This helps them to stay in their own homes as long as possible.

About This Opportunity

A creative, friendly woman is seeking a Companion Care/Respite Care Provider in the Madison, WI area to spend meaningful time with her each week. Now retired, she spent her career in state government, non-profits, and politics focused on equality. She is also a lifelong artist, an avid reader, a Harvard graduate, and a genuinely curious person who enjoys a good conversation and a good laugh.

The client is respectful and easy to be around, though she sometimes needs gentle persuasion to get on with an activity. She listens well, connects ideas across topics, and can discuss art, politics, feminism, and other topics in depth; though she sometimes can’t remember what she just did. She enjoys the role of consultant and teacher as they are skills required in her previous positions as an administrator. Once she knows you, expect the occasional snarky joke.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys verbal, intellectually engaged companionship alongside hands‑on care — someone comfortable holding a conversation about abstract art one moment and gently redirecting the next.

A Day in This Role

Each shift blends required tasks with activities you and she plan together. You’ll get to know her eclectic interests —art, writing and editing (former grant writer and administrator), systems and social change, politics, feminism, gardening and more — and bring your own interests into the mix too.

Required tasks each shift:

• A half‑hour walk around the block
• Physical therapy stretches and exercises that you lead
• Time she reads aloud to you
• Light meal and snack preparation, prompting her to drink water and eat as needed
• Complete “daily log” and “food log”
• Personal cares as needed

Woven throughout shifts:

• Conversation about her life and yours, shared interests, and new ideas
• Virtual museum tours and researching future art activities or outings together: art shows, galleries, exhibits, the library, flower gardens, garden shows, parks
• Art‑making — draw with markers or paint with watercolors with subjects you both choose; she enjoys teaching drawing or watercolor techniques. Suggest art‑making projects that you’d like to do with her
• She helps you with written or spoken English, IF useful or fun for you. English, writing, and editing is FUN for her. She has limitations with this due to her dementia but still enjoys it. She helped one provider think about, play with language, and wrote ideas, sentences and short paragraphs to help the person edit applications to grad school.
• Baking from box mixes
• Errands such as grocery shopping or getting a haircut. You’ll use your own vehicle for community outings (mileage reimbursed).

Schedule

• The goal is a regular weekly schedule as part of a small, consistent team of providers. The family works hard to accommodate your availability, understanding that flexibility goes both ways in a part‑time role
• Part‑time: 2 to 18.5 hours per week, with potential to increase hours over time
• Shift window: Noon to 6:00 PM, 7 days a week Monday through Sunday. Occasional late afternoon/early evening shifts
• Typical shift length: 4 hours (e.g., 1:00–5:00, noon–4:00, 12:30–4:30). Flexible
• Occasional requests to sub for other providers or work a longer shift — always optional, never required

Requirements

• 18 years of age or older, with a high school diploma or GED
• At least 1 year of experience working with people with dementia. Formal education and training about dementia caregiving preferred. Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or other related credentials preferred.
• Verifiable provider references (professional and personal)
• Valid driver’s license, reliable vehicle, comprehensive auto insurance, and a clean driving record. Enough space in your vehicle or trunk to fit a collapsible walker for some outings.
• Willingness to complete a background check

If hired, Consumer Direct Care Network (CDCN) will not be your legal employer on record. If hired by a Member or their Managing Party, your legal employer on record would be the Member. CDCN’s role is to assist the Member or managing party in recruiting a Direct Care Worker. The Member or Managing Party has the sole authority to hire or dismiss any potential Direct Care Worker.

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