Personal care attendant jobs · St. Louis
Become a personal care attendant
To become a personal care attendant, you need to be legally able to work in the United States, pass background screening, be someone other than the consumer’s spouse, and complete our orientation. You do not need a nursing license, a CNA certificate or a degree, and Communicare Elite employs and pays you.
Attendant work is how people with disabilities stay in their own homes instead of a facility. It is close-up, practical work — helping someone bathe, dress, eat, and get where they need to go — and for many attendants it is work they were already doing unpaid for someone they love.
Two ways people end up doing this job
You already care for someone
A parent, an adult child, a sibling, a friend. In Missouri’s CDS program, that can become a paid job — the only relationship excluded is spouse. They hire you; we employ and pay you.
You want the work
You want steady local work that matters, without needing a nursing license or a degree. We recruit attendants across St. Louis City, St. Louis County and the surrounding Missouri counties.
What does a personal care attendant do?
You work in someone’s home, on tasks their care plan authorizes. Typically:
- Bathing, dressing and grooming help
- Toileting and incontinence care
- Transfers, positioning and mobility support
- Meal preparation and help eating
- Laundry, light housekeeping, shopping
- Driving to appointments and errands
Do you need a certification to be a personal care attendant?
No. You do not need any of these:
- A nursing license or CNA certificate.
- A college degree.
- Previous professional caregiving experience.
- Your own agency, insurance or business registration.
This is non-medical personal care. You are not a nurse and you will not be asked to perform clinical tasks.
What do you need to become a personal care attendant?
- To be legally able to work in the United States.
- To pass required background screening.
- To be someone other than the consumer’s spouse.
- To complete our onboarding and orientation.
- Reliability — this is someone’s daily living, not a shift you can skip.
Full requirements and screening →
How do personal care attendants get paid?
You are an employee, not a contractor. Communicare Elite is your employer of record: we run payroll on a regular cycle, withhold taxes, and issue your W-2. You are never paid in cash by the person you care for, and you never invoice them.
Is this work right for you?
Worth being honest with yourself before you apply, because the people who leave in the first month usually knew on day three.
It probably suits you if
- You are reliable — someone’s morning depends on you arriving.
- You are comfortable with intimate care once you get used to it.
- You can take direction from the person you are helping.
- You want work that visibly matters to one specific person.
- You prefer a steady routine to a varied one.
It probably does not if
- You need a job you can skip when something comes up.
- You are uncomfortable with toileting or bathing help.
- You would find it hard not to take over decisions.
- You have a back injury that transfers would worsen.
- You want to be a nurse — this is not clinical work.
How many hours do in-home caregivers work?
Hours come from the consumer’s authorized care plan, and they vary a great deal. Some consumers are authorized a few hours a week for bathing and shopping; others need help several times a day. The schedule itself is agreed between you and the consumer — they are your employer and they set it, within what their plan authorizes.
Many attendants work for one consumer. Some work for two, where the schedules genuinely do not overlap. What nobody can do is bill more hours than the care plan authorizes, however much time they actually spend.
Questions before you apply?
Most people want to know the same handful of things first — what it pays, how many hours they can get, whether a criminal record rules them out, and whether they can be paid to care for their own parent. Those are all answered in the attendant FAQ, and the training and orientation page sets out what we teach you versus what the person you care for teaches you — which surprises most applicants.
Where we are hiring
Across our whole service area — St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County and northern Jefferson County. Demand is heaviest where our office is, in North County, and hardest to fill in the western and southern edges — Wentzville, O’Fallon, Festus — simply because fewer attendants live there. If that is your area, you are particularly welcome.
See the communities we serve →
Ready to start?
Call us for a free consultation, or text us. We serve St. Louis City, St. Louis County and Missouri communities within about 40 miles of our office.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get paid to take care of a family member in Missouri?
Yes. In Missouri’s Consumer Directed Services program, a parent, adult child, sibling or friend can be hired as the paid personal care attendant. The only relationship excluded is the consumer’s spouse. The person you care for hires you, and Communicare Elite employs you, runs payroll and issues your W-2. Getting paid to care for family.
Can I get a caregiver job in St. Louis with no experience?
Yes. You do not need previous professional caregiving experience, a nursing license, a CNA certificate or a college degree. You need to be legally able to work in the United States, pass background screening, be someone other than the consumer’s spouse and complete our onboarding and orientation. Reliability matters more than a work history, because someone’s daily living depends on you arriving.
Is a personal care attendant a nurse?
No. This is non-medical personal care. You help with bathing, dressing, toileting, transfers, meals, laundry, light housekeeping and rides to appointments and errands, limited to the tasks the consumer’s care plan authorizes. You are not a nurse and you will not be asked to perform clinical tasks. If you want to be a nurse, this is not that job.
Can I work for more than one person?
Yes, where the schedules genuinely do not overlap. Many attendants work for one consumer and some work for two. Each consumer sets your schedule within what their authorized care plan allows, and nobody can bill more hours than the plan authorizes, however much time is actually spent with them.