Former caregiver taking my mother to her house from AL. How do I stop this?

As her POA you can ban her from visiting. You can tell the AL this person is not allowed to remove your mom from the facility. It isn't a social worker that implements this, I would talk to the administrator and put it in writing.

Anything done in secret is problematic, if it is okay, what are you hiding?

I would contact the caregiver and tell her what her actions are doing and that she needs to stop doing anything that causes mom so much upset.

If she chooses to ignore you, you can file an injunction for no contact.

I would also change the locks on the house, she could be helping herself to what she wants.

On the other hand, you can let them deal with it and live with her meltdowns. If they won't stop the outings after you put your wishes in writing they are playing with fire. If something happened while she was out, they would be responsible.

This is a tough one, picking your battles when you have someone that alleviates your burden is difficult.

You have Mom has Dementia/ALZ . If you have POA, you can stop this. I had to give Moms AL a list of people allowed to take her out of the AL. Tell the Administrator that only with your permission is Mom allowed out of the AL. You may be able to ban this caregiver from seeing Mom. My Moms AL had a entry keypad. If you didn't know the code to get in, the receptionist allowed you in.

You don't pay this caregiver now do you? If so, why.

When my Mom was in AL, they couldn’t have control over freedom to leave the facility. We got an order from her dr. that she could only leave with family. If this person goes against your wishes and it negatively affects your mom, ask for a prescription to limit or stop this. It’s mentally upsetting for your mom. The AL has to follow dr’s orders.

The caregiver doesn't sound very well-intentioned. She must know that these visits home upset your mom and affect her behavior once she's back at the facility. And any decent and professional caregiver would not find it necessary to do anything for her patient in secret.

This caregiver has stepped way over the line. It's time for a hands-on approach.

Do you have Power of Attorney for Health and Finances for you mother?

Have you spoken to the AL social worker about not allowing your mother to be taken off the premises without your permission?

The caregiver sounds as though her intentions are for her to be paid as your mother's full time caregiver; she may be trying to get mom thrown out of the AL.  I'd shut this down ASAP.