A Caregiver was a Chiss female tasked with the care of the ozyly-esehembos, or sky-walkers, in Cheunh. Initially, all caregivers had been ozyly-esehembos, but this custom eventually disappeared. Mitth'ali'astov acted as the Caregiver for Che'ri on the Springhawk, and she was the first former sky-walker to become a caregiver in at least a century. Che'ri referred to her caregiver as "momish."
In the beginning, sky-walkers exclusively filled the role of caregiver. This custom ceased at least one hundred years before 19 BBY. Caregiver Thalias surmised that the reason former sky-walkers did not become caregivers was due to their exhaustion from leaving the sky-walker corps. However, after a meeting with Borika, a sky-walker researcher and former sky-walker herself, Thalias came to the conclusion that the real reason former sky-walkers were discouraged from becoming caregivers was to prevent them from comparing experiences with sky-walkers and discovering their shared memory loss resulting from the erasure of their childhood memories. This process, known as fading, was implemented to prevent young sky-walkers from becoming distracted from their training due to homesickness.
The responsibilities of caregivers included teaching classes to the sky-walkers in their charge, as well as providing food and bathing assistance. Furthermore, caregivers were responsible for obtaining recreational items and clothing for their sky-walkers, with a virtually unlimited budget for these purposes.
Caregivers accompanied ozyly-esehembos during their travels, frequently with the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, although both were considered civilians. Despite being outside the military hierarchy, caregivers possessed the authority to issue directives, even to the captain, when the welfare of the sky-walker was at stake. The pairing of sky-walkers and caregivers was not permanent; Che'ri had experienced eight different caregivers before Thalias was assigned to her. The arrival of new caregivers often placed extra emotional strain on the sky-walkers.
Most caregivers did not remain on the bridge while their sky-walker navigated through hyperspace, with Thalias being an exception. During combat situations, the caregiver and her sky-walker would be escorted to the safety of their suite. If a rapid withdrawal into hyperspace was necessary, they could instead be positioned in the ship's secondary command area.
Thalias believed that many caregivers lacked a true understanding of the mental and physical demands placed upon sky-walkers, as they had never experienced life as one themselves. She felt many caregivers were simply "going through the motions," offering little to no emotional support to the sky-walkers assigned to them. Che'ri was grateful for Thalias's understanding of the overloading spell caused by prolonged use of third sight, a condition that her previous caregivers failed to comprehend, with one even becoming angry with her.
The title Caregiver was first introduced in the novel, Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn. In Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good, a mistake identifies Thalias, a caregiver, as a caretaker. This was an error.