ACL is pleased to announce awards totaling $2,023,646 to seventeen states to further implement the requirements of the Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006.
Lifespan Respite Care Programs are coordinated systems of accessible, community-based respite care services for family caregivers of children or adults with special needs. They bring together federal, state, and local resources and funding streams to help support, expand, and streamline the delivery of planned and emergency respite services. Additionally, such programs provide for the recruitment and training of respite care providers, caregiver education, training and empowerment, and the provision of gap-filling respite services.
One state, Arkansas, received an initial grant of $200,000 for a three-year project to more fully meet the respite needs of family caregivers, regardless of the age or disability of the care recipient. Arkansas will partner with multiple state and local agencies to expand and enhance respite care, train and recruit respite care workers and volunteers, streamline access to respite care, and make information about respite care services more readily available.
Sixteen states received grants ranging from $75,035 to $117,811 per year to focus on ensuring the long-term sustainability of their State Lifespan Respite Care Programs, begun under earlier efforts. Over the next three years, Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington will work to promote greater integration and sustainability of respite and related supports into their state Long-Term Services and Supports systems, reduce unmet respite needs through the delivery of coordinated, accessible, and participant-directed respite services.
This latest round of funding continues the work begun in 2009 with the awarding of the first grants under this program. To date, thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have received at least one Lifespan Respite Care Program grant.
Learn more about the Lifespan Respite Care Program.