Therapeutic Respite Care Program -- Hourly/Daily

Program Description

Respite care is a service provided to regular caregivers to temporarily relieve them of their caregiver responsibilities. This service is considered to be one element of a comprehensive treatment program for youth who have emotional and behavioral difficulties. The respite provider will assume supervision of the youth for anywhere from a few hours, to overnight, to a few days. The provider will continue any treatment regimes that are part of the youth’s treatment plan.

Program Benefits

Regular caregivers who have utilized respite care services report how important it is to have this periodic relief. Often, a well planned respite weekend will preserve a child placement or give their caregivers the energy to preclude consideration of an out-of-home placement.

Suggested Uses

• Resource and Referral/Recommendations for Intake workers who determine youth in natural/kinship/adoption families to be at risk and in need of prevention services, or receive requests for post adoption service referrals.

• Family Treatment Unit workers may choose to utilize this service to support Birth/ Kinship/Foster/Pre-Adoptive Families living with a youth with emotional and behavioral problems.

• Step down services for youth leaving therapeutic levels of care. Allowing caregivers an opportunity for a few hours or weekend break for a “date.”

• Allowing both the caregiver(s) and the youth an opportunity for a “time-out” from each other during a particularly stressful time.

• Providing a safe place for a youth in need of or brief out-of-home stay because other alternatives are not available (i.e. foster care, shelter care).

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