Respit Care

As a mom of a 17 year old son on the Autism spectrum, I am familiar with respite. We're on the roster of Ray Graham Association's respite program.
They're now headquartered in Lisle. Initial application needs to be made in person at their office, annual renewal can be mailed or faxed. If you want to contact me offlist for further details, my email address is ____@____.com

Dear J.,

Respite care is getting someone to come in and provide relief for a full time care giver in a home. I am familiar with respite care for cancer patients who are terminal but not any other type of disease / patient. I've helped obtain respite care both from our local American Cancer Society chapter and also from various local Hospices.

I would start with the patient's doctor and if that doesn't help than the appropriate organization that deals with the patient's illness. I would be happy to help more with further information regarding diagnosis and situation.

I hope that you find some decent respite care since you probably need it if you are looking for it.

C.

You can call the pre-admission screening/service coordination agency for your area. They should be able to tell you if you qualify, who in your area does it, etc. I know there are at least 2 agencies that cover Chicago & it will depend on your address which service coordination agency covers your area. Community Alternatives Unlimited is one of them. The other is CSO. I believe it stands for Community Support Options or Community Service Options. No matter which one you call, they will be able to let you know which one covers your area & have a phone number for you. Resources are scarce in IL so not everyone who qualifies for respite gets it. Good Luck!

We get respite funds through an agency in Oklahoma called OASIS. It is sort of a clearing house for government programs. They put the person who is requesting respite/grant money through an application process then the app is sent to the powers that be and you get a letter telling you if there is any money or not.

We are raising 2 of our grandchildren so we sort of fall into a different category. The program was set up to allow parents with handicapped children a chance to pay someone to babysit so they can get a break from the toll that constant care can be. Since we are older and raising grand kids they feel we fit in there somewhere too.

We applied, we were accepted. We got several vouchers and had a couple of hundred dollars to pay whomever we wanted to pay it to. We have used them to pay child care centers, Mothers-Day-Out programs, friends, family, anyone we want to pay with them. We can pay someone the whole amount for...maybe a whole weekend away, or every Friday evening for date night, regular care while someone is working but that should really be paid through a child care assistance program if at all possible so this money can be set aside for a special time.

The person works for us, babysits, we fill out the form, they put their SS number and info on it, we mail it in, they get a check a few days to a few weeks later. The money is deducted from our remaining amount of money.

There have been times when we have been told there is no money due to budgets running out of money, due to so many new people applying. They do tend to give the money to the new people first. It is one of those programs that is temporary, it is not a regular grant where once you are approved you just get it. You must reapply every 3 months.

So, I would recommend you contact the local Department Of Human Services or Social Services Agency, what ever it is called in your state. It is the place where people go apply for food stamps and child care assistance, or medical cards for the kids.

I hope you find the right person to hook you up. It is such a wonderful program and it allows me and my husband to have a much needed break occasionally.

J. - your insurance company should be able to tell you if your family qualifies for subsidized respite care. Some insurers cover it for all types of conditions, some only for more "major" ones. Give them a call...

Hi J., you mean you would like to acquire respite care for yourself or someone you know? Or you would like to WORK respite care?

One of my sisters is a respite care worker. She has a HHA certification she got by taking classes at her local job corps. She works with elderly, ill, and many special needs children. She finds it very rewarding.

If you are looking to GET respite care, maybe call a hospital in your area and ask how the process works?

:)