In Support of Caregivers: Key Accomplishments of Lifespan Respite Program Grantees

Through competitive grants, the Lifespan Respite Care Program supports individual state grantees to achieve Five Objectives:

1. Expand and enhance respite services in the states;
2. Improve coordination and dissemination of respite services;
3. Streamline access to programs;
4. Fill gaps in service where necessary; and
5. Improve the overall quality of respite services where available.

Eight Key Accomplishments

In the descriptions of State Grantee accomplishments captured in the pages of this report, knowledge, commitment, ingenuity, and skillful stewardship and administration of resources are evident. Because a research base to guide grantees in making strong, durable, and responsive state systems is relatively scant, the accomplishments of these state grantees are essential to improve the quality of respite services and to increase confidence among caregivers using respite services. Through their work, state Lifespan Respite grantees provide evidence of the merit of the Lifespan Respite Care Program, and they inform our path forward. Lifespan Respite grantee activities are grouped into eight key areas of accomplishment:

1. Make leadership collaborative.
2. Make respite accessible through No Wrong Door.
3. Make services affordable.
4. Collect and use data
5. Grow a strong provider workforce
6. Innovate programs and practices.
7. Diversify resources.
8. Educate and advocate

Information for this report was drawn from state summaries in the Compendium of State Lifespan Respite Grant Activities [1] and state federal reports; networking sessions at Lifespan Respite Grantee and Partner Learning Symposiums; ARCH learning collaborative discussions; and from individual interviews with states when needed for clarification. Many thanks to grantees and their partners for their willingness to share their best practices and for carefully reviewing their state’s examples for accuracy.