Nebraska Lifespan Respite Subsidy 2015 Evaluation Report

Developed by the NE Department of Health & Human Services

Part of the overall Nebraska Lifespan Respite Services Program, the Lifespan Respite Subsidy Program provides funding for family caregivers to use for obtaining respite care services. The program provides a monthly subsidy to purchase respite care services.

The evaluation process for 2014-15 year focused on the Lifespan Respite Subsidy program. A subsection of the evaluation was the Employee Engagement pilot program implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services, the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine.

The overall evaluation plan can be broken down into five general areas: Need, Access, Caregiver Outcomes, System Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness of the system. While the components overlap, each has data that contribute to the overall picture. Two main questions will drive evaluation: (1) What is the current state of the respite care system? (2) What are the outcomes of the services provided within the system? By answering those questions, the goal would be to provide results on cross-agency collaboration and outcomes for caregivers.