Partnerships for Caregivers (and Respite Voucher Programs) in a No Wrong Door/ADRC Environment During a Pandemic

This was a presentation in the Lifespan Respite Track of the 2021 Virtual International Short Break Conference

Presenters

Alicia Hess Blater, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services, NC, USA
Jessalyn Bridges, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services, NC, USA

We often hear, “I wish I had known about your service earlier” or “Why didn’t anyone tell me about you?” How can you equip staff outside your organization to share information about your services, and maybe even sign them up to receive those services? In this presentation,  hear about how North Carolina partnered with their United Way 2-1-1 Call Center Staff and other organizations, such as The ALS Association NC Chapter, the NC Autism Society, the NC Division of Child Welfare, and County DSS and adult protective services workers, who interact with family caregivers seeking services, to increase referrals to local respite services and the state’s Lifespan Respite Voucher Program. We’ll also discuss methods for finding and building local referral partnerships that could be great at sharing your message if only they knew who you were and what you did.