Respite Care in Delaware: The Delaware Lifespan Respite Information Network

Report to the Governor’s Commission on Community-Based Alternatives for Individuals with Disabilities

Prepared by Lisa Becker, MLS, Tracy Mann, MA, Tim Brooks, EdD, The University of Delaware Center for Disabilities Studies, in partnership with the Delaware Caregivers Support Coalition, December 31, 2007

The Commission on Community-Based Alternatives for Individuals with Disabilities awarded a contract to the Center for Disabilities Studies (CDS) to develop a plan to address the lack of coordination of and growing need for respite care services in Delaware. The Center for Disabilities Studies coordinated a coalition of consumers, service providers, and advocates to develop a plan for a statewide system in Delaware to provide respite across the lifespan from birth through aging and across all disability classifications.

This report examines available research about the need for respite care in the country as a whole and Delaware specifically. This research provides a foundation for the development of the Delaware Lifespan Respite Information Network. Throughout the report are personal stories from families in Delaware about their respite care needs to help illustrate the needs that families have expressed throughout this project. The stories are based on multiple interviews with families throughout the state.