State Respite Legislation – Advancing Respite for Family Caregivers

State Lifespan Respite grantees and their state coalition partners are exploring strategies to help sustain activities to expand and enhance respite resources and options for family caregivers, to increase capacity for providing respite services through respite provider training and recruitment and to improve access to and quality of available services. While state lifespan respite grantees may not use their federal funds to promote state legislation, their partners are exploring state legislative opportunities that help families pay for respite or build new respite services. Members of the ARCH Respite Network, from states without a Lifespan Respite Care Program, are also exploring legislative solutions to ensuring family caregivers have access to quality, affordable respite services.

This webinar will explore state legislative respite initiatives sponsored by AARP across the country, including a successful legislative initiative in Oregon, as well as examples of state legislative successes shared by a state respite coalition.

Presenters

• Jon Bartholomew, Senior Legislative Representative, AARP, Portland, OR
• Kathy Mayfield-Smith, President and Co-Founder, South Carolina Respite Coalition