National Respite Coalition Alert: House Committee Approves FY 2023 Funding Bill with $14.2 million for the Lifespan Respite Care Program and increases for NFCSP

On Thursday, June 30, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2023 Labor-HHS- Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill on a 32 to 24 vote. The bill includes $14.2 million for the Lifespan Respite Care Program, the amount requested by the President and $6.1 million more than the FY 2022 level. Eighteen Members of the U.S. House or Representatives sent a recent bipartisan letter to appropriators requesting this amount. The bill also includes $230 million for the National Family Caregiver Support program (NFCSP), which is $36 million above last year’s funding level.

ACTION: Grassroots action is the most important way to ensure increased funding for Lifespan Respite and other critical programs. To find out how, see the most recent National Respite Coalition Alert and share with your networks. 

• Thank Committee Members. Most importantly, if your Representative serves on the House Appropriations Committee, thank them for their support!
• Contact your U.S. Senators. The schedule for Senate action is uncertain, but it is never too early to contact your Senators and urge them to support $14.2 million for the Lifespan Respite Care program and $230 million for the NFCSP in the Senate Appropriations bill.

Additional Provisions

GAO Study on Caregiving Youth – The Committee directs GAO to complete a study on caregiving youth.

Care Corps – The Committee recommends $5.5 million for the Care Corps Program, including a $1.5 million increase for volunteer chaperones to accompany older adults and adults with disabilities to and from non-emergency medical appointments and outpatient procedures.

Direct Care Workforce Demonstration – The Committee provides $3 million for a Direct Care Workforce Demonstration project, to reduce barriers to entry for a diverse and high-quality direct care workforce, including providing wages, benefits, and advancement opportunities needed to attract or retain direct care workers. 

Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Program (CBCAP) – The Committee recommends $75 million, an increase of $9.3 million, to support community-based child abuse prevention. Respite is identified as a core prevention service in the CBCAP program.

For more detailed funding tables on all discretionary programs funded by the Departments of Labor, HHS and Education, see the House Committee Report.