Approaches:

• Redeployment: Shifting funding from higher cost to lower-cost programs and services.
• Operating More Efficiently: Cutting costs that can be reinvested in expanding services.
• Reinvestment: Allocating funds that can be “saved” through redeployment, refinancing, or reductions in spending to new or alternative supports and services.
• Embed Lifespan Respite Activities into Ongoing State Efforts: State agencies and others continue to face economically challenging times. Rather than relying on new funding, some states are working diligently to embed the activities they developed as a result of the Lifespan Respite projects into ongoing sustainable state efforts.

Examples:

Approaches:

• Grant Writing: Applying for discretionary grants from public agencies.
• Leveraging: Maximizing federal revenue by taking advantage of programs that provide funding contingent on other federal, state, local, and private funding.
• Refinancing: Utilizing other sources of funding to pay for activities already provided, thereby freeing up your own funds for a new use.
• Administrative Claiming: Using available Medicaid and other funds to cover an array of administrative costs, based on local match funds.

Examples:

Approaches:

• Coordination: Aligning categorical funding from a number of agencies and funding streams to support community and program-level initiatives, such as interagency fiscal partnerships to support direct services or infrastructure.
• Pooling: Combining a portion of funds from several agencies and programs into a single unified funding stream.
• Decategorization: Advocating for removing narrow eligibility requirements and rules governing allocations from existing funding streams.
• Develop Interagency Fiscal Partnerships: A core component of a coordinated Lifespan Respite system is developing partnerships with other state agencies to support direct services or the system’s infrastructure.

Examples:

Approaches:

• Leveraging: Creating partnerships that expand the fiscal base for respite services.
• Leadership: Building new, shared public-private leadership for investments in respite services.
• Technical Assistance: Creating opportunities for sharing knowledge, skills and technical resources needed to create and sustain systems of support and services.
• Grassroots/Community Engagement: Grassroots support and efforts, especially through the use of volunteers, the faith-based community, and other localized resources are showing promise in assisting with long-term sustainability.
• Foundation Funding: Public funding options are scarce and unlikely to grow in the near term. Private funding has also been limited in these economically challenging times. But private foundation, including community foundation funds and private donations should not be overlooked. States can look to state respite coalitions or other private sector partners to help pursue such funding opportunities.

Examples:

Approaches:

• Fundraising: Organizing community fundraising campaigns to generate support.
• Charging Fees for Service: Charging fees to service users to help cover the program costs.
• Generating Unrelated Business Income: Creating revenue by pursuing an activity not related to the mission of the organization or program.
• Advocacy/Education: Committing resources to support a coalition composed of diverse agencies and organizations representing a broad spectrum of the aging, disability, and chronic illness community to help leverage private and state funding, promote public awareness and maintain support, and engage new resources and partners to support respite services and Lifespan Respite systems for the long-term.
• Special Taxing Districts: Creating independent units of government with taxing authority dedicated to a specific purpose.
• Special Tax Levies: Adding on to existing taxes, with the additional revenues earmarked for specific programs or services.
• Fees and Narrow-Based Taxes: Generating revenue from fees or taxes on specific segments of economic activity, usually the use of a service or goods.
• Lotteries and Gaming: Using lottery and gaming proceeds to support respite programs and initiatives.
• Income Tax Check-Offs: Allowing taxpayers to designate a portion of their tax liability or to donate a part of their refunds to specific services or programs.

Examples: