Tag: respite care

Modern families come in many styles. The primary caregivers of a person with a disability or special health care need might be parents or spouses or adult children, and they might be other relatives (kinship caregivers), friends, or neighbors.

They can also be described as “family caregivers”. This term is used widely by social service professionals, medical providers, and organizations and agencies that offer respite services and decide on respite care eligibility.

Some professionals use the term “care recipient” to describe the person who needs care from the family caregiver. However, in this article we will use the term “loved one” or “loved ones”, because family caregivers are usually not paid workers providing a service. They give care because families love and care for one another, and because “That’s what family is for”.

Respite care is a short break from caregiving tasks for the family caregiver. It might last a few hours or include 24-hour a day care that lets the family caregiver (s) have a vacation.
Family caregiving can create deep bonds, be emotionally fulfilling and full of loving acts of kindness. It’s also physically, emotionally, and mentally tiring. Family caregivers don’t just run errands or do housecleaning for loved ones; they organize medical care, take loved ones to appointments, provide personal hygiene, handle finances, arrange after-school and childcare, wrestle with health insurance companies, Apple Health, or Medicare, and may have legal responsibilities such as being a court-appointed guardian or an agent under a Durable Power of Attorney.  

These responsibilities often add up to a full-time job in addition to paid employment and caring for other family members.  Respite breaks from caregiving are one of the top requests family caregivers make when they apply for caregiver supports and benefits, along with financial help. 

Family caregivers often wait until they are burnt out before looking for respite care. They may not realize it’s available for their situation, or their loved one may not like the idea of getting help from anyone but family. Putting everyone else’s needs before your own can take care of an immediate problem; in the long term, it can lead to increased anxiety, frustration, resentment, depression and even illness. Whether you think of yourself as a family caregiver or not, these are all signs of caregiver burnout and stress.

Time apart can boost well-being for both the family caregiver and their loved one. While caregivers temporarily shift their focus to necessary self-care, loved ones can meet new people and explore new interests.

Respite includes a wide variety of programs and services, such as:

• In-Home Services (errands, light chores, personal care, companionship, medication reminders, etc.) *
• Recreation (sports, exercise, crafts, and other leisure activities)
• Day or Overnight Camps which serve individuals with disabilities
• Day Services (dementia or memory centers, after-school and weekend programming for adults, children, and youth, daycares, etc.)
• Education/Classes (may include preschools, nature schools, art, music, recreational skills, academics, etc.)
• Organizations offering therapeutic benefits for a loved one (social skills groups, music therapy, equine/animal therapy, etc.)
• 24-hour care

* In-home respite care does not include services that need to be performed by a nurse, occupational therapist or physical therapist. Some home-care agencies can provide services from those professionals, but most of the time, such services are arranged for and covered by health insurance.

Tools can help you decide which type or types of respite will work for you and your family:

Washington’s Pathways to Respite booklet includes “fill-in-the-blanks” tools to help define needs, like these examples:

“I would like to take a break, but I am concerned that___________” and “If I had some time to myself, I would _____________.”

This respite planning guide is from the Veterans Administration, but can work for any caregiver, civilian or military: https://www.caregiver.va.gov/CAREGIVER/support/docs/docs2024/Caregiver-Respite-Tool-2022.pdf#.

If a family will pay out of pocket for respite services, they can find respite providers online. Here are some ideas to start a search:

• “Adult Day Services Washington State”
• “After-school programs children with special health care needs Washington State”
• “In-home care agencies near me”
• Check the listings at Lifespan Respite WA; listed agencies meet state standards for background checks and liability insurance.

Care.com is a paid private, online service connecting respite or personal care workers with potential care recipients and their families. Families are on their own to follow up on an individual worker’s qualifications, references, and background, although some listings will show someone has passed a background check. This service requires payment and a subscription, but it is easy to cancel once a caregiver has been hired. They also offer a program to manage tax withholding and payments for the independent workers hired.

If a care recipient is eligible for respite through private medical insurance, the insurance company will list approved providers or caregivers may call their insurance company representative.

When researching a respite agency, caregivers can check whether the agency meets standards and follows appropriate safety measures.

Here are a few examples of questions you might ask:

• How are the workers chosen and trained?
• Can the respite worker give medicine or help with medical tasks?
• How are emergencies and problems handled?

A thorough guide is available at the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center: How to Choose a Respite Provider.

Seniors 65 and older who meet functional and financial eligibility can get a variety of services through Department of Social and Health Services Home and Community Services Administration (HCSA).

Unpaid (family) caregivers of adults who are 55 and older who meet functional and financial eligibility can get respite care and other needed support services like caregiver education, support groups, housework and errands and other services.

The easiest way to learn about services and eligibility is to contact the county or regional Area Agency on Aging, which administers many of HCSA’s services. They are also listed at Washington’s Community Living Connections/waclc.org.

Some programs are:

Medicaid Alternative Care (MAC) and Tailored Supports for Older Adults (TSOA), Medicaid Demonstration Projects funded through Department of Health. Information and applications are handled through the Aging and Disability Resource Centers/Are Agencies on Aging (DSHS). These are WA’s most direct programs for unpaid family caregivers of people age 55 and older. They fund caregiver’s needs including respite care, caregiver training, and supplies. MAC serves people who are Medicaid-eligible but choose not to enroll in CFC. TSOA serves people who are not financially eligible for Medicaid, with higher income and asset limits, and does not require an unpaid caregiver.

As of September 2026, these programs have an automatic waitlist. Check back with the agency where you applied for updates.

Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP)  An eligible caregiver is a spouse, relative, or friend who has responsibility for the care of an adult with a functional disability and does not receive financial compensation for the care provided. This program is administered by Aging and Disability Resource Centers/Area Agencies on Aging across the state. Respite funds vary by source, and availability of respite funding varies by location.

Catholic Community Services in WA are non-denominational in the services they offer. In addition to in-home supports, many other community/social service programs are available such as housing support, mental health support and treatment, food and financial assistance, teen and youth support, and more.

Catholic Community Services of Western WA

Catholic Charities of Central WA

Catholic Charities Eastern WA

Don’t forget to look in your community and nearby for memory cafes, volunteer-based dementia or disability day programs, and senior center offerings!

American Indian and Alaska Native Caregivers:

Lifespan Respite WA Voucher Programis open to all eligible American Indian and Alaskan Native caregivers.

Contacts for Tribal programs in WA State can be found on the HCLA Tribal Affairs website at Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). Individual Tribes direct their own caregiving and/or respite programs.

Community First Choice (CFC): your loved one is eligible if:

• Financial Eligibility: must be financially eligible for Medicaid (Apple Health)
• Functional Eligibility: require an “institutional level of care” (such as nursing home placement or an intermediate care facility) but choose to receive care at home or in an alternative living facility.
• Medicaid Enrollment: Must be enrolled in Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) under a categorically needy (CN) or alternative benefit plan (ABP) scope of care.
• If your loved one is age 65 or older, blind, disabled, or on Medicare, apply at WashingtonConnection.org.
• If your loved one is under age 65 or not eligible for Medicare, apply using the WA HealthPlan Finder.
• You can also apply in-person at a local Home and Community Services office.

COPES: a wraparound service for individuals on the Community First Choice plan. Individuals must have needs that exceed what is available in Community First Choice. Eligible individuals are in the Community First Choice Program. 

Home and Community-Based Services for individuals with developmental disabilities, which may include respite for their caregivers (through the Developmental Disabilities Administration/DDA)

Eligibility is based on the presence of one of four developmental disabilities (Intellectual disability, Cerebral palsy, Epilepsy, Autism) or associated disabilities, an age of onset prior to diagnostic criteria or age 18, and evidence of substantial limitations.

Important:

• An individual must first apply to see if they are eligible (family member may apply for the individual).
• Once eligible, the individual or family must apply for specific services.

Detailed information on the application process and on specific programs (“waivers”) can be found on the Informing Families website.

Lifespan Respite WA: offers a voucher (small grant) for unpaid family caregivers who support a family member, friend, or neighbor who needs assistance with daily living activities. The voucher is used to pay for services or programs that allow the caregiver to have respite, or short breaks from caregiving tasks. Lifespan Respite vouchers are for temporary short-term respite. 

Eligibility: the caregiver

• Is not paid to care for their family member, friend, or neighbor;  
• Provide 40 or more hours per week of care or support for someone with a special need or condition (the person can be any age), and the 40 or more hours must include supervision of the person receiving care;
• Live in Washington State; 
• Not be able to afford respite care on their own;
• The caregiver or the person they care for are not enrolled in any program that provides respite services, unless they are on a wait list and not scheduled to receive services within 30 days of the voucher application.

Read more about Lifespan Respite WA and apply online.

Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF):

Foster parents provide temporary homes for children whose parents are unable to care for them. DCYF and the family court system authorize placement of a child or youth in foster care when it is necessary for a child’s safety and well-being. More than half of children and youth using foster care in WA State are cared for by a kinship caregiver—a grandparent, other relative, unrelated close friend or “chosen family”. Federally recognized Tribes in WA decide who is a relative of a child who needs foster care.

Three types of respite are available through DCYF for Licensed Foster Parents, Unlicensed Relative Caregivers and “Other Suitable Persons”  (definitions at DCYF): Retention Respite (monthly breaks, emergent situations); Exchange Respite (arranged between licensed caregivers, approved by case workers and is not financially reimbursed); and Child-Specific Respite for relief from caregiving responsibilities linked to medical, behavioral or special needs of an individual child or youth.

Informal kin caregivers who do not have any contact with the foster care system may receive access to some benefits through the Kinship Program at WA’s Department of Social and Health Services. They may also be eligible if they or their kin child qualifies under any of the other programs listed under “All Ages”.

The WA Cares Fund is a public long-term care insurance program. All working Washingtonians contribute a small percentage of their income into the fund. Benefits can fund respite care and many in-home services. If a family caregiver retired prior to the program start in 2023, or if they left to care for their loved one, they may not be eligible for this program. If they did work from the start of the program but need respite services sooner than later, they may not have accumulated much in the fund. The maximum amount for benefits is $36,500, which will be adjusted for inflation.

Active duty family members’ loved ones may be eligible for respite under Tricare Echo, a benefit under the military healthcare plans.

Exceptional Family Member Program: Provides all four military branches with care and respite support for families with a member who has a special need or disability. When military respite is not available, military families should know they are also eligible to apply for civilian respite services while living in Washington State.

Coast Guard Special Needs Program: provides Coast Guard family members who have special needs or a disability with care and support. Coast Guard families may also apply to civilian sources of respite care in Washington State.

Financial help paying for respite care may be available through Coast Guard Mutual Assistance. https://mycgma.org/

Veterans Affairs offers the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) which offers respite services.