Respite Care in Central West Region: An Overview

Goals for this afternoon…Goals for this afternoon…

Review the basic ideas related to respite care Hear from two organizations in Central West

Region offering respite care programs Think about the future of respite care in the

region

What are the support needs of What are the support needs of parents?parents?

A friendly ear Communication and advice Information Activities for the child Respite care

What is respite care?What is respite care?

“…child care offered for designated period of time to allow a caregiver to tend to other family members, alleviate a work, job, health, or housing crisis, or to take a break from the stress of caring for a seriously ill child”

National Respite Coalition, 1998

Models of respite careModels of respite careCan vary by…

Location◦ Facility-based (“relief house”)◦ Home-based

Lengths of service◦ Short term◦ Longer term (overnight, vacation)

Type of need◦ Planned ◦ Crisis

Funding for respite careFunding for respite care

Blended funding• Private contributions• Individual user fees

Community-based networks A “business-like approach”

Why is respite care important?Why is respite care important? Improves family functioning Enhances coping Minimizes the need for out-of-home

placements Reduces…

• Caregiver burnout and fatigue• Parenting stress• Isolation • Parents’ anxiety and depression• Risk for child welfare involvement

What are the benefits What are the benefits of respite care?of respite care?

Increased feelings of well-being Less depressed mood

(Botuck & Winsberg, 1991)

Greatest benefits experienced by parents with children younger than 14 years of age

Particularly helpful when dealing with children with both physical and intellectual/emotional disabilities

(Douma, Decker & Koots, 2006)

What are the barriers to using What are the barriers to using respite care?respite care?

Lack of awareness of available respite services

Difficulty obtaining respite care when needed

Lengthy wait times Shortage of qualified staff to

provide respite care Lack of funding for services

The state of the evidence…The state of the evidence…

A small number of studies to learn from Most research is quantitative No research on the longer-term effects

of respite care Very few evaluations of respite

programs that could to be used to improve services

Examples of respite programs in Examples of respite programs in Central West Region…Central West Region…

KidsLINK

Peel Children’s Centre

                  

Next steps?Next steps?

What should happen in Central West Region to increase the awareness, availability, and accessibility of respite services?

What did you find…What did you find…

Surprising? Confusing? Exciting? Important for the work you do?

Questions?Questions?

Dr. Purnima SundarResearch and Knowledge Exchange Consultant

613.737.7600 x3485psundar@cheo.on.ca

www.onthepoint.ca