Caregiver Support

27 Jan Caregiver Support

by Amy Flint, Dir. Community and Family Connections

You may have heard the term “respite care” and wondered how it applies to the community that we serve. Respite is a service providing caregivers an opportunity for rest and relief from care giving duties. Depending upon a variety of eligibility factors, individuals with disabilities and/or special health care needs and their families may have different respite options.

Individuals who are currently on the Family Supports Waiver waiting list may apply for Caregiver Support. Caregiver Support services provide temporary assistance to families caring for eligible persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are residing with the family or legal guardian. Caregiver Support offers a short-term relief period for the primary caregiver. These supports can be provided in the primary caregiver’s and person’s home or a non-private residential setting. Caregiver Support services are furnished on a short-term hourly basis. The service is designed to provide temporary relief of the primary caregiver to the greatest number of eligible families within the available funds. Caregivers can easily request services online.

If a person has the FSW or CIH Medicaid Waiver, then they may select Respite as a service. The waiver case manager will provide a list of providers and information about the service. Typically, this type of respite cannot be used during a parent’s work or school hours.

To locate respite provider agencies in your area, call the local Arc or Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services district office, Autism Society of Indiana, local parent support groups, local schools, or other local groups who work with persons with disabilities and their families. You can locate respite provider agencies in Indiana using this online tool.

Families with the ability to privately pay may advertise and search for providers at local colleges and universities and on Web-based care databases like this one. Additionally, some Medicaid waiver providers will accept private pay and may be privately contracted.

Another option for families may be to find an individual who is interested and capable of providing respite such as a supportive neighbor or a college student studying to be a therapist and suggest for them to apply to be respite staff with the local agency’s respite program. The agency will likely require a background check and other paperwork plus successful participation in some mandatory training. Once employed by the agency, the family has a respite worker that they likely feel an extra level of comfort in using.

For more information on any of these resources or to learn more about how New Hope can help, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 317-338-4535 or by email.