Respite Care. Briefing Paper. Interim Update.

The challenges that families face in caring for a child with a disability or a chronic illness are reviewed in this report on respite care. A parent's narrative describes the difficulties in providing around-the-clock care to a child with a chronic illness. The benefits of respite care are outlined as follows: gives the family peace of mind, allows the family to enjoy favorite pastimes, improves the family's ability to cope with daily responsibilities, helps preserve the family unit, allows the family to become involved in community activities, allows the family to take a needed vacation, and makes it possible for family members to establish individual identities. The federal legislation impacting on respite care is reviewed and the funding problems are addressed. Suggestions are provided for parents on determining whether the family could benefit from respite care, locating respite care services, and asking the right questions to obtain essential information from service agencies. Contains a resource list of 9 references, 6 additional resources, and 18 organizations. (CR)