Program Description
Respite services provide infrequent and temporary substitute care or supervision of adults who are frail or have a disability on behalf of and in the absence of the caregiver, for the purpose of providing caregivers with relief from the stress of caregiving and to help them maintain a normal life. All local offices for the aging provide respite services.
In addition to those services, the NYSOFA directly funds 10 respite programs. This includes eight community-based agencies and two local offices for the aging that serve 30 counties in New York State.
Goals and Objectives
- Provide caregivers with opportunities for relief of and support in their caregiving responsibilities
- Allow caregivers to address their own needs
- Help caregivers maintain those they care for in the community and prevent or delay institutionalization
The services provided under the Respite Program include:
- Adult day services, including adult day health care (ADHC), social adult day services (SADS), and Alzheimer’s/dementia specific day services
- In-home services, including personal care level II, personal care level I, friendly visitor/companion, and home health aide services
- Overnight respite including a temporary stay in an adult care facility, nursing home or other setting that includes spending the night
- Case management to help older people and their families assess their needs and develop, implement, and maintain an appropriate plan of services and service delivery
- Information and assistance on community services including linkages and follow-up activities on referrals for services
- Caregiver services including support groups, counseling, education, and training programs to assist caregivers in sustaining their role in caring for adults who are frail or have a disability
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Respite Program a person must be caregiver. This is a person who is either a family member or other non-paid person who generally provides the care to or supervision of an adult who is frail and/or has disabilities. The caregiver may or may not reside in the same household as care receiver. The care receiver is an adult who is unable to attend to his or her daily needs without the assistance or regular supervision of a caregiver due to mental or physical impairment and who is otherwise eligible for services on the basis of his or her impairment. Priority is given to adults who are frail and/or have disabilities who are 60 years of age or older.
Laws, Regulations, and Standards
Respite Program Grant Recipients
The following 10 organizations receive a Respite Program grant from NYSOFA:
- Alzheimer’s Association of Western New York (serves the following counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, and Wyoming);
- Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany (serves the following counties: Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Fulton, Greene, Herkimer, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, and Washington);
- EAC, Inc (Serves Nassau County);
- Home Aides of Central New York (serves Onondaga County);
- Jamaica Service Program for Older Adults (serves Queens County);
- Madison County Office for the Aging (serves Madison County);
- New York Foundation for Senior Citizens (serves the following boroughs: Queens, Staten Island, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan);
- People (serves Erie County);
- Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council (serves Queens County); and
- Suffolk County Office for the Aging (serves Suffolk County)