Administration on Aging awards six new lifespan respite grants

States to develop and enhance coordinated, accessible, community-based respite care programs for caregivers across the lifespan

HHS Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee today announced grant awards totaling more than $1.1 million to six new states to implement the Lifespan Respite Care Program. Awards went to Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia.

“Caregivers make daily sacrifices, both emotional and financial. Respite allows family caregivers to continue successfully in their roles. Caregivers are critical partners in our long term care system,” said Greenlee.

The Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006 creates programs that are coordinated systems of accessible, community-based respite care services for family caregivers of children or adults with special needs. The Lifespan Respite Care Program is intended to enable states to better coordinate existing respite services, identify service gaps and create and monitor new respite services. It also provides opportunities to recruit, train and support paid and volunteer respite providers and raise public awareness about the need for and importance of respite services.

The states will use the funding to strengthen statewide dissemination and coordination of respite care, improve access to respite programs, and enhance the quality of respite care services. The ultimate goal of these activities is the reduction of family caregiver strain so they can continue to provide care for their loved ones.

The six states awarded Lifespan Respite Program grants today join the twenty-four that received grants since 2009, all of whom are working to improve the availability and quality of respite services across the lifespan. Soon, AoA will announce Expansion Supplement Grants to several of the 2009 and 2010 grantees to enable them to expand work already underway through the direct provision of respite services.

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For more information about the implementation of the Lifespan Respite Care Program and to learn more about the key activities of each of the grantees, please visit AoA’s website at: http://aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/HCLTC/LRCP/index.aspx

Grants were awarded to the following agencies:

State	Agency
Colorado	Colorado Department of Human Services, Aging & Adult Services
Hawaii	Hawaii Executive Office on Aging
Montana	Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
New Jersey	New Jersey Department of Human Services
Ohio	Ohio Department of Aging
Virginia	Virginia Department for the Aging

Last Modified: 8/4/2011 12:14:43 PM