A program supporting respite care for families of those with disabilities and other needs is being renewed just months after backers worried it was in jeopardy.
Tucked inside the government spending package signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month is a five-year extension of the Lifespan Respite Care Program.
The program, which supports a system of community-based respite care services nationally, is slated to get $11 million this year, up from $10 million.
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“Respite care helps to reduce mental stress and physical health issues that caregivers may experience, keeping them healthy and families intact,” said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who sponsored the measure. “With this bill now signed into law, quality respite will remain more available and accessible to family caregivers and their loved ones.”
As recently as last May, however, the program’s survival was in question. At the time, a widely circulated budget document leaked from the Department of Health and Human Services indicated that the Trump administration wanted to eliminate funding for the respite care program altogether.
“Passage of the Lifespan Respite Care Reauthorization Act is a meaningful victory for family caregivers and the people they support,” said Jill Kagan, director of the ARCH National Respite Network, which helps administer the federal government’s respite care efforts. “Extending this vital program for five more years will strengthen respite systems, ease caregiver burnout and help families continue providing care at home.”
The Lifespan Respite Care Program has sent funding to 38 states and Washington, D.C. since 2009 through competitive grants to create or enhance respite services, according to the Administration for Community Living at HHS.
With the renewal of the program, lawmakers specified that caregivers eligible for respite care include those under the age of 18, recognizing that there are estimated to be more than 5 million children in the U.S. providing care for a relative who is aging or who has a disability in addition to 53 million adult family caregivers.
