Respite workers provide a break for individuals and families who care for others with special needs. Sometimes care is provided in the respite provider's home and sometimes care is provided in the family's home. Respite workers may be available for emergency assistance but often work according to a schedule. Foster care agencies, in-home health care agencies and departments of social services are some of the organizations that provide respite.
Responsibilities
Respite providers feed, bathe and assist individuals with special needs. Special-needs individuals might be elderly, physically challenged, suffering from dementia, developmentally delayed or dealing with emotional or behavioral issues. While some respite workers may dispense medication, they are not generally fully trained medical personnel. For adults, a respite provider might provide conversation or craft activities. For children, a respite worker might help with homework or take the child for a walk.
Types
Respite workers may assist families in caring for elders, foster children, individuals with disabilities and children with emotional and behavioral challenges. Generally, respite providers specialize in providing support and help for one type of person.
Time Frame
Respite care provides a break of several hours to give a caregiver time to have lunch with friends, or, up to several days to allow a family to go camping while leaving Grandma well cared for at home.
Experience
Some respite providers have experience caring for the population they care for and might have nursing training, first aid, CPR, restraint training and behavioral management training. While not a requirement, many respite providers helping families with challenging children have experience as foster parents. Sometimes, respite providers are friends or neighbors who help for a few hours. Elder Care Locator reminds families that sometimes local church groups will provide volunteer respite workers.
Benefits
Respite providers allow individual caregivers and supportive families the opportunity to renew and refresh themselves by participating in activities their special-needs care person cannot. HelpGuide.org suggests that respite relieves stress, restores energy and promotes balance in a caregiver's life.
Expert Insight
"Without respite services in place," states Katherine Reiter, Ph.D., owner of Creative Case Management in Asheville, North Carolina, "many of the families I serve would not be able to keep their child at home. Their child would be in a group home or a residential treatment center." Respite workers give families the ability to keep going even under challenging circumstances.
References
- HelpGuide: Respite Care
- Elder Care Locator: Respite Care
- Katherine Reiter, Ph.D.; Creative Case Management; Asheville, N.C.
