Respite care provides parents and other caregivers with short-term child care services that offer temporary relief, improve family stability, and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect. Respite can be planned or offered during emergencies or times of crisis. Respite may be available to foster, kinship, and adoptive families, as well as birth families in need of support.
Use the following resources to locate community respite services, learn more about respite services for resource families and families at risk of child abuse and neglect or family disruption, and find evaluations of respite programs. Resources include State and local examples.
- For families at risk of child abuse and neglect or family disruption
- For resource families
- Evaluation
The ABCs of Respite: A Consumer Guide for Family Caregivers (PDF - 964 KB)
Arch National Respite Network and Resource Center (2017)
Provides guidance to family caregivers on assessing personal need for respite and accessing available services, including potential funding sources.
Annotated Bibliography of Respite and Crisis Care Studies (PDF - 1,144 KB)
ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center (5th ed.) (2020)
Summarizes peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2014 and 2020 that provide a baseline understanding of respite research and focus on outcomes attributed to respite. The studies included documented outcomes of respite care for family caregivers, care recipients, families or communities, including cost-benefit studies.
Federal Funding and Support Opportunities for Respite: Building Blocks for Lifespan Respite Systems
Gabor (2016)
ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center
Provides State Lifespan Respite Care Programs and their partners with information about the funding sources and basic information about each of the Federal programs that provide or could potentially provide respite funding or support.
Providing Respite: Supporting People and Families Across the Lifespan (PDF - 3,072 KB)
Rutgers University, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (2014)
Provides information on respite programs, how to become a respite provider, and family caregiving for children or adults across the lifespan.
Respite Care
North American Council on Adoptable Children (2017)
Describes respite care and links to a fact sheet, a step-by-step guide, and a best-practices guide related to respite programs.
What is Respite Care?
Comfort Keepers (2015)
Explains respite care as a resource for family caregivers and provides information on kinds of respite care, how to find respite care, and how caregivers should care for themselves to prevent burnout.
State and local examples
ARCH State Respite Coalitions: A Compendium of Fact Sheets (PDF - 1,956 KB)
ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center (2017)
Provides State-specific factsheets to educate prospective members, family caregivers, and policymakers about the Respite Coalition resources they have in their own States.
Respite
Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
Explains Planned Respite, a program in Tennessee that helps caregivers of children with serious emotional disturbance learn the skills necessary for getting respite care. The program teaches caregivers how to find respite care and how to train those providers to successfully care for their children.
Respite Care
Connecticut State Department of Children and Families
Presents an overview of respite care services provided to caregivers of children in Connecticut whose emotional and/or behavioral special needs require constant attention from their caregivers. The program provides respite care services that are community-based and help these children make the transition to adulthood.
Respite Care
National Youth Advocate Program
Describes a program in Columbus, Ohio that provides respite services to caregivers struggling with challenging youth at home. Respite services are designed to provide relief to a youth's primary caregiver to support the stability of the youth's placement.
Respite Services
Shiloh House (2018)
Offers a nurturing and safe environment for youth in foster care to serve as respite for Colorado families and prevent the disruption of placements for youth who may be at risk of being removed from their families or who are already placed in foster care.