Partners of the Lifespan Respite Program
Catholic Community Services offers a form of respite through their state-funded CHORE program, through flexible, person-centered, and supportive activities for individuals to maintain their residences, such as:
- Phone buddies; e.g., structured assessments and ongoing communication with the buddy matches to ensure continued mutual benefits;
- Low-income adults and individuals with disabilities;
- Focused respite for specific populations, such as the Multiple Sclerosis Society;
They utilize an electronic case management system with a database of volunteers. Their role in the Lifespan Respite Project in the future may include assistance to parents (or the child so parents can have a break).
Girl Scouts of Western Washington offers three hours of respite on Saturdays with paid staff for children who have a past, present, or potential involvement in the State’s child welfare system, including those with incarcerated parents or living with their relatives/kin. They also received a grant to pay troop registration fees, Girl Scout overnight camps, field trips, camping, and day camps. They currently serve King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Thurston counties. Their motto is “Every Girl Every Where”.
Pierce County, Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) will be the central point for disseminating Lifespan Respite information and will ultimately receive phone calls from consumers about where they can find available respite services.
Washington State Child Care Resource & Referral Network:
Provides college scholarships for individuals interested in working in child care, as well as connections for children and families to advocacy and outreach services. The organization has a documented history of providing respite care in 1993, when they administered a three-year federal demonstration grant from the Temporary Child Care and Crisis Nursery Act channeled through the Department of Social and Health Services, (DSHS) Office of Child Care Policy (OCCP). This grant was renewed twice. The organization does more than just connect parents to daycare; they also provide information and referral services, distribute materials, and provide information and training to child care providers through their Family, Friends, and Neighbors contract. There 11 offices around the State will be conduits for providing information to families about respite, and will assist in providing respite in pilot sites.
The Arc of King County has a long-term history of providing staff and grant-writing support to the Respite & Crisis Care Coalition of Washington. The Arc of King County supports people with disabilities and their families across the lifespan through various programs. It is a natural step in the Arc’s philosophy to provide a leadership role in the administration of the Lifespan Respite Project. Besides their involvement in the grant proposal process, the Arc offers project staff support for the Lifespan Respite Project Coordinator. The Arc’s continued vision in the RCCCWA will be to reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the State of Washington. The Arc will also pool respite resources into one manageable resource access point, and will validate and show-case alternative forms of respite.
The Washington State, DSHS, Area Administration on Aging has the role of offering administrative oversight and fiscal management over the grant funds. The Program Manager has been involved in the Respite & Crisis Care Coalition of Washington for several years.
