Funding Opportunities-Lifespan Respite Care

Each year, Congress appropriates funds for use by AoA and the other Federal Agencies in carrying out their mission. AoA provides grant funding to States and territories, recognized Native American Tribes and Hawaiian Americans, as well as nonprofit organizations, including faith-based and academic institutions. Individuals are not eligible to apply for AoA funding.

For those new to the AoA grants management environment, the Overview section below provides a brief profile of the types of grant instruments we use to fund our programs, the procedures applicants must follow in applying for these grants and the reporting which is required of recipients.

• Overview

2011
Title	FY 2011 Lifespan Respite Care Program
Agency/Center:	Administration on Aging (AoA)
Announcement Type:	Initial
Funding Opportunity Number:	HHS-2011-AoA-LR-1103
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number:	93.072
Key Dates:	The deadline date for submission of applications is 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 20, 2011.
Downloads: Program Announcement and Grant Application Instructions (PDF) (DOC)

Funding Opportunities

On the Road With, or Without, Elderly Parents - The New Old Age Blog - NYTimes.com

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By DALE RUSSAKOFF

It’s August, time for a vacation from everything stressful — work, commuting, heat, congestion. But what about caregiving? Do adult children of elderly parents deserve a break from them, too?

Plenty of New Old Age readers no doubt identify with a woman who, describing herself and her husband as “empty-nesters in our 50s,” recently raised this question in Slate’s provocative advice column, “Dear Prudence.” Bringing her husband’s 80-plus-year-old-parents along on vacations, the woman wrote, “is more stressful than going to work.”

The older couple “cannot travel as they used to,” making it difficult for the 50-somethings to relax together, which their punishing jobs rarely allow them to do. Yet her mother-in-law calls almost nightly, she wrote, “begging us to take them.” Her question: “Are we selfish to want to be alone on our vacations?”
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AoA Announces Availability of Approximately $2.25 Million for Lifespan Respite Care Programs

The U.S. Administration on Aging is announcing the availability of approximately $2.25 million for implementation of the requirements of the Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006. These projects will enable states to establish, enhance or expand Lifespan Respite Care systems, including new and planned emergency respite services, training and recruitment of respite workers and volunteers and assist caregivers with gaining access to needed respite services.

Under the 2010 "Lifespan Respite Care Program" announcement, AoA will award approximately ten to fifteen grants to states with federal funding up to $200,000 each for three-year project periods. AoA will fund projects that propose to serve all eligible respite recipients, including family members, foster parents, or other adults providing unpaid care to adults needing care to meet basic daily needs or prevent injury and to children who require care beyond that required to meet their basic needs. Over the course of these projects, states will work to expand and enhance respite care services to family members; improve the statewide dissemination and coordination of respite care; and provide, supplement, or improve access and quality of respite care services to family caregivers, thereby reducing family caregiver strain.

This is a limited grant competition. Awards will only be made to eligible state agencies who: administer the states program under the Older Americans Act of 1965; or administer title XIX of the social Security Act; or are designated by the Governor of the state to administer the State’s programs under this title who are an aging and disability resource center working in collaboration with a state respite coalition or organization, AND who are not currently funded under the Lifespan Respite Care Program.

The closing date for applications for this announcement is Monday, June 7, 2010. The deadline for submission of a letter of intent to apply for funding is Friday, May 7, 2010. Letters should be submitted by facsimile or e-mail to Greg Link at greg.link@aoa.hhs.gov or (202) 357-3558 (Fax). To learn more about this opportunity, please visit http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Grants/Funding/index.aspx.

Assistant Secretary for Aging Greenlee Announces Lifespan Respite Care Program Awards

Twelve grantees will develop and enhance coordinated, accessible, community-based respite care programs for caregivers across the lifespan.

Recognizing the daily sacrifices and challenges faced by family caregivers across the nation who work tirelessly to keep their loved ones at home, HHS Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee today announced 12 awards totaling nearly $2.3 million to implement the Lifespan Respite Care Program. Respite provides temporary relief for caregivers from the ongoing responsibility of caring for an individual of any age with special needs.

Awards of up to $200,000 each were made to the following: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. The announcement was made by Assistant Secretary Greenlee during the opening session of the 2009 National Respite Conference being held Sept. 24-25, 2009 in Burbank, Calif.

“Respite is a lynchpin of caregiver support and does much to strengthen the family system while protecting the health and well being of both caregiver and care recipient,” Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee said. “Respite is a key component of the long-term care system which relies heavily on the work and dedication of informal family caregivers.”

Funding was made possible through the enactment of the Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006 which defines respite care as “planned or emergency care provided to a child or adult with a special need in order to provide temporary relief to the family caregiver of that child or adult.” The Lifespan Respite Care Program is intended to accomplish several objectives, including expanding and enhancing respite services in the states, improving coordination and dissemination of service delivery, improving access and filling gaps in service delivery, and improving overall quality of respite services currently available. Those funded to implement Lifespan Respite Care Programs will work to expand and enhance respite care services to family caregivers of children or adults of all ages with special needs, who might not otherwise have access to respite services.

Grantees will also be improving statewide dissemination and coordination of respite care and providing, supplementing, or improving access to and quality of respite care services. The ultimate goal of these activities is the reduction of family caregiver strain.

The following agencies were awarded the grants:

Alabama Department of Senior Services

Arizona Department of Economic Security, Aging and Adult Services

Connecticut Department of Social Services, Aging Services Division

District of Columbia Office on Aging

Illinois Department on Aging

Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division

New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Special Medical Services

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Aging and Adult Services

Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs

South Carolina Lieutenant Governor’s Office on Aging

Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability

Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services

Grantees will be supported in their efforts to develop, expand and enhance Lifespan Respite Programs with targeted technical assistance and support provided by the Family Caregiver Alliance (San Francisco) working in partnership with the ARCH National Respite Coalition (Annandale, Va.) who received funding under a separate program announcement to work on a range of activities to support caregiver program development, including Lifespan Respite Programs.

For more information about the Lifespan Respite Care Program, please contact Greg Link at Greg.Link@aoa.hhs.gov For more information about the U.S. Administration on Aging, please visit: www.aoa.gov

Systematic review of respite care in the frail elderly

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This research is designed to assess the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of breaks in care in improving the well-being of informal carers of frail and disabled older people living in the community and to identify carer needs and barriers to uptake of respite services.

The questions addressed by the review are as follows.
1. How effective and cost-effective are respite interventions compared with no respite or other interventions?
2. What is the impact of respite interventions on care recipients?
3. What are the barriers to uptake of respite care?
4. What are carers’ expressed needs in relation to respite care?

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