FY2017 Lifespan Respite Care Program: Advancing State Lifespan Respite Systems

The Lifespan Respite Care Act’s purpose is threefold: expand and enhance respite care services to family caregivers; 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. Since 2009, ACL has been making grants to states to develop or enhance their ability to provide coordinated, high quality respite services to caregivers of persons of all ages with disabilities. States who have received grants under this program have made considerable progress in building or strengthening their capacities to provide respite services. With this new funding opportunity, grantees will be asked to carefully examine the extent to which their state has a Lifespan Respite System and propose approaches that enable greater realization of such a system.