Become a Respite Care Provider

Respite care is care provided to a foster or adopted child for a short period of time by someone other than the primary caregivers (i.e. foster parents, adoptive parents, or kinship parents). Respite care gives foster, adoptive, and kinship parents and children the chance to have short, regular periods of time apart in which they can rest and recharge. It also provides crisis care for the times in which the trauma of the child is seriously impacting other members of the family. It enhances the quality of care for the child, gives parents a deserved and necessary break, and ensures healthy and stable placements for all children by preventing parental exhaustion and burnout. While respite care is designed primarily to provide rest and relief for the primary caregivers, the child in respite care also benefits. A temporary change of caregiver gives the child an opportunity to build new relationships and experience a bit of independence. Quality respite care can nurture the child’s sense of trust and stability through contact with additional stable and caring adults and their families. Respite care providers are an extremely important and valuable part of the foster care and adoption systems.

Respite providers are qualified, trained individuals who care for children on a temporary basis either in their own homes or in the homes of the families using respite care. It is very important that only qualified, well-trained respite caregivers whom families can trust with their children provide respite care. The certification process required for respite caregivers helps assure this goal. To qualify as a respite care provider, an individual must be at least 21 years old. The other requirements vary depending on whether the provider is an adoptive parent, a current foster parent, or has no previous association with the foster/adoptive systems. A respite provider doesn’t have to be married, be a parent, own his/her home, or have a large income. In other words, don’t assume there is something about your circumstances that will prevent you from becoming a respite provider. If you have questions about your eligibility, please ask us.

Foster and adoptive families are allotted a certain number of respite care units per child per year. The number of units depends on the child’s classification. They can divide those units up as they choose. The periods of respite care can last a day, a weekend, or a week. Respite care providers are free to choose the length of the periods of respite care they provide.

Care may be provided either at the respite care provider’s home (out-of-home care) or at the foster/adoptive family’s home (in-home care). Respite care providers choose the type of care they would like to provide.

When foster/adoptive/kinship parents are in need of respite care, they call FosterAdopt Connect and give us information about the kids in need of care, when care is needed, etc. We then match their request with appropriate respite providers on our referral list. Next we call the potential respite providers with information about the care needed, and if the respite provider is interested, he/she calls the foster/adoptive parents directly to arrange care.

If you are a foster parent, call FosterAdopt Connect and we will make every attempt to find a respite provider for you. If you are an adoptive parent, it is important to make sure the child for whom you are seeking care has a respite care subsidy in his/her adoption contract. If this is not the case, please call us and we will help you apply to amend the adoption contract to include a respite subsidy.

Absolutely. When someone applies to become a respite provider, he/she provides information about the type of children for whom he/she would like to provide care. The provider may change this information at any time. When we call a provider with a placement, we give the provider detailed information about the child in need of care, and the provider is free to decline a placement at any time.

The state of Missouri, through the Children’s Division of the Department of Social Services, reimburses respite providers at a rate of $20 per day for foster children classified as traditional or behavioral, and $40 per day for children classified as career. All children in foster care are automatically eligible for paid respite care. However, in order for a provider to be paid to provide respite care to an adopted child, the child must have a respite care subsidy written into his/her adoption contract. For foster children, the foster parent gives the respite provider a respite payment form. After the respite care is completed, the respite provider submits the payment form to Children’s Division, and Children’s Division sends a check directly to the respite provider. For adopted children, the rate (usually $20 per day) is written into the adoption contract. The adoptive parent pays the respite provider directly. The adoptive parent then submits a form to Children’s Division for reimbursement. Please note that FosterAdopt Connect’s respite program is a referral program only. Children’s Division is wholly responsible for payment to respite providers, and all questions regarding payment should first be addressed to Children’s Division.

The length of the process varies and depends in part on how quickly you complete the paperwork and how quickly the agencies involved act. We estimate that the average length of the entire process, from start to finish, is approximately 90 days for new respite providers, and less for currently licensed foster parents and respite providers.

While the need for respite care for foster children is clear, some people may wonder why adopted children need respite care. After all, they are in a stable, committed family. However, it is important to remember that these kids have been adopted from the foster care system. The numerous challenges they have, and the frustrations experienced by the parents, do not disappear when a family makes a lifetime commitment to them. The state of Missouri recognizes this, and includes a respite care subsidy in many adoption contracts.

Yes. For a variety of reasons, many potential providers aren’t able to care for a child in their home. However, there are other options. Some foster and adoptive families prefer in-home care (in the child’s home). Also, some churches have programs that provide a monthly family night out program where church members take care of foster and adopted children at the church for an evening. Sometimes that short period of time is all that is needed to help refresh and renew parents and kids. If your church would be interested in starting a program like this, let us know and we can help you get started.

We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about respite in the state of Misouri. Please call Maggie Kaiser at FosterAdopt Connect at (816) 350-0215 ext. 321, or e-mail maggie@fosteradopt.org.