8:04 a.m., April 10, 2009----A long-time goal of the University of Delaware's Center for Disabilities Studies (CDS) was realized when the Delaware Community Foundation (DCF) presented a check for $92,000 to the Delaware Lifespan Respite Information Network on April 1 to make respite services more accessible to caregivers in Delaware.

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Respite care is a temporary relief or “break” for caregivers and families who are caring for those with disabilities, chronic or terminal illnesses, or the elderly.

The network will be a service delivery system dedicated to helping people identify and secure the appropriate form of respite care.

CDS is collaborating with Easter Seals Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore, Delaware's Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities, Delaware's Division for Developmental Disabilities Services, Children & Families First, and other agencies, on implementing the plan for the network. Easter Seals is the lead agency.

CDS played a key role in developing the blueprint for this network through a contract from the Governor's Commission on Community-Based Alternatives for Persons with Disabilities. Tim Brooks, a disabilities specialist at CDS, chaired the committee that issued the 2007 report outlining a plan to address the lack of coordination of and growing need for respite care services in Delaware.

Brooks said it is because of his son, who has severe disabilities, that he has an understanding of how critical respite care is for caregivers.

Approximately 130,000 adults in Delaware provide unpaid support and care for a relative or a friend. They have been challenged by lack of centralized information to find respite services, inadequate supply of respite care providers, lack of quality care and lack of financial resources to pay for the care.

The report issued in 2007 included a three-year operational plan for a statewide system to provide respite across the lifespan and called for the formation of the Delaware Caregivers Support Coalition. This coalition of consumers, service providers and advocates worked to find funding to implement the plan.

In addition to the $92,000 grant from DCF, the coalition secured grants of $100,000 each from the Longwood and Welfare foundations.

At the recent check presentation, Fred C. Sears II, DCF president and chief executive officer, said that the foundation is particularly pleased to support coalitions that understand the importance of working together on behalf of Delawareans.

He noted that the DCF looks at the grant as “a three-year venture,” and assuming the project moves forward in its first year, the coalition will be able to apply for two more years of funding.

Accepting the check were Tim Brooks, Barbara Snyder of Easter Seals, who will manage the project, and Easter Seals president and CEO William A. Adami.

The network's advisory committee believes it is important to use local funding to create an infrastructure that will position the Delaware Lifespan Respite Information Network to receive federal funding when the Lifespan Respite Care Act is implemented in 2010.

Immediate goals include having an information and referral database and network in place by July 1, with assistance from Children & Families First, as well as a “small pocket of money for vouchers,” said Snyder.

The committee is developing a set of policies for distribution of $25,000 that will be available to families for respite care. Snyder noted the importance these vouchers, given the current economy, when services may be cut back to people with disabilities. “Families will be more stressed and have a greater need for respite services,” she said.

To learn more about the Delaware Lifespan Respite Information Network, contact Barbara Snyder at 302-324-4444 or visit the Easter Seals Web site.

Article by Michele Sands