In addition, families that access respite or crisis care can often receive comprehensive services from the same provider for a wide variety of needs, including case management, sibling care, counseling, and parenting classes. Surveys indicate that although respite and crisis care programs support people of all ages, the majority focus on children and their families. Overall, respite only programs are more likely to serve adults than programs that also offer crisis care. Other languages listed in returned surveys include Hmong, Russian, Korean, African dialects, Romanian, Tagalog, French, American Sign Language, and Braille. A significant difference exists between programs that provide respite care only and those that offer both respite and crisis care services.
Respite programs help families prevent crisis by reducing stress.
They allow caregivers to take a break from caring for children or dependent adults with serious medical or emotional conditions or disabilities. Crisis care programs provide basic services to families in imminent need. Although both respite and crisis care providers support families of people with disabilities, the surveys demonstrate that programs that provide crisis care emphasize different types of needs than programs that only offer respite care. In addition to family and provider homes, crisis care clients can frequently access services in residential facilities. Of the 51 programs that responded to the survey, respite providers reported serving 9,604 families during the year.