109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3248
AN ACT 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a pro-
gram to assist family caregivers in accessing affordable 
and high-quality respite care, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lifespan Respite Care 
Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. LIFESPAN RESPITE CARE. 
The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘TITLE XXIX—LIFESPAN 
RESPITE CARE 
‘‘SEC. 2901. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this title: 
‘‘(1) ADULT WITH A SPECIAL NEED.—The term 
‘adult with a special need’ means a person 18 years 
of age or older who requires care or supervision to—
‘‘(A) meet the person’s basic needs; 
‘‘(B) prevent physical self-injury or injury 
to others; or 
‘‘(C) avoid placement in an institutional 
facility. 
‘‘(2) AGING AND DISABILITY RESOURCE CEN-
TER.—The term ‘aging and disability resource cen-
ter’ means an entity administering a program estab-
lished by the State, as part of the State’s system of 
long-term care, to provide a coordinated system for 
providing—
‘‘(A) comprehensive information on avail-
able public and private long-term care pro-
grams, options, and resources; 
‘‘(B) personal counseling to assist individ-
uals in assessing their existing or anticipated 
long-term care needs, and developing and imple-
menting a plan for long-term care designed to 
meet their specific needs and circumstances; 
and 
‘‘(C) consumer access to the range of pub-
licly supported long-term care programs for 
which consumers may be eligible, by serving as 
a convenient point of entry for such programs. 
‘‘(3) CHILD WITH A SPECIAL NEED.—The term 
‘child with a special need’ means an individual less 
than 18 years of age who requires care or super-
vision beyond that required of children generally 
to—
‘‘(A) meet the child’s basic needs; or 
‘‘(B) prevent physical injury, self-injury, or 
injury to others. 
‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE STATE AGENCY.—The term ‘eli-
gible State agency’ means a State agency that—
‘‘(A) administers the State’s program 
under the Older Americans Act of 1965, admin-
isters the State’s program under title XIX of 
the Social Security Act, or is designated by the 
Governor of such State to administer the 
State’s programs under this title; 
‘‘(B) is an aging and disability resource 
center; 
‘‘(C) works in collaboration with a public 
or private nonprofit statewide respite care coali-
tion or organization; and 
‘‘(D) demonstrates—
‘‘(i) an ability to work with other 
State and community-based agencies; 
‘‘(ii) an understanding of respite care 
and family caregiver issues across all age 
groups, disabilities, and chronic conditions; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the capacity to ensure meaning-
ful involvement of family members, family 
caregivers, and care recipients. 
‘‘(5) FAMILY
CAREGIVER.—The term ‘family 
caregiver’ means an unpaid family member, a foster 
parent, or another unpaid adult, who provides in-
home monitoring, management, supervision, or 
treatment of a child or adult with a special need.
‘‘(6) LIFESPAN RESPITE CARE.—The term ‘life-
span respite care’ means a coordinated system of ac-
cessible, community-based respite care services for 
family caregivers of children or adults with special 
needs. 
‘‘(7) RESPITE CARE.—The term ‘respite care’ 
means 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. 
‘‘(8) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any of 
the several States, the District of Columbia, the Vir-
gin Islands of the United States, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
‘‘SEC. 2902. LIFESPAN RESPITE CARE GRANTS AND COOP-
ERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are—
‘‘(1) to expand and enhance respite care serv-
ices to family caregivers; 
‘‘(2) to improve the statewide dissemination and 
coordination of respite care; and 
‘‘(3) to provide, supplement, or improve access 
and quality of respite care services to family care-
givers, thereby reducing family caregiver strain.
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to subsection (e), the 
Secretary is authorized to award grants or cooperative 
agreements for the purposes described in subsection (a) 
to eligible State agencies for which an application is sub-
mitted pursuant to subsection (d). 
‘‘(c) FEDERAL LIFESPAN APPROACH.—In carrying 
out this section, the Secretary shall work in cooperation 
with the National Family Caregiver Support Program of 
the Administration on Aging and other respite care pro-
grams within the Department of Health and Human Serv-
ices to ensure coordination of respite care services for fam-
ily caregivers of children and adults with special needs. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—
‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—Each Governor desiring the 
eligible State agency of his or her State to receive 
a grant or cooperative agreement under this section 
shall submit an application on behalf of such agency 
to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary shall 
require. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 
under this section shall include—
‘‘(A) a description of the eligible State 
agency’s—