Rethinking Respite Policy for People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Respite care is one of a range of support services typically available to carers of people with dependencies who need a break from caring, and the factors that influence the need for respite care are generally similar irrespective of the nature of the dependencies. Hence, the expectations of families potentially have policy and service provision implications regardless of the jurisdiction. However, there is considerable variability in the provision of services, not only between jurisdictions, with differing levels of service development, but also within jurisdictions. The history of disjointed service provision suggests the need for a rethink of respite policy. The authors discuss the conceptual framework and prevalent thinking on respite policy such as a shared understanding of respite care among stakeholders. In turn, this shared understanding is seen as generating a move toward integrated service development, recasting respite as part of a continuum of family support services in which funding policies give families more control. The authors conclude that respite care provided in an integrated framework moves beyond the basic function of a break in caring to one of supporting family coping and resilience.