DISCUSSION:

Respite care is designed to provide temporary relief from stressful situations. Respite care may be planned in advance or used due to an immediate family need. Respite care is made available to resource providers based on the needs of the family. These needs may include, but are not limited to, illness, death in the family, hospitalization, or imminent risk of removal of the child where "time out" would stabilize the placement. Respite care should not be used for regular child care purposes. Respite care for children in specialized foster care, such as youth with elevated needs foster homes, will be provided per the respective program guidelines.

As the result of a CQI request and following discussion with the Executive team, respite policy has been updated to allow staff the ability, on a case by case basis, to obtain supervisor approval for up to 20 units of respite for a resource provider per child. Approval to exceed 20 units requires the approval of the regional director or their designee.

When families require approval for over 20 units of respite, consultation with the case manager, licensing worker and supervisor should occur to assure any additional supports, services, training, etc., are offered to the family to stabilize placements in the resource family.