What is respite care?
Respite care services enable families caring for a person with a physical, intellectual or neurological disability,
ABI or sensory impairment, to have a break from the demands of caring for that person. These services also provide a positive experience for the person with a disability.
Respite care can be provided by trained care givers in the family home, the care giver’s home, community residential facilities, or through school holiday programs, camps and other recreational activities.
Care can be available for either a few hours, overnight, a weekend or a few weeks. It can also be available
in an emergency or on a planned regular basis.
Who can use respite care?
All families caring for a person with a disability can use respite care.
Why the need for respite care?
Families caring for children or adults with a disability may need time for themselves to:
• Shop
• Have a night out
• Read
• Attend an appointment
• Have a holiday
• Relax or... sleep
For a family caring for a relative with a disability, the demands of caring can be greater than for other families. Parents, brothers and sisters of a person with a disability need the same opportunities for relaxation as anyone else. Yet these families often have difficulty finding someone to care for their relative while they have time out, spend time with other children, or carry out other responsibilities. That’s why respite care is organised - so people
can have a break.
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Does a person with a disability benefit from respite care?
An adult or child with a disability often has fewer social and recreational opportunities than a person without a disability. Respite care offers time for people with a disability to enjoy the company of other children and adults as well as opportunities to learn and develop their abilities.
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What is available for me?
The following pages provide basic information about the respite care services which currently exist for families of people with a disability, living in the Southern Metropolitan Region of the Department of Human Services. The information is meant as a starting point to enable you to decide which services may be suitable for your family and which you may wish to contact for more information. Please feel free to contact these services - they are there for you.
The services usually operate by taking bookings in advance and hence may not have immediate vacancies. It is therefore important to request care as soon as you know when you want it. However, in emergencies these services will make every attempt to assist families. Some services cater for either children or adults. Children’s Services will cater for those under 18 and adult services will generally cater for people 16 and older.
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Recreation and leisure opportunities - What’s available?
Respite services offering recreation and leisure activities:
Getting involved in recreation, sports and arts activities creates social opportunities as well as the chance to develop particular interests. Many respite services now offer social groups, camps and other leisure activities,
providing great opportunities for the person with disability, as well as a break for families.
Opportunities to participate in Community Recreation and Sport:
In addition to these respite services, there are new opportunities for people with disabilities to regularly participate in activities in their local communities. Increasingly community leisure and sporting groups are recognizing how they can include people with disabilities in their activities.
The Access for All Abilities services are funded to work with community sport and recreation providers to assist these organisations to extend their activities to make sure that people with disabilities are able to participate in activities of their choice in their local communities.
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How do I decide?
No two respite care services are exactly the same. To ensure suitable care is provided for your relative and that it will be an enjoyable experience for him/her as well as a rest for you, it is important to check the following:
• The range of services available
• The hours of availability
• The kind of care provided
• The training of the care provider
• Whether leaving the disabled person in the care of a particular person feels comfortable
• The limits on who can use the service or how much time per person is available
If you wish to discuss services generally, contact Careline on FREECALL 1800 059 059 during business hours.
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What will it cost?
Costs vary from service to service and therefore need to be discussed when making enquiries. Commonwealth funded mainstream childcare services may attract a Child Care Benefit. As a general rule residential services
for adults cost between 75% and 80% of the pension for an equivalent time.
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What if I'm not happy with the service?
If you are not happy with the standard of care, or feel you are being denied a service, this should be discussed in the first instance with the organisation providing the service concerned. If this is not possible or you feel dissatisfied with the response, you should contact the Southern Region Respite Co-ordinator, Department of Human Services (P: 9767 8631) or the Public Advocate (P: 9603 9500).
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Where do I start?
A good place to start is the ‘entry point’ or ‘Gateway’ to disability respite in the Southern Region, Careline. The Department of Human Services has funded Commonwealth Respite & Carelink Centre to provide Disability Respite Coordination services through the CareLine service and through the development of website resources, for families and carers of people with disabilities.
There are 2 key starting points to begin exploring your respite options.
1.
Commonwealth Respite & Carelink Centre (CRCC): FREECALL 1800 052 222
Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre Southern Region is the regional contact point for families and carers of children or adults with a disability, mental illness, chronic illness or frail aged. The services include:
- CareLine – a telephone service providing 24 hour urgent respite, respite planning and support to carers. CareLine assists families and carers to access a range of disability respite services including in home, recreational activities and facility based options, through discussion and referral.
- Carer Support – short term face to face support and respite planning for carers to assist them to access ongoing and longer term respite and support services.
- Community Information – a telephone service providing information to the community in business hours regarding the aged, disability and community care services available.
For specialised information about disability respite information, go to www.respitesouth.org.au website.
For general information about support to carers, including carer support groups, go to www.carersouth.org.au website
2. Department of Human Services, Intake and Response: 1300 131 079
DHS operates the Intake and Response program which provides information and support to families of people with disabilities. The Intake and Response service provides access to a range of respite options for families, including case management services, facility based respite and the opportunity to register the child or adult being supported with DHS in order to assist future planning and access to suitable respite and/or other services.
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Metro Access
Metro Access is an initiative funded by the Department of Human Services. Metro Access planners are located within each local government area. Their role is to: mobilise and support people with disabilities to optimise participation in the life of their local community; build and strengthen the community's capacity to provide support to people with disabilities and their families; facilitate integrated local community planning and coordination which engages and involves people with disabilities and their families, disability service providers and community organisations; work with existing disability support providers to enhance their capacity to provide relevant and appropriate supports in the community; improve access to information about relevant services and community activities available to people with disabilities in their communities.
Contact your local Metro Access planner through your local council.
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General Contacts
Please refer to the contacts for assistance section for all telephone numbers of information services and organisations catering for people with specific disabilities.
Please note, Time For a Break does not cover services for carers of frail older people or adults with acquired disabilities.
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