	Respite Care

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-RC 4: Service Planning and Monitoring

Each caregiver participates in the development and ongoing review of a service plan that is the basis for delivery of appropriate services and support.

PA-RC 4.01

Caregivers are engaged in a strengths-based planning process for identifying needed services and desired results.

PA-RC 4.02

During service planning the agency explains:

available options;
the benefits and alternatives of planned services; and
how the agency can support the achievement of desired outcomes.

PA-RC 4.03

An expedited service-planning process is available when crisis or urgent need has been identified, and service plans are completed within time frames established by the agency.

PA-RC 4.04

The service plan is developed with the caregiver prior to the provision of care, and includes:

a description of services to be provided;
service goals, desired outcomes, and timeframes for achieving them;
guidelines for requesting additional planned or emergency respite care;
fees and payment arrangements, when applicable; and
the caregiver’s signature on the initial plan and significant revisions to the plan.

Research Note: Research suggests that respite care for caregivers of adults is more effective when used regularly and frequently.

PA-RC 4.05

The service plan addresses, as appropriate:

the family’s unmet service and support needs;
possibilities for maintaining and strengthening family relationships; and
the need for support of the individual’s informal social network.

PA-RC 4.06

The worker and a supervisor, or a clinical, service, or peer team, review the case to assess:

service plan implementation;
progress toward achieving goals and desired outcomes; and
the continuing appropriateness of the agreed upon goals.

Interpretation: Experienced workers may conduct reviews of their own cases. In such cases, the worker's supervisor reviews a sample of the worker's evaluations as per the requirements of the standard. Timeframes for the review should be adjusted depending upon issues and needs of persons receiving services, and the frequency and intensity of services provided. Planned respite care should be reviewed at least quarterly, and crisis respite care should be reviewed in a timeframe consistent with the length and frequency of service.

PA-RC 4.07

The worker and caregiver regularly review progress toward achievement of agreed upon service goals.

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	PURPOSE: Respite Care reduces caregiver stress, promotes the well-being and safety of care recipients, and contributes to stable families.

RELATED FILES


	CAREGIVER The provider of physical, emotional, and social needs to another person, often dependent and unable to provide for his or her own needs. Caregiver is the generic term used for the direct service providers in Community Care and Support Services (CCS).


	SERVICE PLAN A written plan of action based on the assessment of consumer needs and strengths that identifies problems, sets goals, and describes a strategy for achieving those goals and engaging in joint problem solving with the consumer. Also known as a "treatment plan".


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	SERVICE GOALS Broad, issue-oriented statements that reflect the realistic achievements to be accomplished in the short or long term. Goals are achieved through the accomplishment of specific quantifiable objectives.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	CLINICAL The study, assessment, and diagnosis of the client situation followed by direct treatment to help the client achieve prescribed goals.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	APPROPRIATENESS The degree to which a particular service, placement, treatment, intervention, or activity is: best suited to an individual's needs; not excessive, unduly intrusive, or restrictive; anticipated to be effective in achieving the desired and specified outcomes; and adequate or sufficient in quantity to address the problem.


	SAMPLE A portion or representative percentage of a greater whole.


	EVALUATION The review and assessment of organizational operations, programs and services.