Respite

This report briefly describes the New Jersey Statewide Respite Care Program. The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) administers a state-funded, Statewide Respite Care Program providing a wide variety of services to relieve unpaid, informal caregivers from the stress of caring for older people and/or people with disabilities. The respite program customizes services to the person and the caregiver, with a focus on alleviating caregiver stress.

This report evaluates a range of respite care needs, presents various respite care services,provides proposed enabling legislation and a nonprofit organizational structure, and supplemental information potentially useful for beginning and operating a respite care program.