Systems Change Grants for Community Living Compendium Third Edition Rhode Island RFC 2003

2003 Feasibility Studies and Development Grants — Respite for Children

RHODE ISLAND

Grant Information

Name of Grantee: Rhode Island Department of Human Services
Title of Grant: Real Choice Systems Change Grants for Community Living: Respite for Children
Type of Grant: Respite for Children
Amount of Grant: $100,000
Year Original Funding Received: 2003

Contact Information

Sharon Kernan, Project Coordinator
401–462–3392
Sharon K@dhs.ri.gov

Deborah Florio, Project Director
Center for Child and Family Health
Department of Human Services
600 New London Avenue
Cranston, RI 02920
401–462–0410
dflorio@dhs.ri.gov

Subcontractor(s)

None at this time.

Target Population(s)

Children with special health care needs and their families.

Goals

The goal of this project is to assess the need for and the feasibility of providing cost-effective respite care services for children with special health care needs and their caregivers.

Activities

Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to determine the nature, scope, and magnitude of the need for respite care.
Assess the current provisions for respite services to families and caregivers of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) by public and private agencies, using qualitative and quantitative analysis of current availability and future capacity of organizations that provide respite services.
Conduct a literature review on respite care services for children with special health care needs to identify models used and lessons learned.
Identify best practices used by other states that have respite care programs.
Design a respite care benefit that includes estimates of costs and use.
Identify state legislation and Medicaid State Plan amendments or waivers needed to implement a broader respite care program.
Draft an implementation and evaluation plan.

Abstract

The Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) has led the state in developing a system of care for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) that is responsive to consumer needs. Until recently, DHS and the Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals (MHRH) jointly administered, but MHRH actively managed, a home and community based services (HCBS) waiver to provide respite care and related services to persons with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities, including children. In addition, MHRH has provided respite care for approximately 300 children under a state-funded program. The Rhode Island General Assembly transferred responsibility for both programs to DHS effective July 1, 2003. DHS will now have an active role in assuring the provisions of respite care for a designated population.

This study will begin with a thorough analysis of the programs DHS has inherited from MHRH to determine who receives respite care, under what circumstances, provided by whom, and at what cost. DHS will also review more than 1,000 cases that have been assessed by the Comprehensive Evaluation, Diagnosis, Assessment, Referral, and Reevaluation (CEDARR) Family Centers to quantify the need for respite care and to update estimates from earlier focus groups. DHS will work with the Leadership Roundtable families and the CEDARR Interdepartmental Team to consider the benefit design options in providing respite care, to whom, at what cost, and with what potential for offsetting other costs. Particular attention will be paid to the possible role(s) of the CEDARR Family Centers in respite care.

This project may also be used to help develop tools necessary for implementing a more expansive respite care benefit, pending state budget approval. Activities may include drafting certification standards for providers, developing a recruitment and training program for providers, designing an outreach program for consumers, developing a monitoring and evaluation plan, outlining state legislation and state plan amendments and/or waivers, and preparing an implementation and phase-in strategy.