Caregiver respite grants for older adult loved ones

If you’re a family caregiver supporting a parent or another older adult, you know how meaningful and rewarding that role can be. Helping your loved one remain in the comfort of home, surrounded by family and friends and connected to their own community, can contribute to their long-term happiness while allowing them to stay in a familiar place.

At the same time, providing care at home can feel like a full-time job, with significant physical, financial, and mental health effects. If your loved one is sick or has a disability, supporting them may feel especially stressful and interfere with your daily activities and other responsibilities. To keep providing the care they need and deserve at home, it’s important to give yourself an occasional break. Respite care can provide that time while making sure your loved one still has support.

What are caregiver respite grants?

Caregiver respite grants exist for this reason. These programs may allow family caregivers to arrange short-term stays for their loved ones in residential care communities or receive additional in-home care and overnight respite.

This support gives you time to handle your own needs, obligations, and responsibilities while helping ensure that your loved one continues to receive appropriate care. Some research shows that 77% of family caregivers report that respite services have helped them care for their loved one longer, while 89% say the services have made them a better caregiver.¹

Public and private sources fund caregiver respite grants, which are available through a nationwide network of different services. Many programs specialize in supporting older adults with specific conditions, circumstances, or care needs.

4 caregiver respite programs

Finding the right program may take some research, but the following resources can help you explore respite grants and services that fit your situation and your loved one’s needs:

• The ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center

ARCH is a comprehensive resource for families seeking general information about what respite services are and which options may be available to them. It also provides detailed articles about applying for funding, contacting state and national agencies, and evaluating different programs. This resource may be a helpful starting point if you’re beginning to explore caregiver respite grants or trying to understand where to look for support.

• Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) Family Respite Care Grant

The AFA provides grants to its nonprofit member organizations nationwide. Those organizations then distribute the money to people living with Alzheimer’s or a related form of dementia so they can receive different types of respite care. Services may include social model adult day programs, in-home aides, companion care, or overnight respite.

• The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) Day Programs and Respite

The AFTD provides a variety of services for families and individuals affected by frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), including adult day programs, in-home care, and respite and travel grant programs. The respite and travel grant program offers a maximum annual grant of $500 and requires little beyond documentation that a loved one has FTD.

• Respite care from the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP)

The NFCSP is a public program that issues grants to states to support family caregivers in several ways, including through the Caregiver Respite Care program. Depending on the older adult’s needs, services may include in-home care, adult day centers, or overnight residential care. Local organizations within the Area Agencies on Aging network administer these services.

Taking care of yourself is an important part of caregiving and can help you avoid caregiver burnout. Finding respite grants and services that fit your needs and your loved one’s needs may require some work and research at first, but the support can help you maintain balance over time and continue caring for your loved one at home. If you know someone caring for an older adult, consider helping them research respite care and grants so they can get the breaks they need to care for themselves, meet their other obligations, and support their loved one.