Respite Basics

What is respite, where do you find respite, and how do you pay for respite?

Definition of Respite:

1. “A period of temporary delay” 
2. “An interval of rest or relief”

What do you Pay?

If you are paying out of pocket, you can pay whatever you feel the respite provider is worth. Please keep in mind that if you over or under pay, that reflects on other families. The range is typically $15 to $25 per hour. If you are paying additional expenses (gas, etc.), you may consider paying less. If you aren’t paying for a respite provider’s fuel and they are driving your child around, you may want to consider paying a higher hourly wage. Other factors that may determine an hourly wage include:

• Experience
• Qualifications
• Are they required to drive your children to and from places?
• Are they required to provide any medical care (tube feeding, etc.) or self-help care (toileting, etc.)?

If you are paying with your government respite funding (through At Home or MCFD Respite) the guideline is to not pay more than $100 per day. There is no prescribed hourly wage.

Questions to ask a potential respite provider 

Before hiring anyone to help your loved ones it is good to do your diligence, as in an interview process. Consider asking about:

1. Qualifications.
2. Criminal record check.
3. References.
4. Availability.
5. Wage request.
6. Experience.
7. What will you not do?
8. Do you have any questions?
9. Do you have a current job? If so, what is it?
10. Do you drive? How much liability do you have on your vehicle? Do you have it rated for the correct rate class?
11. Why are you interested in this position?

Respite Funding Types:

1) Paying Privately

2) MCFD (Ministry of Children & Family Development) Respite

• Waitlists depend on the region, can be anywhere from several months to several years
• Referral required from a Social Worker at CYSN (Children & Youth with Support Needs)
• MCFD does prioritize based on a family’s circumstances. Therefore, one family may be approved before another family that has been on the waitlist longer.
• Depending on the region families may or may not be responsible for contracting their own respite provider (in the Interior families do contract their own provider).
• This respite service is not listed under Autism Services on the MCFD website, rather under intellectual disabilities: learn more HERE
• Therefore, families may not be aware that respite exists if their social worker didn’t mention it. That being said, if a family has not been appointed a CYSN Social Worker they can put in a request for one by contacting the local CYSN office or going through the Intake Worker that may have talked to them at initial diagnosis.
• Sometimes parents do not see the need for respite until their children become a certain age and are more demanding. It is strongly encouraged to get on the wait-list for respite at the time of diagnosis. You can always be removed from the list if you do not need it.
• Emergency respite – if a family is undergoing a crisis, sometimes emergency respite funding is available for a few months through CYSN. This respite would give the families a few hundred dollars per month for respite care. However, the families are still responsible for contracting their own respite provider.

3) At Home Program Respite 

• Two streams of funding, either for Medical Benefits (Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Therapy, or Physiotherapy) or for Respite.
• Contact your CYSN social worker and ask for a referral.
• A nurse will come out to your home and assess your child.
• When you are answering questions make sure you answer based on your child’s worst day
• Child must not be independent with 3 out of 4 of the following skills: eating, bathing, dressing and toileting
• Again families are responsible for contracting their own respite providers
• Usually, it is set up the same (guardian/parent gets a cheque each month) unless there are some issues or the MCFD worker and the family are using a contracted respite caregiver that is through MCFD

4) CLBC (Community Living BC) Wellness Supports

• “This is standard minimum funding available to individuals and families that can be used flexibly for wellness supports (formerly called respite) or contracted services. Beginning April 1, 2023, this funding is increasing from $300 per month to $350 per month (or $3,600 per year to $4,200 per year).” (CLBC Update, March 2023) 
• Talk to a CLBC Facilitator about wellness supports please contact your local CLBC office. Click here to find your local office contact information. 

5) FASD Respite Grant 

• The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) – in partnership with The Asante Centre and Carrier Sekani Family Services – will distribute respite funding to support families with children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). This includes children and youth without official diagnoses. *Applications opens at 8:30 am on Thursday, February 9, 2023.*

Other respite resources:   

Care.com – “Find Trusted Locals for Your Every Need.” (Care.com, 2023) 

Support Worker Central – “A Job Board Connecting People with Disabilities and Support Staff.” (Support Worker Central, 2023) 

Related articles

Vancouver Island Autism Resources

Northern BC Autism Resources

Interior BC Autism Resources