Respite care for caregivers of people with disabilities

Personal, permanent care for child or an adult whose disability is associated with a wide range of health problems leading to a significant limitation of independence, very often means the need for support in almost every element of everyday life. Family members and caregivers must sacrifice their daily schedule for activities related to care and assistance, which usually means living in conditions of constant psychophysical stress. Many people in such a situation give up on participation in social and professional life, neglect their own health or other needs and completely give up on their individual aspirations.

Respite care is designed to relieve family members or caregivers of disabled people by supporting them in everyday duties or providing a temporary replacement. Thanks to this support, people involved in caring on a daily basis will have time to spend on rest and regeneration, as well as on settling necessary matters. Respite care services can also be used to temporarily secure the needs of a disabled person in a situation where caregivers, for various reasons, will not be able to perform their duties.

Two programs for respite care services are being implemented in 2022 from the Solidarity Fund, i.e.: 

  1. "Respite care" - 2022 edition and
  2. "Respite care for family members or caregivers of people with disabilities" - 2022 edition,

hereinafter referred to as "respite care programs" or "programs".

 

Who are the respite care programs for?

The programs are addressed to family members or caregivers who require support in the form of an ad hoc temporary break in direct care of children with a disability certificate, as well as people with a certificate of severe disability or a certificate treated on an equal footing with a certificate of severe disability.

 

Goals of the programs

 

Main goal

The main goal of respite care programs is to support family members or caregivers who are directly responsible for:

  1. children with a disability certificate,
  2. persons with:
    • certificate of severe disability (in accordance with the Act of August 27, 1997 on vocational and social rehabilitation and employment of disabled people (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 573, as amended) or
    • a certificate treated on an equal footing with a certificate of severe disability (in accordance with Article 5 and Article 62 of the above-mentioned Act of August 27, 1997 on vocational and social rehabilitation and employment of disabled people)

through the possibility of obtaining ad hoc temporary help in the form of a respite care service.

 

Intermediate goals

The programs are also intended to provide:

  1. in relation to system solutions:
    1. strengthening the existing support system by providing respite care services for family members or caregivers who take direct care of children with a certified disability or persons with a severe degree of disability/people with a certificate treated on an equal footing with a certificate of severe disability,
    2. financial support for communes/counties in the provision of respite care services (in the case of the "Respite care" program);
    3. using the potential of non-governmental organizations referred to in art. 3 sec. 2 and the entities referred to in Art. 3 sec. 3 points 1 and 3 of the Act of 24 April 2003 on public benefit activities and volunteer work (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 1327, as amended) - having a statutory record on conducting activities for people with disabilities and operating for these persons for a period of at least 3 years prior to the date of submission of tenders (in the case of the "Respite care for family members or caregivers of people with disabilities" program);
  2. in relation to family members or caregivers of disabled people: temporary relief from daily care duties, providing time for rest and regeneration.

 

Who can benefit?

The program is addressed to family members or caregivers who take direct care of children with a disability certificate and people with a severe disability certificate or a certificate treated on an equal footing with a severe disability certificate who require respite care.

 

Important!

Respite care services are available in the case of a family member or caregiver referred to above living in a common household with a disabled person and providing round-the-clock care for the disabled person.

 

Eligibility of participants for programs

When granting respite care services, program implementers take into account the health and life situation of disabled people and participants. In the first place, they take into account the needs of family members or caregivers who take direct care of a child with a disability certificate or a person with a severe degree of disability or a certificate treated on an equal footing with a certificate of severe disability who:

  1. has a multiple/combined disability (combined disability is understood as having a certificate indicating at least two causes of disability),
  2. requires a high level of support (people with a significant degree of disability and disabled children with a disability certificate, including indications in points 7 and 8 in the disability certificate, i.e. the need for permanent or long-term care or assistance of another person due to a significantly limited ability to live independently and the need for constant participation of the child's caregiver in the process of treatment, rehabilitation and education on a daily basis) or
  3. stays at home all the time, i.e. does not use a support center or 24-hour stay facilities, e.g. a school and care center or a boarding house.

In order to reliably qualify people with disabilities, a measurement of limitations in everyday functioning and the scope of necessary support was introduced. The assessment of limitations in everyday functioning and the scope of necessary support is made on the basis of the data contained in the Functional Independence Measurement Card according to modified assessment criteria - FIM Scale along with additional information to the template of the Functional Independence Measurement Card according to modified assessment criteria

Wzor karty pomiaru niezależności funkcjonalnej wg zmodyfikowanych kryteriów oceny – Skali FIM, docx, 23.66 KB

The card can be filled by:

  • family doctor
  • medical rehabilitation doctor
  • physiotherapist
  • nurse

Functional Independence Measurement Card according to modified assessment criteria is not a mandatory document, however, in the event of a large number of applications, respite care program participants with this Card will be provided priority access to respite care services.

 

Forms of program implementation

Programs in the field of respite care are implemented in two forms:

  1. providing respite care services as part of a day stay
    1. in the case of the "Respite care" Program - 2022 edition in:
      • place of residence of the disabled person;
      • a support center;
      • another place indicated by the participant, which receives a positive opinion of the commune/county;
      • a social welfare home based on a resolution adopted by the commune or county;
    2. in the case of the "Respite care for family members or caregivers of people with disabilities" Program - 2022 edition in:
      • place of residence of the disabled person;
      • another place indicated by a disabled person or a participant, which receives a positive opinion of the program implementer;
         
  2. providing respite care services as part of a 24-hour stay
    1. in the case of the "Respite care" Program - 2022 edition in:
      • a support center;
      • a center/facilityproviding round-the-clock care for people with disabilities, entered in the register of the proper voivodship governor ;
      • another place indicated by the participant, which receives a positive opinion of the commune/county;
      • a social welfare home based on a resolution adopted by the commune or county;
    2. in the case of the "Respite care for family members or caregivers of people with disabilities" Program - 2022 edition in:
      • a center/facility providing round-the-clock care for persons with disabilities entered in the register of the proper voivodship governor, led by the program implementer;
      • another place indicated by a disabled person or a participant, which receives a positive opinion of the program implementer.

 

Service limits

The limit of respite care services financed from the resources of the Solidarity Fund per one participant is not more than:

  • 240 hours for respite care services provided as a part of a day stay and
  • 14 days for respite care services provided as part of a 24-hour stay

The above limits also apply to:

  1. more than one caregiver taking direct care of one disabled person;
  2. a caregiver taking direct care of more than 1 disabled person.

Respite care is free within the stated limits.

Information on institutions that provide access to respite care services can be found in our "Help Base".

 

Legal basis

The legal basis for programs financed by the Solidarity Fund is Art. 7 sec. 5 and Art. 13 of the Act of October 23, 2018 on the Solidarity Fund.