Our Respite Program serves birth parents, foster parents and relative caregivers who are caring for children with special needs. The children in the program may include children who are developmentally disabled, prenatally substance exposed, abused or neglected, or at risk of abuse or neglect. The program also serves CalWORKs families who may need mildly ill or emergency backup childcare.

Funding for these programs is through a combination of federal, state, county and private funds. Most referrals come from community-based organizations, although self-referrals are accepted for some programs.

In-Home Respite: Carefully screened and trained respite providers provide childcare in the homes of families.

Out-of-Home Respite: FSSBA is a licensed foster family agency and has private licensed daycare homes to care for children. These certifiied host families provide daytime, overnight, or multiple day stays.

Site-Based Respite: Respite is provided to groups of children at various locations while parents attend support groups, parenting classes, job search and training programs or health programs.

The Respite Program has demonstrated success in reducing family stress, improving family relationships, improving caregivers’ abilities to attend to their own health needs and to maintain their employment. Last year the program served over 1400 children, 600+ families and provided over 90,000 hours of service.

The value of the services family caregivers provide for “free” is estimated to be $257 billion a year. According to the Health Care Financing Administration, “Without respite, the result could be far more costly, including unnecessary nursing home, foster care, or institutional placements.”

Read the SF Respite Sub Pool Report (PDF).

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