U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) is offering the Lifespan Respite Care Program Expansion Grant to enhance and expand respite services for family caregivers.

Further, this funding opportunity is only open to current Lifespan Respite Care Program grantees in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington State, and Wisconsin.

Successful applicants under this funding opportunity will be required to focus on the direct provision of respite services so as to fill identified gaps in service delivery and address unmet respite needs of family caregivers across the lifespan. In addition to the direct provision of respite services, grantees may also opt to use some portion of funds to further augment and strengthen any of the other required or optional services permitted, including developing and providing emergency respite services; further recruitment and training of respite care workers and volunteers; and strengthening/enhancing access assistance for caregivers seeking respite services.

Eligible respite recipients include family members, foster parents, or other adults providing unpaid care to adults who require care to meet basic needs or prevent injury and to children who require care beyond that required to meet the basic needs of the child. Lifespan Respite Care services provided through projects funded under this Announcement must, from the outset, address the respite needs of all age and disability/special needs populations. No phase-in or preferences for specific age groups or disability categories will be permitted.

This is a highly competitive opportunity. Limited funds are available to support proposed projects and not all states that apply will be funded. Applications will be evaluated on the degree to which applicants demonstrate the capacity to deliver Lifespan Respite Care Services and address the required elements of this Program Announcement, including a description of the extent to which each of the core capacities (outlined on pages 7 and 8 of this Announcement) are in place. Only those applications deemed to show the greatest likelihood of building on advancements made during the previous one or two years of Lifespan Respite Care Program development will be selected for funding.