Children's Respite Services

Respite is a service providing temporary, short-term care for children and adults with developmental disabilities in their own home, a trained provider’s home, or in a community based, recreational setting. Respite services are available to individuals of all ages. There is no cost to parents once the services have been approved.

To receive respite services, an individual must be approved by their Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) Social Worker, who determines how many hours that individual will receive per year. A standard authorization is 180 hours per year per family. This program is administered by Training Thru Placement, Inc., which is a private non-profit organization.

To apply for Respite, parents should contact their DDD Social Worker to obtain approval. Those who already receive Katie Beckett, RIte Care or SSI supports are already in the system and should apply to the Social Worker who approved those supports. In the Kent County area, they should probably be contacting Linda Giguere at 462-2461. The supervisor of the Children’s Unit is Patricia Fallon, located at 462-2563.

All adults who receive services from DDD have a caseworker already assigned to them and should contact that person for respite services. Or you may contact the Social Services Department at the Division of Developmental Disabilities at 464-3421. Once the DDD Social Worker has authorized an individual for respite services, they may call Marie Lindstrom at 739-2700 ext 256 or email her at MLindstrom@kentcountyarc.net for the required forms to receive respite through the Kent County Arc.

Respite hours are always authorized from the time period of July 1st to June 30th and do not carry over from year to year. All staff providing respite have undergone BCI (criminal background) and Cants (DCYF) checks. Respite workers are not responsible for any therapeutic services.

1. Call the Division of Developmental Disabilities to determine eligibility for your family (464-3421).



2. Contact your closest Area Coordinator.
   (In the Kent County area, contact Marie Lindstrom at 739-2700 ext 256.)



3. The Area Coordinator will forward you a Personal Information Packet (PIP), Emergency Medical Release (EMR), and Guidelines for Provision of Service.



4. Keep the completed original PIP and EMR to give to the respite provider at the time of a respite. Send a copy of the completed packet to the Area Coordinator.



5. Contact your Area Coordinator (Marie Lindstrom) to request service. Please call one week in advance. Emergencies will be handled on an individual basis.