Respite Training Resources

A free curriculum, developed by the Arizona Direct Care Workforce Committee, intended for self-study or classroom study by direct-care workers. Covers fundamentals, aging and physical disabilities, developmental disabilities, and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

A free online curriculum, developed by Easter Seals Wisconsin and Respite Care Association of Wisconsin, intended for people providing care to individuals of varying disabilities and ages. Covers disability basics, lifts and transfers, personal care / daily living skills, medication administration, communication techniques, abuse and neglect, caring for challenging behaviors, free time activities, and making connections regarding meeting and training with family.

A tool designed to help practitioners evaluate the needs of family caregivers. Offered by the Family Caregiver Alliance National Center on Caregiving to advance the family-centered approach to service delivery.

A manual produced by Interfaith CarePartners for congregations. It covers how to create and conduct a congregational or community caregiving team.

The guidelines provide principles addressing quality indicators for various respite models and services. They can act as a checklist for respite providers to review as they address service delivery issues. The guidelines are intended to be used by respite programs, individual providers, health care providers, human services agencies (i.e., disability, health, aging and children), state agencies, planning groups, stakeholders and others who are interested in advancing quality respite. 

For respite providers who work independently with families who self-direct their care services, it is important to keep in mind some common roles and responsibilities. 

Butler County Community College in El Dorado, KS, currently offers the following online courses in the field of Direct Care: Direct Support 100 and Direct Support 201.

Direct Support 100 is designed to help Direct Support Professionals to complete the training and documentation necessary to become nationally certified as a Direct Support Professional by the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals. 

Direct Support 201 is designed to help Frontline Supervisors of Direct Support Professionals to complete the training and documentation necessary to become nationally certified as a Frontline Supervisor by the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals.

For more information, visit: http://documents.butlercc.edu/outline/outlnmsc/Social_Work_SW/index.html or email Daniel Hermreck.

A series of online training modules for direct-care workers who care for people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The programs provide individual certification from the Alzheimer's Association.

This manual gives step-by-step instructions on how to begin a respite care program. The 332-page book includes chapters on needs assessment, the planning process, program models, budget, collaboration, marketing, funding, administrative policies and procedures, staffing, daily operations, and evaluation. Included are sample forms, policies, job descriptions, and other resources which can help existing programs reevaluate the design of their current services.

$25.00 + $6.00 shipping.
Order online

This 258-page manual, contains all of the topics addressed in the original manual (Bringing Respite to Your Community). Examples, forms, and resources relevant to services for adults were substituted for those in the original document.

$25.00 + $6.00 shipping.
Order online

A manual to help community-based programs assess their individual needs, plan and implement volunteer respite programs, and build respite capacity through volunteer training and recruitment. Developed by the ARCH National Respite Network and Easter Seals. 

A manual to help create and conduct a congregational or community caregiving team.  Developed by Interfaith CarePartners.

A specialized educational course to help prepare volunteers to care for clients with various diagnoses, ranging from children with developmental disabilities, to adults recovering from a stroke or an accident, and older adults diagnosed with a form of dementia.

The “Train the Trainer” course model is an intensive, interactive two-day program which provides new trainers with materials they need to conduct their own trainings for volunteer respite care providers. Representatives from religious and healthcare organizations, service clubs, senior living facilities, schools or other groups are eligible to receive this training and then share this information among their own communities.

For more information about REST training for volunteers, contact the North Central-Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging at 800-432-2703.

A start-up guide to developing an interfaith volunteer caregiving program provided by the National Volunteer Caregiving Network.