Arizona Principles of Caregiving Training Manuals

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, Alzheimer's disease, and related dementias.

Wisconsin Lifespan Caring Network Training

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. It 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.

Caregivers Count Too - A Toolkit to Help Practitioners Assess the Needs of Family Caregivers

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.

Congregational Caregiving: Guidance for Caregiving Teams

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

National Respite Guidelines, 2011

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 interested in advancing quality respite.

Respite Provider Key Roles and Responsibilities

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.

CARES Online Dementia Care Training Program

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.

Bringing Respite to Your Community: A Start-up Manual

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 that can help existing programs reevaluate the design of their current services.

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Respite Programs for Adults and the Aging: A Start-up Manual

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.

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Volunteer Respite Manual: Creating Valuable Option for Family Caregivers

Volunteer Respite Manual: Creating Valuable Option for Family Caregivers
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.

Congregational Caregiving: Guidance for Caregiving Teams

Congregational Caregiving: Guidance for Caregiving Teams
A manual to help create and conduct a congregational or community caregiving team. Developed by Interfaith CarePartners.

Respite Education and Support Tools (REST)

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 that provides new trainers with the materials they need to conduct their training 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 share it with their communities.

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

Faith in Action Manual

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