Caregivers often leave the system feeling overextended and underappreciated, especially when basic maintenance payments don't cover the full costs of caregiving. Caregivers need regular breaks to avoid burnout and maintain their ability to provide quality care.
Provide additional financial support through respite payments, activity stipends, and earning opportunities. This helps caregivers manage costs, take necessary breaks, and feel valued, which improves retention and enables caregivers to support children and youth with higher levels of need.
How to do this
Pay for respite care for all caregivers
Provide direct stipends to caregivers or payments to respite homes. In states where respite is only available to licensed foster parents, offer self-directed vouchers to kin caregivers so they can identify and pay family members or friends to help them with childcare.
Normalize taking respite by proactively paying for it on a regular basis rather than requiring caregivers to apply. Continue paying caregivers their normal rate on days they use respite to avoid creating a financial disincentive to taking time off.
Offer stipends for children's activities and experiences
Provide summer camp stipends to caregivers, including unlicensed kinship caregivers. Check if your state's Department of Aging provides summer camp stipends to children and youth raised by kin caregivers over age 55. If they do, partner with them to offer stipends to older caregivers. Consider stipends for other activities that support normal childhood experiences, like extracurricular activities and educational fees.
Create earning opportunities for caregivers
Prioritize caregivers when hiring for part-time and full-time roles at your agency. Hire current caregivers to co-lead trainings and orientations and compensate caregivers who attend required training sessions. Provide an up-to-date list of local stores and restaurants that offer discounts.
This strategy in action
Maryland offers 7 paid respite days per year at approved respite providers. Both families get paid for those 7 days.
Washington State provides 2 paid respite days per month to foster families.
Frederick County, MD pays caregivers to attend trainings ($25-50 per class), pays $20 per session to co-lead trainings, and has extended respite benefits to unlicensed kinship caregivers.
Fairfax County, VA provides respite grants to licensed caregivers and pays caregivers for co-leading trainings and being on panels.
Washington, DC hires foster parents as trainers.
Virginia provides a $500 stipend for summer camp to every child.
Colorado has a mobile app (The Foster Family Business App) that provides discounts at local stores.
New York, Florida, Virginia, Washington, and Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe offer self-directed voucher payments to kinship caregivers for respite.
Resources
Treehouse store
Eligible youth and their caregivers in Washington State can shop free for clothing and other essentials in person and online.
Learn more
My NeighbOR needs list
People can sign up to fulfill items from a real-time list of needs submitted by verified families and youth connected to Oregon's foster and human services system.
Learn more