HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	145
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

requesting the legislative reference bureau to study respite care policies and programs in other states and the executive office on aging to conduct an inventory of respite care services in hawaii.

     WHEREAS, family caregiver is the term used to refer to an unpaid individual, including a family member, friend, or neighbor, who provides full‑ or part‑time care to another individual in need and either lives separately from or with the care recipient; and

     WHEREAS, individuals who need the assistance of family caregivers typically have complex, chronic medical conditions and functional limitations; and

     WHEREAS, it is estimated that fourteen to twenty-one per cent of adults, or 126,598 to 192,390 individuals, in the State provide regular care or assistance to another individual aged sixty years or older; and

     WHEREAS, family caregivers provide an invaluable service and economic benefit to care recipients and State taxpayers by way of deferred paid caregiving and institutionalization; and

     WHEREAS, nationally, if the work of family caregivers had to be replaced by paid home care staff, the estimated cost would be forty-five to ninety-four billion dollars per year; and

     WHEREAS, sustainable family caregiving depends on meeting a family caregiver's own needs for support and respite care; and

     WHEREAS, although there are different approaches to respite care, the basic objective is to provide a family caregiver with temporary relief from the responsibilities of caring for a care recipient so that the family caregiver can attend to other personal and professional obligations; and

     WHEREAS, respite care can include a range of services such as medical or social adult day care or a short-term stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility for the care recipient, a home health aide or home health companion, or a private duty nurse or adult foster care; and

     WHEREAS, a study of respite care and the provision of respite care in other states would be helpful to establishing respite care programs for family caregivers in this State; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to study respite care; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting this study, the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to:

     (1)  Focus on the provision of respite care to family caregivers who provide care to other individuals aged sixty years or older or to chronically ill adults; and

     (2)  Include a compilation of the definitions used to describe the term "respite care" in other states;

     (3)  Describe respite care policies and programs in other states;

     (4)  Describe procedures used by other states to assess the quality of respite care provided in those states; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit a report of its findings to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Office on Aging is requested to conduct an inventory of the respite services provided in Hawaii that are supported by federal, state, and county funds, including a description of each program and the amount and source of funding; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Office on Aging is requested to submit a report of its findings to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau and the Executive Director of the Office on Aging.

Report Title: 

Respite Care; Legislative Reference Bureau; Executive Office on Aging