SCR143 SD1

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 Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the House of Representatives concurring, that:

(1) The Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to study respite care; and

(2) The Department of Human Services is requested to provide an inventory of the respite services provided in Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau's study should:

(1) Focus on the provision of respite care to family caregivers who provide care for:

(A) Their children with special health care needs;

(B) Adult family members, or other individuals, aged sixty years or older with a disability; or

(2) Include:

(A) A compilation of the various definitions used to describe the term "respite care";

(B) A description of the respite care policies and programs that other states have adopted or considered; 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 2008 Regular Session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Human Services is requested to submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2008 Regular Session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Human Services' report is requested to include an inventory of the respite services provided in Hawaii that are supported by federal, state, and county funds, including a description of each program, eligibility criteria, quality and safety monitoring procedures, evaluation and quality improvement processes, and the amount and source of funding; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Human Services and the Acting Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Report Title:

Respite Care; Study and Inventory

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	143
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII