The provision of respite services for an eligible child and family must be determined in the context of the IFSP development based on the individual needs of the child and family and with consideration given to the following criteria:
(1) severity of the child's disability and needs;
(2) potential risk of out-of-home placement for the child if respite services are not provided;
(3) parental lack of access to informal support systems, including, but not limited to, extended family, supportive friends, and community supports;
(4) presence of factors known to increase family stress, including, but not limited to, family size and presence of another child or family member with a disability;
(5) the availability of other public services provided to the family that assist the parent or primary caretaker in obtaining relief from caretaking responsibilities; and
(6) the perceived and expressed level of need for respite services by the parent.
Counties are encouraged to make a variety of respite service models available, which may include in or out-of-home respite, family reimbursement programs, and parent-to-parent respite projects.
History:1994 c 647 art 3 s 9,34; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1996 c 412 art 3 s 4,5; 1Sp1997 c 4 art 2 s 1; 1998 c 397 art 2 s 49,164; art 11 s 3