Introduction
Background Information
Grant Program Description
Importance of the Grant Program
Legislative Chronology
Summary
References
Resources

Introduction

Respite, temporary relief for families, has proven to be a cost effective and much needed service to help support and preserve families. In 1992, it was estimated that 2,936,000 children were reported to public social service/child protective services agencies for abuse and/or neglect according to a fifty-state survey conducted by the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse (NCPCA, 1993). Many of the children exposed to possible abuse and/or neglect are at risk of out-of-home placement. An estimated average investment of $4,800 per year in crisis nursery child care can save over $52,000 in institutional care in California for one child (Congressman George Miller, 1989).

In response to this national need for effective temporary care to help preserve and support the family unit and to strengthen the parent-child bond, Congress passed the Temporary Child Care for Children with Disabilities and Crisis Nurseries Act of 1986 (as amended). This Act directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau to provide funding through competitive grants to states and U.S. territories to develop nonmedical respite services for children with disabilities, chronic, or terminal illnesses, and develop crisis nursery services for children at risk of abuse and neglect.

Since Federal funds became available in 1988, a total of 175 crisis nursery and respite grants and two resource center grants (177 total) have been awarded to forty-seven states and one U.S. territory. In 1991 and 1992 alone, approximately twenty thousand families were served. The following is a legislative and funding history of the Temporary Child Care for Children with Disabilities and Crisis Nurseries Act of 1986 (as amended).

Background Information

After it was created in 1983, one of the first acts of the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, U.S. House of Representatives, was to begin a yearlong investigation to determine the child care needs of families and to propose public and private sector solutions. During the 1984 investigation, the Select Committee documented not only a looming child care crisis for working families but also a need to provide critical support through child care to families in crisis or to families with children who have special needs. These families included teen parents, migrant families, military families, families in school or training programs, families with children with disabilities or chronic or terminal illnesses, and families with children at risk of abuse or neglect.

Testifying before the Select Committee, families with children with disabilities and chronic illnesses told of their need for respite to help maintain their children at home and to help preserve the family unit. But respite programs were in short supply, had long waiting lists, or provided services only to children with specific disabilities. At the same time, a fledgling number of crisis nursery programs in several states had successfully reduced family stress, enhanced family stability, and helped prevent abuse. The evidence was sufficient for the Committee to recommend expanding such programs.

The Temporary Child Care for Handicapped Children and Crisis Nurseries Act was first introduced in 1985 as part of an omnibus child care bill and enacted by the Ninety-Ninth Congress in 1986. The Act was later incorporated into the Children's Justice and Assistance Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-401). The Temporary Child Care for Children with Disabilities and Crisis Nurseries Act was most recently reauthorized and otherwise amended by the Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Adoption and Family Services Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-295).

Grant Program Description

Beginning with the initial funding of $4.8 million in FY 1988, these grants have been funded at approximately $12 million yearly since FY 1991. Intended to alleviate social, emotional and other stresses in families of children who are at risk for abuse or neglect or who have disabilities, the programs which have been created may also offer an array of family support services or referral to family support services. These support services include parenting classes, individual and family counseling, mental health counseling, substance abuse counseling, employment training, and help obtaining other health and social services. Grant projects were initially funded for 34 months and currently are funded for 36 months.

Importance of the Grant Program

Grant awards have totaled over $52 million since the original passage of the Temporary Child Care for Children with Disabilities and Crisis Nurseries Act of 1986 (as amended). The benefits of the crisis nursery and respite care programs to children and families throughout the country have been documented by national evaluation activities conducted by the ARCH National Resource Center for Crisis Nurseries and Respite Care Services. The benefits documented include:

• A majority of the families served report a high level of satisfaction with the services provided. The positive outcomes reported included: receiving a needed break from caregiving, being able to spend more time with other family members, an increase in the child's independence, stress reduction, improved quality of life, and prevention of out-of-home placement.
• More families are requesting the services each year, based on the word of mouth recommendations from other families. However, there are more requests than the programs are able to fill. Of the programs surveyed by ARCH in 1991, more than 25% of crisis nursery programs and 20% of the respite programs were placing families on waiting lists to receive services. (Huntington & Langmeyer, 1993)
• Families are enabled to act responsibly and now have choices about safe and healthy temporary child care opportunities in their communities. Interviews with parents document the relief they feel at having options when feelings of stress and exhaustion are high.
• Programs are expanding the services provided to include more family support services such as service coordination, caregiver support groups, family and individual counseling, and referrals to other community services. Expansions are determined by family need and request.
• Approximately 90% of the programs created through this Act continue to provide service and to operate independently after the initial funding period has ended.

Legislative Chronology

FY 1988-Thirty-two respite and crisis nursery grants were awarded.

• The appropriation level was $4.8 million.
• The 1986 Act was amended by the Subcommittee on Select Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives, and reauthorized for a one-year term. H.R. 4676, extending the Act to FY 1989, was enacted in July, 1988.

FY 1989-Thirty-five new respite and crisis nursery grants were awarded.

• The appropriation level was $4.9 million.

The Act was amended and reauthorized for a two-year period (FY 1990 and FY 1991) (P.L. 101-127). Changes included: changing the title of the Act to Children with Disabilities Temporary Care Reauthorization Act of 1989; requiring states to provide interagency coordination to develop state plans for agencies providing respite and crisis nursery services; and increasing reporting requirements so that information concerning such details as costs and the types and amounts of services provided are included within the states' annual reports.

FY 1990 -In addition to continuation grants, twenty-two additional respite and crisis nursery grants were awarded.

• The appropriation level was $8.3 million.

FY 1991-In addition to continuation grants, thirty-one new respite and crisis nursery grants and one national resource center grant were awarded.

• The appropriation level was $11 million.
• The title of the Act was changed again, to Temporary Child Care for Children with Disabilities and Crisis Nurseries Act of 1986 (as amended) and incorporated into the Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Adoption and Family Services Act of 1992. The legislation was reauthorized through FY 1995 (P.L. 102-295).

FY 1992-Continuation grants were funded, however, no new grants were awarded during this fiscal year because projects for state grantees were changed from two seventeen-month budget periods to three twelve- month budget periods.

The appropriation level was $11 million.

FY 1993-In addition to continuation grants, twenty-four new respite and crisis nursery grants were awarded.

The appropriation level was $11.9 million.

FY 1994 - In addition to continuation grants, thirty-one new respite and crisis care grants, and one national resource center grant, were awarded.

The appropriation level was $11.835 million.

Summary

The Temporary Child Care for Children with Disabilities and Crisis Nurseries Act of 1986 (as amended) has been and continues to be a primary source of funding used by states and communities to create respite and crisis nursery services. Families and children have been the main beneficiaries of this Act, receiving needed services which help support and preserve the integrity of the family unit.

References

Temporary Child Care for Children with Disabilities and Crisis Nurseries Act of 1986 (amended), in the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1991. Consult the ARCH National Resource Center for Crisis Nurseries and Respite Care Services at 800-473-1727.

Families and Child Care: Improving the Options, 1st Select Committee Report on Child Care, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Print Office, Washington, D.C., September 1984.

Children with Disabilities Temporary Care Reauthorization Act of 1989, Subcommittee on Select Education, Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives, House Report 101-114, June 27, 1989.

Respite Care: An Overview of Federal, Selected State, and Private Programs, U.S. General Accounting Office, Report to Congressional Requesters, September 1990, GAO/HRD-90-125.

Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The Results of the 1992 Annual Fifty-State Survey by the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse.

Huntington, Gail S., JoAnn Garner-McGraw, and David B. Langmeyer, Results of Description Study of Crisis Nursery and Respite Care Programs, ARCH National Resource Center, March, 1992.

Huntington, Gail S., and David B. Langmeyer, Respite Care and Crisis Nursery 1992 Annual Program Survey: For Services Provided During 1991, ARCH National Resource Center, 1993.

Resources

The ARCH National Resource Center for Crisis Nurseries and Respite Care Services, 800 Eastowne Drive, Suite 105, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514. 800-473-1727.

Children's Defense Fund, 25 E Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. 202-662-3510.

Child Welfare League of America, 440 1st Street, NW, Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 20001-2085. 202-942-0308.

Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities, in care of National Easter Seals Society, 1350 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 915, Washington, D.C. 20005. 202-347-3066.

National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN), 330 C Street, SW, Room 2006, Washington, DC 20201. 202-205-8709.

About the Authors

Jennifer Cernoch, Ph.D., has been the Director of Texas Respite Resource Network (TRRN) in San Antonio, Texas since 1985. Jennifer has presented at numerous national conferences, has provided testimonies at state and national level, and has provided consultation nationally regarding the field of respite services.

Jill Kagan, M.P.H., served as Deputy Staff Director of the Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1990 until the committee was disbanded in 1993. Prior to this appointment, she served as professional staff of the Select Committee from 1983 to 1990. She is now a political consultant in private practice in the Wash., D.C. area..

Nancy Smith, M.Div., is a Regional Coordinator for the ARCH National Resource Center for Crisis Nurseries and Respite Care Services. She also coordinates state and national policy-related issues for ARCH. She has worked in state government and the private nonprofit sector for over fifteen years.

ARCH Factsheet Number 31, Jan., 1994

This fact sheet was produced by the ARCH National Resource Center for Crisis Nurseries and Respite Care Services funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's BureauCooperative Agreement No. 90-CN-0121 under contract with the North Carolina Department of Human Resources, Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities/Substance Abuse Services, Child and Family Services Branch of Mental Health Services, Raleigh, North Carolina. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the funders, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This information is in the public domain. Readers are encouraged to copy and share it, but please credit the ARCH National Resource Center.