Sources in this section deal with respite care for grandfamilies. They report on the challenges and opportunities in providing respite care for grandfamilies.
1. Center, Family Strengthening Policy. “Strengthening grandfamilies through respite care.” Washington, DC: National Human Services Assembly. Family Strengthening Policy Center 20 (2007).
This article serves as an overview of Respite Care as a service and the benefits it provides for grandfamilies. It also outlines the role of state and federal policy in respite care and how policy makers at both levels can increase support for respite care for grandfamilies.
2. Madden, Elissa E., et al. “The impact of formal and informal respite care on foster, adoptive, and kinship parents caring for children involved in the child welfare system.” Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal (May 23, 2016)
This paper summarizes the results of a quantitative survey that explored the impact and utilization of respite services among kinship, foster and adoptive parents. Specifically, the study looked at parents’ opinions on the impact of respite care on aspects of their life: including family cohesion and stability, childcare, and parents’ personal wellbeing. The author’s results point to mixed experiences with respite care: parents’ utilization of informal versus formal respite care, or a combination of both, culminated in different degrees of positive benefits and stress-reduction.
Grandfamilies Resources 