Why Respite Connection?

Anyone can!  Guardians, Individuals needing services or Case Managers can contact Respite Connection to make a referral.

Contact Lacey Giunta, Director of Operations at 515.237.5235 or at Lacey@respiteconnection.com

If a Case Manager contacts us, we make a follow-up phone call to the family to talk about services with Respite Connection.  If all of the team members are in agreement that we can meet the needs of the individual, a Service Supervisor is assigned.  That Service Supervisor will then contact the family and the Case Manager to schedule an intake meeting.  This meeting will allow us to get to know you and how we can best serve you, as well as to review our services in more detail.  This meeting typically lasts anywhere from 1-2 hours.

That depends.  You, your Case Manager/Service Worker, and your Respite Connection Service Supervisor all work together to determine what number of hours would best fit your needs.  There are limits on the number of hours that can be approved, however, and your Case Manager (for BI or ID Waiver) or DHS Service Worker (for HD Waiver) can assist you in determining what those limits are.

If you want to change the number of hours you have, you will need to contact your Case Manager/Service Worker.  If you need assistance or are uncertain who that person is, we can help!

Yes! Respite can be used in a variety of ways.  You can use it for short periods of time (“date nights”, to run errands, etc) or for longer periods such as overnights. Medicaid rules limit the amount that can be used for Individual Respite to 19 hours a day, so plans must be made to comply with this.

We offer Group Respite in small settings, typically no more than three people at a time.  We do not offer camp settings.

Once we get a call from you or your Case Manager stating that you want to receive services and the referral is accepted, we will call within a week to schedule an intake meeting.  Typically that meeting will take place within the following two weeks, depending upon the schedules of the team members expected to attend.  Once we receive the needed paperwork from your Case Manager, services can begin.

If you have a staff person in mind who you want to apply to work with you, they may begin working as soon as they complete the hiring process as outlined above.  If you do not have someone to apply we will assist with finding a staff person.  There are a variety of factors that impact how long this will take.  These factors include: location, type of service (SCL versus Respite), flexibility of days and times you would like services, and what type of skills a staff person would need.  Unfortunately we are not able to determine how long that process will take, so are unable to guarantee that you will have staff within a certain period of time.

We are happy to hire family members or family friends.  We know that it can be hard to invite people you don’t know into your home, and having someone you already know and trust can make things easier.  In order to start this process, have the person complete an application, which can be found here.

We work hard to process applications as quickly as we can.  Once we receive an application we do the following:

§  Complete an interview
§  Contact references
§  Complete a background check
§  Schedule applicant to come in to complete new hire paperwork
§  Within 30 days of hire, the employee must complete new hire orientation and Mandatory Reporter for Dependent Adult and Child Abuse (or submit a certificate if they have already completed the Mandatory Reporter courses).

We hire qualified, well-trained staff members to work with you. We work with you to determine what type of staff person best suits your needs, and connect you with them.  Prior to a staff person working their first shift, we schedule an introduction meeting so that you can meet this person to determine if you feel comfortable with them.  If you decide that you would like to use that staff person, you schedule your first shift, and exchange contact information to schedule future shifts.  If you decide that you want to keep looking, we continue working to find a good match.