Breakaway Respite Program

Breakaway Respite Program is a service offered by St Carthage’s Community Care through funding received from the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care under the – Respite for Older Carers of Children with Disability Program.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for Breakaway Respite Program:

Older carers will:

·        be aged 60 years and over (or 50 and over if from an indigenous background)

·        receive the Carer Allowance

·        reside with their person for whom they provide care

·        have provided care for a significant period of time; and

 

Their person for whom they provide care will:

·        be aged 25 years or over

·        have a severe or profound disability

·        receive the Disability Support Pension

Referral

Referral to Breakaway Respite Program can be made by contacting the Respite Team on  6620 0000.

Service Capacity

Breakaway Respite Program will provide respite in the following ways:

·        In home during the day, evening, overnight or weekend

·        Overnight respite at the St Carthage’s Respite Cottage in Lismore

·        Centre Based Respite at the Respite Cottage in Lismore during the day, evening or weekend

·        Community access in small groups or individually

Assessment and Prioritising

When a telephone referral is received, a member of the Breakaway Respite Team who answers the call will complete the Intake/Assessment Form.  This section will determine eligibility of the carer and the type of services they require.  The staff member will inform the referrer immediately of eligibility and will follow this up with written confirmation.  The Program Officer or Coordinator will then contact the Carer to complete the assessment process. Once the assessment is complete, a respite plan will be developed for the carer and the person they care for.

How much will it cost?

In accordance with the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care guidelines, all service providers should request payment of a contribution fee from carers.

·         Income levels of the carer and care recipient will be taken into consideration when determining the amount of contribution fees to be paid. This issue will be discussed with the carer and care recipient during the assessment and care plan development process.

·         Where carers and care recipients indicate that they cannot afford to pay they will be required to undertake an assessment to determine their fee level. No one will be refused service because of an inability to contribute to the cost of this service.

Fee Scale

Out of Home Respite Service Types

 Overnight at the Respite Cottage
(any day of the week)

 
Centre Based Respite during the day, evening or weekend

 
 

Community Based Outings in Small Groups
(Minimum of 2 hour block and a Maximum of 6 hour block each respite)

 
Community Based Outings with a staff member and 1 client
(Minimum of 2 hour block and a Maximum of 6 hour block each respite)

 
In Home Respite Service Types

 In home during the day, evening or weekend
(Minimum of 2 hour block and a Maximum of 6 hour block each respite)

 In home overnight respite

Cost to Carers
 

$35.00 / night

 
 
$3.00 / hour
(Capped at $ 15.00) for more than 6 hours and less than 12 hours. More than 12 hours is considered Overnight rates.

 

$3.00 / hour

 



 $3.00 / hour

 


Cost to Carers

 $3.00 / hour
(Capped at $ 15.00) for more than 6 hours and less than 12 hours. More than 12 hours is considered Overnight rates.

 $35.00 / night

St Carthage’s Community Care does not charge a fee for the provision of information, advice, and referral, coordination of services, home visits, assessment, counselling or volunteer support.

How do I find out more?

To find out more about Breakaway Respite Program and the services it offers, or to apply for Respite, please contact Jodi or Matt on 6620 0000.

Click here to download a brochure (pdf format)