Getting respite care starts with identifying what type of break you need, then matching it to the funding sources available in your state. Respite care provides short-term relief for primary caregivers and can last anywhere from a few hours to several weeks. The process involves choosing a care setting, checking your eligibility for financial assistance, and connecting with your local aging services network to find providers.
Choose the Right Type of Respite Care
Respite care falls into three main categories, and the best fit depends on your loved one’s needs and how much time you need away.
- In-home respite: A paid caregiver comes to your loved one’s home. This works well for a few hours of relief during the week and keeps your family member in familiar surroundings. The national average is about $35 per hour for nonmedical care.
- Adult day programs: Your loved one spends the day at a supervised center that offers meals, activities, and sometimes health services. These programs average around $95 per day, making them one of the most affordable options for regular, ongoing respite.
- Short-term residential stays: Your loved one stays temporarily in an assisted living facility or nursing home, typically while you travel or handle a personal obligation. Residential stays average about $204 per day.
If your loved one has dementia, look specifically for programs with staff trained in behavioral support. Facilities that serve residents with cognitive impairment should conduct individualized assessments signed by a licensed medical professional and tailor the environment to each person’s behavioral needs, including safety features like slip-resistant flooring and restricted access to hazardous items based on individual ability.
Contact Your Area Agency on Aging
Your local Area Agency on Aging (AAA) is the single best starting point. These agencies exist in every part of the country and connect families to respite programs, subsidies, and provider lists in their region. You can find yours by calling the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or searching online at eldercare.acl.gov.
Many AAAs administer respite voucher programs funded by federal and state dollars. The process typically involves filling out an application, providing documentation of your caregiving situation, and demonstrating that you need the services. In most programs, you must be providing unpaid care, living with the person or caring for them in their home for a minimum number of hours per day, and not using respite hours while you’re at a paid job. Once approved, you receive vouchers or direct funding to hire an approved provider.
The dollar amounts vary significantly by state. As one example, Nebraska’s Lifespan Respite program provides up to $125 per month for planned respite, with an additional $2,000 available per eligibility period for crisis situations. Your state’s program will have its own limits, but the application process is similar nearly everywhere.
Check Medicaid HCBS Waivers
Medicaid’s Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers are one of the largest funding sources for respite care nationwide. About 257 active waiver programs operate across nearly every state and the District of Columbia, and respite care is listed as a standard covered service.
To qualify, your loved one generally needs to meet two thresholds. First, they must require a level of care that would otherwise make them eligible for a nursing home. Second, they must meet Medicaid’s financial eligibility rules, which include income and asset limits. States can also apply “spousal impoverishment” rules so that a healthy spouse isn’t forced into poverty to qualify the care recipient.
Each state designs its own waiver programs within federal guidelines, and some states target specific populations by age or diagnosis. To apply, contact your state Medicaid office or ask your AAA for help navigating the waiver application. Wait lists are common for HCBS waivers, so apply as early as possible, even if you don’t need respite immediately.
VA Respite Care for Veterans
If your loved one is a veteran enrolled in VA health care, the VA offers both home-based and facility-based respite at no cost or reduced cost. Home respite can come in the form of a paid home health aide or attendance at an adult day health care center. Nursing home respite places the veteran temporarily in a VA Community Living Center or a community nursing home for up to 30 days per calendar year.
Nursing home stays should be scheduled in advance. To get started, contact the social worker at your local VA medical center or call the VA’s Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274.
What Medicare Does and Doesn’t Cover
Standard Medicare does not cover respite care for most caregiving situations. The one exception is hospice. If your loved one is receiving hospice care under Medicare Part A, Medicare covers inpatient respite stays in a hospital or skilled nursing facility for up to five consecutive days at a time. You pay 5% of the Medicare-approved amount for those stays. There is no annual limit on the number of times you can use this benefit, but each episode is capped at five days.
Outside of hospice, Medicare does not pay for respite care, which is why Medicaid waivers, VA benefits, and state-funded programs are so important to explore.
The Federal Lifespan Respite Care Program
The Lifespan Respite Care Program is a federal initiative, funded at $10 million for fiscal year 2025, that distributes competitive grants to state agencies. Since 2009, agencies in 39 states and the District of Columbia have received these grants. The money flows to state-level organizations, which then use it to build respite voucher systems, maintain searchable databases of local providers, and run outreach campaigns so caregivers know help exists.
You don’t apply for these grants directly. Instead, the grants fund the programs you access through your AAA or your state’s respite network. The ARCH National Respite Network (archrespite.org) maintains a list of grantees and state-specific respite resources, which can help you identify exactly what’s available where you live.
Tax Benefits That Offset Costs
If you pay out of pocket for respite care so you can work or look for work, you may be able to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit on your federal tax return. Despite the name, this credit applies to adult dependents who are physically or mentally unable to care for themselves. You can include up to $3,000 in care expenses for one qualifying individual, or $6,000 for two or more. The credit is a percentage of those expenses, and the percentage depends on your adjusted gross income. IRS Publication 503 has the full details and percentage table.
Steps to Get Started This Week
The number of programs and eligibility rules can feel overwhelming, but a practical path forward looks like this:
- Call the Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116) and ask for your local Area Agency on Aging. Tell them you need respite care and ask about voucher programs, Medicaid waivers, and any state-funded options.
- If your loved one is a veteran, contact the VA Caregiver Support Line (1-855-260-3274) to learn about home and nursing home respite benefits.
- If your loved one is on hospice, talk to the hospice team about scheduling a Medicare-covered inpatient respite stay.
- Apply for Medicaid HCBS waivers early, even if the need feels manageable now. Wait lists can stretch months or longer in many states.
- Search the ARCH National Respite Network at archrespite.org for a database of providers and programs in your state.
You don’t have to navigate every option at once. Starting with one phone call to your AAA will connect you to a person whose job is to walk you through what’s available locally, and that single conversation often opens doors to multiple programs you didn’t know existed.