[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 36 (Thursday, March 6, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E384]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN SUPPORT OF THE LIFESPAN RESPITE CARE ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 2003

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Lifespan Respite 
Care Act, which I am reintroducing today with the support of a group of 
51 original cosponsors from both parties.
  Each year, over 26 million Americans care for an adult family member 
who is chronically ill or disabled. An estimated 18 million children 
have chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional 
conditions that place significant demands on their parental caregivers. 
Nearly four million Americans of all ages who have mental retardation 
or another developmental disability live with their families. Providing 
voluntary care for these people is equivalent to nearly $200 billion 
annually, which is the estimated cost if the family caregivers' 
services were provided by paid caregivers. More importantly, this 
voluntary care allows seniors and others to continue living at home, 
which improves their spirits and often speeds up recovery time.
  Family caregiving has some clear benefits--it contributes to family 
stability and it often spares families from more costly, out-of-home 
placements. While voluntary care is personally rewarding, it can result 
in substantial emotional, physical, and financial strain on the 
caregiver. Surveys of family caregivers consistently show an unmet need 
for respite care services. Respite care services relieve caregivers 
from daily caregiving tasks on a temporary or longer-term basis. This 
is often necessary for caregivers to address their own health issues or 
other crises a family may encounter--for example, in the areas of 
employment, housing or domestic violence. In too many situations, 
caregivers do not know how to find information about available respite 
care and access these services. In other cases, respite care is still 
unavailable to those who need it. Meanwhile, existing respite programs 
are finding it difficult to recruit and retain trained providers.
  In response to this need, I have worked together with the National 
Respite Coalition to craft legislation that eases the burden of 
responsibility on the family caregivers who give so much. In many 
cases, this would allow them to continue to provide care for their 
loved ones. Many lifespan respite programs are already in place at the 
state and local levels, providing invaluable services to the families 
of people with chronic disease or disability. We are proposing to build 
upon these tremendously successful existing programs. The Lifespan 
Respite Care Act would authorize funds for development and coordination 
of state and local respite systems, training and recruitment of respite 
care workers, and creation of a National Resource Center on Lifespan 
Respite Care. By passing this legislation, we could take a proactive 
step toward providing quality at-home care for millions of Americans 
with special needs, preventing caregiver burnout, and safeguarding 
against the unsafe or inappropriate care that can result from the unmet 
need for respite care.
  I thank you for the opportunity to bring this legislation to your 
attention and ask for the support of my colleagues to move this bill 
forward.

                          ____________________