Support for Family Caregivers
Respite Care at Home
Short-term support that gives family caregivers time to rest, attend appointments, work, manage other responsibilities, or simply step away knowing their loved one has appropriate care.
What Respite Care Is
Respite is temporary care designed to support both the person receiving care and the unpaid caregiver who normally provides that support.
Planned Breaks
Scheduled relief for a few hours or other approved periods so caregivers can rest or manage personal responsibilities.
Routine Support
Supervision, cueing, personal-care assistance, companionship, and other approved tasks based on the individual service plan.
Continuity at Home
Support that helps maintain familiar routines and reduces the need to disrupt the person’s normal home environment.
Who May Benefit
Respite can be valuable when one person or family carries most of the caregiving responsibility.
Dementia Caregivers
Families supporting someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia who needs supervision, cueing, or assistance with daily routines.
Disability & I/DD Families
Caregivers supporting children or adults with intellectual, developmental, physical, or complex support needs.
Long-Term Family Caregivers
Families managing chronic illness, mobility needs, recovery, or other ongoing home-care responsibilities.
Respite Is Program-Specific
Respite is not automatically covered by every insurance or Medicaid plan.
In North Carolina, respite is available through certain home- and community-based service pathways, including some 1915(i) services and waiver programs, when eligibility and service-plan requirements are met. In South Carolina, respite is included in selected HCBS waiver programs. VA-authorized and private-pay respite may follow different rules. NNHC does not determine eligibility; we review the authorization or payer arrangement that applies to the individual referral.
What Respite May Look Like
The service must match the person’s assessed needs and the authorized scope.
Supervision & Safety
Remaining with the individual, supporting routines, and helping reduce safety risks during the caregiver’s absence.
Personal Care Assistance
Help with approved activities of daily living when personal-care tasks are part of the service plan.
Companionship & Engagement
Conversation, activities, cueing, and social support appropriate to the person’s abilities and preferences.
Mobility & Routine Assistance
Help with approved mobility, transfers, meals, toileting, or other routine support within caregiver scope and training.
Caregiver Handoff
Following the family’s current routine, emergency contacts, communication preferences, and authorized care instructions.
Escalation When Needed
Knowing when to contact the family, agency, clinical team, or emergency services according to the person’s plan.
When Respite Is Not Enough
Some clients need a higher level of care than routine respite can safely provide.
If the individual requires ongoing skilled nursing assessment, tracheostomy or ventilator management, complex medication administration, enteral-care interventions, or other licensed nursing tasks, the referral may need skilled nursing or private duty nursing rather than non-skilled respite alone.
How We Review a Respite Request
We look at the entire care situation before confirming service.
Care Needs
What support the individual needs while the primary caregiver is away.
Authorization & Payer
Whether respite is authorized through Medicaid, a waiver, VA, or another arrangement—or will be private pay.
Schedule & Staffing
Requested days and times, service location, caregiver competencies, and realistic staffing availability.
Ask About Respite
NNHC can help you determine whether the request fits our services and what information is needed next.
Service notice: Respite eligibility, covered tasks, hours, authorization, and availability vary by program, payer, client needs, location, and staffing. NNHC confirms service only after the applicable referral or payment arrangement has been reviewed.