Respite Care in Vermont: Options and Funding for Family Caregivers

You have been managing your parent's care since they came home from the hospital three months ago, and you are running on empty. You need a break, but you cannot leave your parent alone, and you cannot afford to hire a private aide at $30 per hour for a full weekend. Respite care exists precisely for this situation, and Vermont has several funding paths that most caregivers never learn about.

What Respite Care Actually Means

Respite care is temporary relief for a primary caregiver. It can take several forms:

• In-home respite: A trained aide comes to your parent's home for a few hours or overnight while you step away.
• Adult day services: Your parent spends structured daytime hours at a community center with activities, meals, and supervision.
• Facility-based respite: Your parent stays temporarily (usually 1 to 14 days) in an assisted living residence, residential care home, or nursing facility.

The goal is not long-term placement. It is giving you enough time to rest, handle personal appointments, travel for work, or simply recover before caregiver burnout becomes a medical problem of its own.

Choices for Care Respite Benefits

If your parent is enrolled in Vermont's Choices for Care Medicaid program, respite care is a covered benefit under all three needs groups:

• Highest Needs Group: Respite is included as part of the home-based services package. The care plan can allocate hours specifically for caregiver relief.
• High Needs Group: Same respite benefit structure, though access depends on available state funding and the waitlist.
• Moderate Needs Group: Limited respite services may be available through adult day programs and case-managed homemaker support, subject to provider availability and waitlist position.

The Choices for Care case manager coordinates respite scheduling. If your parent is already receiving home-based services, ask the case manager to add respite hours to the care plan. This does not require a new application.

Funding for Caregivers Not on Medicaid

Many Vermont families fall in a gap: their parent has too much income or too many assets to qualify for Choices for Care, but not enough to comfortably pay for private respite at market rates. Several programs address this:

Vermont Dementia Respite Grant: Families caring for a person with Alzheimer's or related dementia can apply for a grant of up to $1,000 through the Alzheimer's Association and Vermont's aging network. The grant covers in-home aide hours, adult day services, or short-term facility stays. Contact your regional Area Agency on Aging to apply.

National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP): Funded through the federal Older Americans Act and administered by Vermont's five AAAs, the NFCSP provides supplemental services including respite, counseling, and training. Eligibility is based on the caregiver's situation rather than the care recipient's income, making it accessible to families who do not qualify for Medicaid.

Veterans' benefits: If your parent is a veteran or the surviving spouse of a veteran, the VA Aid and Attendance benefit can fund in-home respite care. Vermont has a dedicated Veterans' Services office that can assist with applications.

How to Find Respite Providers in Vermont

Start with your regional Area Agency on Aging:

• Age Well (northwestern Vermont, including Burlington and Chittenden County): 802-662-5200
• Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA): 802-479-0531
• Senior Solutions (southeastern Vermont): 802-885-2669
• Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging: 802-786-5990
• Northeast Kingdom Council on Aging: 802-748-5182

Each AAA maintains a directory of local respite providers, including home health agencies, adult day centers, and facilities that accept short-term stays. They also provide options counseling at no cost, helping you evaluate which type of respite fits your situation and what funding you can access.

Planning Respite Around a Hospital Discharge

If your parent was recently discharged from a hospital and you are providing the bulk of home care, build respite into the plan from day one. The first 30 days after discharge are the highest-risk period for caregiver burnout and patient readmission. A family that runs out of energy in week three and cannot maintain the medication schedule, therapy exercises, or meal preparation risks sending their parent right back to the emergency department.

Ask the hospital discharge planner or your parent's Choices for Care case manager to include respite hours in the initial care plan. It is far easier to get respite authorized as part of the discharge transition than to request it after a crisis.

The Hospital-to-Home Vermont guide includes a caregiver sustainability checklist with respite planning built into the discharge workflow, plus a complete directory of Vermont aging services contacts organized by region and program type.

See more Vermont guides →