Prepared by National Respite Coalition. For more information, please contact Jill Kagan at jbkagan@verizon.net or by phone at 703-256-9578 or visit www.archrespite.org/nrc.htm.

Do you want to see funding for Lifespan Respite in FY2009? If the answer is yes, then you must ask take action and contact your federal Represenatives today!

STATUS: The Lifespan Respite Care Act was signed into law in 2006, but has not received any funding from Congress. We can change that by urging Congress to include funding for the program in the FY09 Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations bills that will soon be drafted by both the House and Senate. The law authorizes Congress to spend up to $53.3 million in FY09 and we are requesting the full authorized amount. Even if you have been urging funding for months, the process starts anew in 2008. Keep up the contacts, emails, phone calls, and especially the face-to-face visits with your Representatives and Senators.

ACTION: In the US House of Represenatives, Congressmen Langevin (D-RI) and Ferguson (R-NJ) have sent a “Dear Colleague” to all Members of the House urging them to sign onto a letter that will go to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education appropriations to fund Lifespan Respite in 2009. Please call or visit your Representative today and urge them to sign onto this letter. Click here to view the letter.

MESSAGE:

 The Lifespan Respite Care Act was passed by Congress in 2006 to make respite more accessible and affordable to family caregivers, regardless of age or disability, but to date, Congress has provided no funding ($0.00).
 In our state of ____________, family caregivers need respite desperately, regardless of the age or disability of the care recipient. [Supplement with personal stories, state data on respite need, including waiting lists, costs, etc.]
 Represenatives Langevin and Ferguson have circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter asking you to sign onto a letter to the House Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education urging full funding ($53.3 million) for the Lifespan Respite Care program in the FY09 Labor, HHS, and Education funding bill.
 TAKE ACTION in support of family caregivers. On behalf of all the family caregivers in your state, please contact Congressman Langevin or Ferguson and sign onto this letter today.
 We finally have an opportunity to provide the one service -- respite -- family caregivers most frequently request and say they need to go on and at the same time provide significant savings to our long-term care system.
 If you need more information about the need for respite in your district or state, please feel free to contact me or __________________________(e.g. state respite coalition contact, state or community-based agency contact, or other organizational representative).