NYS Parenting Education Partnership

Respite Care for Children with Serious Emotional Disorders and Their Families: A Way to Enrich Family Life

This article provides a review of the benefits of respite care for families who have a child with a serious emotional disorder and examples of the range of respite care strategies that communities have developed to respond to the different needs and preferences of families. From time to time, all families experience stress related to financial difficulties, work, family relationships, or the challenge of balancing work, family, and other responsibilities. Stress may be particularly severe for parents of children with serious emotional and behavioral disorders. Relationships with relatives, friends and neighbors may be strained due to misunderstanding of the child’s behavioral disorder, work opportunities may be limited, and there are extra demands on time for mental health treatment and meetings with service providers.