HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
145 |
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION
requesting the legislative reference bureau to study respite care.
WHEREAS, family caregiver is the term used to refer to an unpaid individual, including a family member, friend, or neighbor, who provides full‑ or part‑time care to another individual in need and either lives separately from or with the care recipient; and
WHEREAS, individuals who need the assistance of family caregivers typically have complex, chronic medical conditions and functional limitations; and
WHEREAS, it is estimated that fourteen to twenty-one per cent of adults, or 126,598 to 192,390 individuals, in the State provide regular care or assistance to another individual aged sixty years or older; and
WHEREAS, family caregivers provide an invaluable service and economic benefit to care recipients and State taxpayers by way of deferred paid caregiving and institutionalization; and
WHEREAS, nationally, if the work of family caregivers had to be replaced by paid home care staff, the estimated cost would be forty-five to ninety-four billion dollars per year; and
WHEREAS, sustainable family caregiving depends on meeting a family caregiver's own needs for support and respite care; and
WHEREAS, although there are different approaches to respite care, the basic objective is to provide a family caregiver with temporary relief from the responsibilities of caring for a care recipient so that the family caregiver can attend to other personal and professional obligations; and
WHEREAS, respite care can include a range of services such as medical or social adult day care or a short-term stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility for the care recipient, a home health aide or home health companion, or a private duty nurse or adult foster care; and
WHEREAS, a study of respite care and the provision of respite care in other states would be helpful to establishing respite care programs for family caregivers in this State; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to study respite care; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau's study should:
(1) Focus on the provision of respite care to family caregivers who provide care to other individuals aged sixty years or older or to chronically ill adults; and
(2) Include:
(A) A compilation of the various definitions used to describe the term "respite care";
(B) A description of the respite care policies and programs that other states have adopted or considered;
(C) A description of how other states assess the quality of respite care provided in those states; and
(D) An inventory of the respite services provided in Hawaii that are supported by federal, state, and county funds, including a description of each program and the amount and source of funding; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit a report of its findings to this body no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2008 Regular Session; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Acting Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Respite Care; Legislative Reference Bureau Study