Texas Respite Advisory Committee

Regulatory
December 3, 2025
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Linkedin

The purpose of the Texas Respite Advisory Committee (TRAC) is to assist the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to:

  • develop strategies to reduce barriers to access respite services;
  • improve the quality of respite services; and
  • provide training, education and support to family caregivers.
Members

  • Dr. Opeoluwa Badaru
  • Diane Bass
  • David Cunningham
  • Cortney Dozier
  • Dr. Jada Jackson
  • Laura Marquez
  • Dr. Fredrick McCurdy
  • Mary Moody
  

  • Danielle Mullins
  • Bianca Ramirez
  • Tracy Read
  • Dr. Russell Reddel
  • Dr. Melisa Rosario
  • Marci Tarvin
  • Renee Vigorito
  1. Welcome, introduction, and roll call. The meeting was convened by

Dr. Jada Jackson and a quorum was present.

  1. Consideration of September 19, 2025, meeting minutes. The minutes were approved as drafted.
  2. Review of 2025 committee accomplishments
  • Members to reflect on key achievements from 2025, including the completion of the first TRAC annual report and the establishment of two new subcommittees
  • Members to acknowledge community partnerships and identify ongoing opportunities for collaboration and program improvement.

Accomplishments:

  • The report was the first report the committee produced
  • People expressed gratitude for fellow members and their work through the subcommittees
  • The Chair thanked the committee members for their work on the report and establishing two subcommittees. Collaboration is key to establish respite programs throughout the state.
  1. Program overview: ARCH National Respite Network & Resource Center. A look into Respite Services with ARCH Resource Center.
ARCH Mission:

The mission of the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center is to assist and promote the development of quality respite and crisis care programs in the United States; to help families locate respite and crisis care services in their communities; and to serve as a strong voice for respite in all forums.

The ARCH National Respite Network includes the National Respite Locator, a service to help caregivers and professionals locate respite services in their community, the National Respite Coalition, a service that advocates for preserving and promoting respite in policy and programs at the national, state, and local levels, and the Lifespan Respite Technical Assistance and Resource Center which is funded by the Administration for Community Living in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Brief History:

In 1990, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services asked the Chapel Hill Training-Outreach Project, Inc. (now Families and Communities Rising) to help implement a grant from the Children’s Bureau in the US Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of the grant was to support a group of approximately 40 demonstration projects which were developing systems and methods for providing respite and crisis nursery services for children and their families in communities across the US with a newsletter, a national conference and to help establish an identity for the group. The first ARCH conference was held in the fall of 1991 in Washington DC.

The National Respite Coalition, founded by Jill Kagan and state partners as the policy division of ARCH, was established in 1994. The NRC’s principle objective was to help raise awareness of the value of respite and crisis care among policy makers in Washington DC. This work culminated with the passage of the Lifespan Respite Care Act, which was signed into law in December of 2006.

When funds for the Lifespan Respite Care Program were appropriated to implement the Act in 2009, a grant was awarded to ARCH in partnership with the Family Caregiver Alliance to administer the Technical Assistance Centers for Caregiver Programs and Lifespan Respite. This joint effort ended in August 2012.

In September 2012, ARCH entered into a new cooperative agreement with the US Administration for Community Living to form a new Lifespan Respite Technical Assistance and Resource Center (TARC) to provide training and technical assistance to Lifespan Respite grantees and their partners. Lifespan Respite grantees are charged with establishing or enhancing statewide coordinated respite care systems in their respective states, providing planned and emergency respite services, recruiting and training respite workers and volunteers. and providing information and assistance to family caregivers to help them pay for and access respite care services. Continuation funding was awarded by ACL to ARCH in 2015 and 2020. ARCH continues as a program of Families and Communities Rising based in Durham, NC.

What does ARCH do?

The ARCH National Respite Network is the only national support and advocacy organization dedicated solely to promoting the development of quality respite programs.

Helps Family Caregivers:

The National Respite Locator Service helps family caregivers find respite programs in their communities.  ARCH also connects caregivers to their State Respite Coalition for assistance, answers questions on how to get paid as a family caregiver, and offers caregiver resources to help them better understand what respite is, how to use, find it and pay for it.

Provides Training and Technical Assistance:

The Training and Technical Assistance Division provides support to State Respite Coalitions, service providers and families through consultation, training, evaluation, and research. The Lifespan Respite Technical Assistance and Resource Center (TARC), funded by the U.S. Administration for Community Living, supports State Lifespan Respite grantees and their partners in developing statewide respite systems and in serving caregivers of persons of all ages and conditions.

ARCH provides training through webinars, podcasts, learning collaboratives, State Lifespan Respite Summits, an annual National Lifespan Respite Conference and a Lifespan Respite Grantee and Partner Learning Symposium. Technical assistance is provided through email and phone consultation and through the development of timely products including fact sheets, reports, manuals and guidebooks and monthly newsletters.

Advocates for Respite through Public Policy:

The National Respite Coalition helps states and local communities to understand policy, educate policy makers, and build strong advocacy coalitions. It provides information and teaching tools to respite advocates throughout the country. The National Respite Coalition has convened a group of national and state organizations, the Lifespan Respite Task Force, dedicated to the support of federal lifespan respite legislation. The NRC is completely dependent on Membership fees and private donations. 

Advances Innovative and Exemplary Respite Services:

ARCH seeks out and identifies Innovative and Exemplary respite service models worthy of recognition, helps promote them, advances opportunities for replication, and maintains a searchable online data base of innovative and exemplary respite services across the country.

Promotes Research to Develop an Evidence-base for Respite:

In 2013, ARCH convened the first Expert Panel on Respite Research with support from the Administration for Community Living. The distinguished panel released its final report, A Research Agenda for Respite Care: Deliberations of an Expert Panel of Researchers, Advocates and Funders, that includes recommendations for increasing and improving research focused on family caregiver, care recipient, family and societal outcomes that result from respite. ARCH is advancing this agenda through a recently formed Respite Research Consortium and the prestigious Committee for Advancement of Respite Research.

Works to Build the Respite Provider Workforce:

ARCH and the National Academy for State Health Policy, in collaboration with the Respite Care Association of Wisconsin, piloted a National Respite Provider Recruitment, Training and Retention initiative.  The National Respite Care Provider Training Toolkit, that includes a competency-based training curriculum, is available to help state and local agencies, organizations and programs recruit and train entry-level respite providers.  

Leads on Respite Evaluation and Performance Measurement:

Both planned and crisis respite programs must be able to clearly and compellingly demonstrate that their efforts are achieving worthy outcomes related to the improvement of quality of life, and outcomes related to saving tax-payer dollars on more costly interventions such as foster care, nursing homes, or other institutional care. Respite programs across the United States field-tested tools for measuring program outcomes and are available to the public in the ARCH guide, Evaluating and Reporting Outcomes: a Guide for Respite and Crisis Care Program Managers.

In addition, the Lifespan Respite Technical Assistance and Resource Center has developed a Performance Measurement Guide for Lifespan Respite grantees and partners, but it may be helpful to all who provide respite.

ARCH Team

Meet our dedicated team.

ARCH Advisory Committee

Meet our talented advisory team members.

Become an ARCH Member

Support our mission and receive exclusive benefits.

Contact Us

Send us a message to request information, technical assistance or resources.

Subscribe

Receive respite news on the latest research, funding opportunities, events, reports, and more.

In Summary: Jill Kiggen, Director of ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center, presented on national and Texas respite services. Key statistics shared: 63 million caregivers nationally, over 5 million in Texas; many face high caregiving intensity and difficulties accessing respite.

Benefits of respite were outlined, including stress reduction and improved emotional wellbeing for caregivers and care recipients.  Barriers to respite usage include lack of awareness, comfort, affordability, qualified providers, and bureaucratic hurdles.

Lifespan Respite Care Program and state-level (Texas) innovations were described, including grants and voucher programs for families to self-direct respite.

ARCH resources were described and all are available on the ARCH website: fact sheets, manuals (including volunteer respite and voucher guides), sustainability tools, and a resource library.  Initiatives that were highlighted include: respite provider core competencies and training, exemplary program registry, and ongoing research for evidence-based respite. All resources and tools are available on the ARCH website, some in hard copy upon request.

Presentation.

ARCH provides:

  • Training and Technical Assistance Division provides support to State Respite Coalitions, service providers and families through consultation, training, evaluation, and research.
  • National Respite Locator Service (NRLS) helps family caregivers and professionals locate respite services in their communities.
  • National Respite Coalition is the policy and advocacy division of ARCH.
  • Lifespan Respite Technical Assistance Center, funded by the U.S. Administration for Community Living, supports State Lifespan Respite grantees and their partners in developing state respite systems serving caregivers of persons of all ages and conditions.

Snapshot of Caregiving in the U.S. There are 63 million family caregivers in the U.S., up from 43 million in 2015.  Of these, 45% report being in a high intensity caregiving situation 29% are sandwich generation caregivers 60% are working while caregiving Source: Caregiving in the U.S. 2025, National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP https://www.caregivingintheus.org/

Caregiving in Texas  There are 5 million (5,345,000) family and friend caregivers in Texas of which 51% care for a parent, and 21% care for child with complex medical needs, 45% are high intensity caregivers, 32% have difficulty getting local affordable services, 65% are working full time while caregiving

Source: Caregiving in the U.S. 2025, Caring Across States, National Alliance for Caregiving

Respite is… Planned or emergency care provided to a child or adult with special needs in order to provide temporary relief to family caregivers who are caring for that child or adult. Lifespan Respite Care Act definition PL 109-442

Benefits of Respite

  • Reduces Stress
  • Improves physical and emotional health
  • Enhances relationships and reduces social isolation
  • Care recipients benefit, too!

Respite: Too Little, Too Late Overall, 87% of family caregivers are not receiving respite services. In Texas, 88% have never used respite. Of those who use respite, they often receive too little, too late due to the pervasive barriers.

Lifespan Respite Care Program Definition: Coordinated SYSTEMS of accessible, community-based respite services for family caregivers regardless of age or special need of the care recipient. Lifespan Respite Care Program | ACL Administration for Community Living

Lifespan Respite Grant Activities

  • Connecting families to respite
  • Recruiting and Training Respite Providers
  • Engagement and Public Awareness
  • Volunteer and Faith-based Respite
  • Promoting Informal Respite
  • Opportunities Self-directed Respite Voucher Programs

Grantee Activities and Key Accomplishments | ARCH National Respite Network & Resource Center

Sustainability Resources

National Respite Care Provider Training

Innovative and Exemplary Respite Services

  • Annual National Call for Applications
  • Database of I & E Services
  • Innovative and Exemplary Respite Services Evaluation Initiative

Innovative and Exemplary Respite Services | ARCH National Respite Network & Resource Center

Respite Research Initiative

For More Information:  Jill Kagan, MPH Director jkagan@archrespite.org  ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center Home | ARCH National Respite Network & Resource Center

Discussion. No substantive discussion.

  1. Public comments. No public comment was offered.
  2. Review of action items and future agenda topics. No action items were suggested. The next meeting is March 3, 2026.
  3. Adjourn. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

***

The information contained in this publication is the property of Texas Insight and is considered confidential and may contain proprietary information. It is meant solely for the intended recipient. Access to this published information by anyone else is unauthorized unless Texas Insight grants permission.  If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted in reliance on this is prohibited.  The views expressed in this publication are, unless otherwise stated, those of the author and not those of Texas Insight or its management.