Respite care can provide caregivers of special needs children a much-needed break.
Caregivers of children with disabilities or chronic illnesses need a mental and physical break from the long hours required to parent a child with special needs. Respite care programs give these caregivers much-needed time to run errands, see a movie or simply spend time alone. While many programs in Middlesex County, New Jersey, focus on adults, several organizations help families of children with specific conditions.
New Horizons in Autism
Located in Neptune City, New Horizons in Autism (nhautism.org) has branch offices in various New Jersey cities, including Dayton and South Plainfield, and provides in-home respite services to caregivers of children with autism and offers families direct guidance on parenting. The respite program serves families in the lower and upper-central regions of New Jersey, including Middlesex County. The organization also has a Saturday drop-off program at its Monroe Township facility that aims to help autistic children with social and other skills for $85 to $150 per day as of July 2011. Most of New Horizon's programs require clients to be eligible for services under New Jersey's Department of Human Services' Division of Disabilities.
Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey
The Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey (www.efnj.com) offers a program called STRESSpite, which gives caretakers of children with disabilities access to "STRESS aides." These helpers can provide respite care as well as tutoring, companionship and general support. Families design their own schedule according to their needs. The foundation's main office is in Trenton, and it offers STRESSpite in Middlesex and 14 other New Jersey counties.
Eden Autism Services
Eden Autism Services' (edenautismservices.org) respite program sends a trained therapist into a client's home for a specific number of hours per month. The therapist sets goals to help families live successfully with a child with autism. Eden also offers drop-in services when a family emergency arises. Eden is based in Princeton, in Mercer County, but also serves families in adjacent Middlesex County.
The Arc
The Arc of Middlesex County (arc-middlesex.org) in North Brunswick provides in-home support specialists to families with children with developmental disabilities in Middlesex County. The specialists give caregivers a break while teaching children social and living skills. A Saturday respite program, at the Arc's Jamesburg and Edison locations, offers socialization and structured leisure activities to children with disabilities twice a month. A Monday through Friday program, running from 3 to 6 p.m. at the organization's North Brunswick and Edison sites, features age-appropriate activities -- planned in conjunction with each child's school district -- that complement classroom learning.
In A Pinch
In A Pinch (inapinchnj.com) is a childcare referral service in northern New Jersey with hundreds of prescreened caregivers that offer families help -- from a minimum of four hours to overnight. Caregivers associated with In A Pinch can provide respite care for ill children as well as those with physical or emotional needs. The caregivers are photographed and fingerprinted, and undergo background and reference checks and in-home interviews. Families pay In A Pinch a set placement rate of about $35 per day, plus the caregiver's rate. In A Pinch services 11 counties, including Middlesex.
Tags: children with, Middlesex County, children with disabilities, respite program, with disabilities, Autism Services