Respite Care
Support for the person you care for. Time for you to recharge.
Caring for someone at home can leave little time for rest, appointments, or everyday responsibilities. Respite care provides temporary support in the home while the person who normally gives that care takes a break.
Call us at (314) 764-2021
Who Respite Is For
Respite is for households where a family member, friend or neighbour gives care without being paid. It gives that person a break, while the care itself continues at home.
- You care for a relative or friend at home, unpaid
- You need time for rest, work, appointments or family
- You would rather not move your loved one anywhere
- You want the same standard of care while you are away
Two Levels of Support
Basic Respite
For someone who needs help with everyday activities such as bathing, dressing, moving about and meals, without skilled nursing needs.
Advanced Respite
For someone whose needs call for closer oversight, which may include being bedbound, needing hands-on help with medication, or memory-related behaviours that need careful watching.
Which level fits is decided during an assessment, not by us, and is authorised before services begin.
How to Start
Call or send an enquiry
Tell us who you care for and what kind of break you need.
We talk through options
What respite covers, what it does not, and what may pay for it in your situation.
Assessment and authorisation
Missouri requires an assessment before waiver respite is authorised. We help you through it.
Who provides respite
Respite care is provided through Attached to Home IHS, a separate business under the same ownership as Care Companions of Clayton, and an authorised Missouri Aged and Disabled Waiver provider for respite. Enquiries start here and we pass them to the right team. Respite is available across Missouri, and availability is confirmed case by case.
Respite Questions
What is respite care?
Temporary care given in the home so that the person who normally provides care can take a break. The care itself continues as usual — respite is about relieving the caregiver, not moving your loved one.
Who has to be taking the break?
Missouri's waiver respite is for relieving an unpaid caregiver: a family member, friend or neighbour who provides or arranges care without being paid. It cannot be authorised to relieve a paid aide or attendant. If a paid attendant already covers some hours and unpaid family covers the rest, it is the family member who can be relieved.
Does Medicaid pay for it?
Missouri Medicaid may pay for respite under the Aged and Disabled Waiver for people who qualify. Eligibility is decided by an assessment and the service is authorised before it starts. Call us and we will talk through what may apply in your situation.
How many hours can we get?
Missouri sets a ceiling of 49 hours per week across Basic and Advanced respite combined. That is a maximum, not an entitlement: the hours authorised depend on the assessment, and availability is confirmed case by case.
Can I choose a family member to provide the respite?
Immediate family members cannot provide this waiver respite. The aide must be employed by the provider and meet the programme's requirements, and cannot be a parent, sibling, child or stepchild, spouse, grandparent or grandchild. In-laws are not on that excluded list, subject to the same requirements. That exclusion is what makes respite a genuine break for the family doing the day-to-day care.
Is this the same as Consumer Directed Services?
No. With Consumer Directed Services you choose and direct your own caregiver, who may be a family member or friend, and we handle the payroll and paperwork. Respite is temporary relief for an unpaid caregiver, provided by the agency's own aide. Some households use both.
Where is respite available?
Across Missouri. Respite is provided through Attached to Home IHS, a separate business under the same ownership as Care Companions of Clayton, and availability is confirmed case by case.
*Respite services are provided through Attached to Home IHS, which operates independently. Missouri Medicaid may pay for respite for people who qualify, following an assessment and authorisation.