WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate on Friday passed the Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2003, legislation sponsored by U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., to provide relief for family caregivers by improving access to respite care services, which offer families short-term temporary care for chronically ill or disabled loved ones.

“Caring for a chronically ill or disabled family member or friend is undoubtedly a rewarding and fulfilling experience that so many families go through every year. But it is also an emotionally and psychologically taxing experience that people must take a break from every once in a while to clear their minds,” Snowe said. “This legislation will provide federal grants to qualified organizations to deliver important respite care services to families throughout the country and improve training options for respite care workers and volunteers.”

The Lifespan Respite Care Act creates a new, flexible grant program for states, totaling $727 million over five years, and funds a new National Resource Center on Lifespan Respite Care.

“Funding from the new program will increase the availability of appropriately trained respite care providers and volunteers,” Snowe said, noting that the return on the investment in caregivers is paid back many times over. Experts estimate it would cost $200 billion every year to replace the services provided by family caregivers with outside health providers.