Find respite care if you have a child with a disability

What is respite care?

Respite care is temporary, short-term care of children with disabilities. Its purpose is to provide rest and relief to you, the parent.

How respite care can help you

Respite helps strengthen your family’s ability to care for your child at home. Caregivers provide respite care either in or outside your family home. This support does not replace regular early intervention programs, preschool programs, daycare, before or after school care or work-related child care arrangements.

Are you eligible to access our services?

You're eligible if:

• you're a Yukon resident;
• your child is under 19 years of age;
• your child was diagnosed with a disability or identified as possibly having a disability by a qualified health care professional; and
• you've accessed other resources, such as private insurance or employee benefits, before contacting Children’s Disability Services.

How can you access respite care?

You hire a respite caregiver of your choice. Then, you and your social worker assess how many hours or days a month you will need respite. This depends on your child’s assessed level of needs up to a maximum number of hours.

Families with more than 1 child with disabilities may receive additional funding to help with the costs of respite.

Where are these services available?

Children’s Disability Services are available in all Yukon communities.

How do you access our services?

1. Someone working with your child, such as a doctor or teacher, can make a referral with your permission.
2. To determine if you're eligible for our services, you (or the person referring) must provide:
   • the child’s full name;
   • date of birth;
   • type of disability, if known;
   • caregiver names; and
   • any relevant reports.
3. A social worker will arrange a meeting to discuss your family’s needs. Visits can take place at your home, the Children’s Disability Services office or elsewhere.
4. This meeting will be about 1 hour long. A follow-up meeting may be needed. At this initial meeting, the social worker will:
   • gather information about your child’s needs;
   • review consent and confidentiality forms;
   • discuss alternate supports and services; and
   • share information on the supports and services we offer.
5. We'll need a report or assessment to identify how your child’s disability significantly limits their ability to function in daily life.
6. The social worker will contact you to follow up.
7. If your child and family are eligible for funding or services, it may take 4 to 6 weeks to set up the funding.

What is Children’s Disability Services?

If your child has a disability, Children’s Disability Services can help you care for them. It’s important to get help early as this will increase your child’s lifelong learning potential.

We promote inclusion of children with disabilities in community life. Our social workers help families access the services they need. These services include:

• an inclusion worker;
• respite care for families;
• a behaviour consultant and applied behaviour analysis therapy;
• occupational therapy and physical therapy; and
• speech-language pathology (therapy).

Other services for people with disabilities in Yukon

Autism Yukon
Child Development Centre
Learning Disabilities Association of Yukon
Inclusion Yukon
Inclusion Yukon Facebook