Collaborative for Children
3800 Buffalo Speedway Suite 300
Houston TX  77098
713-600-1100
800-245-1255
www.collabforchildren.org
·         Zip code based referral service for respite childcare and parenting programs.

Parents’ Night Out Program
Houston Area Respite Center
6856 Bellaire Blvd
Houston,Texas 77074
713-271-6001
www.harc-hou.org
harc@harc-hou.org.

·         Respite for children with special needs, ages 3-21, siblings included

·         Friday evenings, 6:30-10:30

·         Requires pre-registration, $10.00 fee, partial scholarships

·         Includes games, crafts, movies, music

Special Friends Night Out!
Lake Houston YMCA
2420 West Lake Houston Parkway
Kingwood, Texas 77339
281-360-2500

·         For children with disabilities, ages 5 and older, siblings included

·         Saturdays, 6:30-10:00, one Saturday a month

·         Pre-registration requested.

·         $5 member, $10-non-member, $2 sibling

·         Each child is paired with a volunteer buddy and participates in arts & crafts, dancing, gym games, etc.

(The) ARC of Greater Houston
3737 Dacoma Street, Suite E
Houston, TX  77092
Karen Lin and Bethanne Arafat  713-957-1600
www.thearcofgreaterhouston.com
Membership not required for service, however services are more expensive without membership. 

 ·         Saturday Fun Day -An out-of-home program for individuals, ages 4 to 25, with a diagnosis of mental retardation and or autism and other autistic spectrum disorders.

·         Provides games, sports, computer learning, songs and other recreational activities.

·         Community wide field trips

§         Central Houston (ages 4-14) -  2 Saturdays/month from 10:00 am - 3:30 pm

§         Cy-Fair (ages 8-18 ) - 2 Saturdays/month from 10:00 am - 3:30 pm

§         Kingwood (ages 15-25) -one Saturday/month from 10:00 - 4:00 pm

The Open Door
Sugar Creek Baptist Church
13333 Southwest Freeway, Suite 200
Sugarland TX 77478
Barbara Waldhuber  281-274-7431
·         Provides respite services to children with special needs, ages 4-14.

·         Break-Out - Parent Night Out on the third Friday every month, need to reserve slot.  There is a $5 fee and siblings are free. During the summer there is a vacation bible school especially for children with special needs, with no fee.

·         A Day to Remember - A day camp every Thursday from 9 am to 2 pm; $15 fee for the day.

UCP of Greater Houston, Inc.
4500 Bissonnet, Suite 340
Bellaire TX 77401
713-838-9050, ext 332
Shannon Tipton:  respite services for children under 3y/o
Sylvia Smith:  respite services for children 3y/o and older
www.ucphouston.org
·         Provides a wide variety of respite care services for children and adults with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities. 

·         In-Home  -  Providers who are selected by the parents care for the child in the home.  A Parent Voucher program allows parents to use independent providers of their own choosing, someone they know and trust to be with their child.

·         Family Day Out - Provides a Saturday program of supervised fun activities for children and their siblings to allow parents a total day of rest.  Staffed by a nurse and a center director.   Two Saturdays each month in three outreach locations.  Sliding fee. 

·         Respitality Min-Vacations - Provides free overnight accommodations at hotels in the Houston area.

UCP Montgomery County Respite Program
731 W. Davis
Conroe TX  77301
Rebecca Snyder  936-441-0789 ext. 472
Toll free: 888-825-9682 ext 472
www.ucphouston.org
·         In-Home - Respite service in the family's home by paid caregivers chosen by the family to care for child with special needs.  Vouchers reimburse the family to subsidize the cost of respite.
·         Family Day Out - Respite in a center-based setting held on monthly Saturdays.  Siblings are welcome.  Age: 3-15  Hours: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
·         Family-Support/Counseling - Professional Counselor available to help families to resolve family/personal issue during times of crisis/stress.
·         Respitality Mini-Vacations - Overnight hotel stays donated by local hotels giving parents a 24-hour respite break.

 “Desperate for Respite”

Presented by The JOY Ministry @ Graceview Baptist Church, 25510 Tomball Pkwy, Tomball, TX 77375. “Desperate for Respite” is a pilot program providing respite opportunities for families caring for children and young adults with special needs. Available 3 days each week throughout the summer season for caregivers to schedule respite for their special needs child/young adult along with their siblings. Each respite will be 5 hours and include fun and educational activities, snacks, drinks and one-on-one care. Fee is $40 per respite and $20 for each additional child/young adult, or $10 per hour for the first child and $5 per hour for each additional child/young adult. Please contact Tonya Magagh at respite4all@yahoo.com or 281-203-7280 to register or for additional information. Ask about the use of CLASS funding or available scholarships.

Community Living Assistance and Support Services (CLASS)
Wait List:  877-438-5658

www.dads.state.tx.us/services/communitycare/class.html

·         A Medicaid waiver program that provides home and community services to individuals of all ages, including respite for individuals with disabilities other than the primary diagnosis of mental retardation.

·         Wait list:  10 years; program is not state-wide

·         Eligibility:   Must have Medicaid or be SSI eligible, must be disabled prior to age 22 and demonstrate need for on-going habilitative services and case management. 

Home and Community-Based Services Program (HCS)
Main Intake (Harris County):  713-970-7070
Automated line; leave name and # and a representative will call you back:  713-970-7799

www.dads.state.tx.us/services/dads_help/mental_retardation/HCS

 Gulf Coast Center (Galveston and Brazoria Counties) - MR Division 1-888-839-7512

Texana MHMRA (Ft. Bend County) - 281-342-0090

Tri-County MHMRA (Montgomery County) - 936-756-8331

·         A Medicaid waiver program that helps individuals with mental retardation and related diagnoses return to or remain in their family homes in the community by providing individualized services including respite, nursing, adaptive aides, day habilitation, therapy, and more.

·         Wait list:  8-10 years

In-Home and Family Support

Program funded by grants annually with a cap of $1200 per year per child.  Two providers through In-Home and Family Support:

Department of Human Services (DHS)
Carmen Marshall  713-803-1802

·         Provides financial assistance to children who are over 4 years of age with documented permanent physical disability.

·         Income criteria applies.  Wait list is 3 ½ - 4 years. 

Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County (MHMRA)

Janice Baines, Program Director  713-970-3985

713-970-7229

713-970-7799 - Recorded message to leave name and phone # for wait list/application

·         Provides financial assistance to children with diagnoses of mental retardation, autism, or Down Syndrome and children under age 4 with physical disabilities, with or without developmental delay.

·         After age 4, if child does not have mental retardation diagnosis, call MHMRA to make sure name and original application has been turned over to DHS.

MDCP (Medically Dependent Children's Program)
Wait list:  1-877-438-5658 

·         A Medicaid Waiver Program for children under 21y/o, long waiting list.

·         Child must meet the medical criteria for admission to nursing home.

·         Respite care is one of the services provided by MDCP.

A Medicaid waiver program is based only on the child’s income and the child’s disability must meet SSI disability criteria.

Click here to go Home