Maine committee hears bill to codify Respite for Me caregiver program

The Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services on Friday heard testimony on LD 709, a bill that would codify the Respite for Me program to provide respite care and supplemental services for family and older-relative caregivers.

Supporters told the committee the bill would replace the current state-funded respite program with Respite for Me to broaden service options and allow the state to use all available federal, state and local resources to support caregivers. Sponsor Representative Kristen Cludier said the measure follows a pilot that the department and area agencies ran under the governor's recovery plan.

"My name is Kristen Cludier, and I represent House District 94. I am pleased to sponsor LD 709, an act to establish the Respite for Me program," Representative Cludier said. She told the committee she would present a parallel funding bill, LD 815, immediately after the public hearing on LD 709.

James Morehead, the department's healthy aging services manager, told the committee the department introduced LD 709 in response to the pilot's results. "The Respite for Me pilot program expanded access to services for family caregivers across the state while using person centered care planning to offer greater flexibility in the types of services reimbursed," Morehead said. He said the bill would repeal the current state-funded respite care program and replace it with Respite for Me, using the funds already allocated to the existing program.

Morehead noted the department submitted a final evaluation report to the committee on Jan. 21, 2025, and that a department blog post summarized key findings; he said the department could provide the committee the link cited in its testimony. He also said the pilot was funded through the governor's Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan and delivered through area agencies on aging.

Committee chairs and staff explained the process: the committee will accept public testimony in the hearing record today and will hold a work session and deliberations at a later date to consider any amendments or a recommended do-pass motion. The committee's members may ask clarifying questions during the public hearing, and written testimony may be submitted for the record.

No formal action or vote on LD 709 occurred at the hearing. The sponsor indicated she would present LD 815, a related funding bill, after the LD 709 testimony; that funding measure was not debated in the portion of the hearing recorded here.

The committee did not take a vote during this session; members will consider the bill at a future work session and may request additional information from the department before making a recommendation.