Delaware program
A break for an older relative raising a child (Relative Respite Program)
Respite help for a Delaware relative aged 55 or older who is raising a child under 18.
What it is
Respite help for a Delaware relative aged 55 or older who is raising a child under 18.
An older relative raising a child can ask Easterseals about help taking a break. Both the carer’s age and the child’s age matter. The agency explains what assistance it can arrange.
Eligibility rules
- This route is for a Delaware relative aged 55 or older raising a child under 18 because the parents cannot do so. Biological and adoptive parents are excluded from this particular Relative Respite route, even if they are 55 or older.
What you get
- Respite help for an eligible relative caring for a child.
What the help includes
- Easterseals Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore administers the respite assistance.
- Easterseals can confirm current funds, grant or hour limits, documents, any waiting list and restrictions on combining assistance. The route is funding-dependent. Other respite programs have different rules; being ineligible for Relative Respite does not rule out every kind of respite.
If you decide to apply
- Ask Easterseals about the Relative Respite Program, or ask the hospital social worker for a referral.
- Have proof of Delaware residence, your relationship to the child and both ages ready.
Easterseals Relative Respite: 302-221-2087; resources@esdel.org · Official page ↗
What happens next
- The agency describes the available hours or payment arrangement and whether your household fits.
Good to know
The relative carer must be at least 55 and the child must be under 18.
Other details
- The agency can discuss other carer support if these age rules do not fit.
Official sources
“Would relative respite fit the person raising our child? What help and limits come with it, and could you help with a referral if appropriate?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand whether the person providing care can get a supported break.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Call and say who is raising the child, their age, and what a break would look like.
Your social worker
The hospital social worker can make the referral for you.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- Easterseals, as the administrator.
- Ask your social worker
- “I am my grandchild’s carer and I am 55 or older. Can you refer us to the Delaware relative respite programme?”
How to apply
First step: Call 302-221-2087 and ask about the relative respite programme.
- Call 302-221-2087 and ask what respite is available for a relative raising a child in treatment.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Call the respite programme.
What to gather
- Proof of Delaware residence
- The relationship to the child
- The child’s age
How long: Not published.
What a yes looks like
Respite hours or a payment arranged through the agency.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Usually the carer’s age or the child’s. Ask what else the agency runs for carers.
Watch out
- It is for a relative carer aged 55 or older, not for parents generally.
- Easterseals confirms current assistance, funding, waiting list and documents; the program depends on available funds.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Respite help for a Delaware relative aged 55 or older raising a child under 18.
- $55 — Minimum age of the relative carer
- $18 — Age ceiling for the child
Covers: Respite so the relative carer gets a break
What it costs the family: Not published.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Carer age
- Delaware relative aged 55 or older raising a child under 18 because the parents cannot do so; biological and adoptive parents are excluded from this particular route.
- Child age
- a child under 18
- Residency
- Delaware
The trap: It is not a general carer voucher for parents. An unrestricted respite payment for a younger parent was not found in the research.
Where I read this
- Easterseals Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore — Respite Services — Easterseals Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore, read September 10, 2026