The Caregiver Relief Program provides relief to families and primary caregivers of individuals with acquired brain injuries for a maximum period of 12 consecutive months.
Services offered by our Caregiver Relief Program include but may not be limited to:
Attendant Care: this can include personal care, completion of household tasks such as laundry or cooking, supervision/support within the home to allow caregiver some leisure time, etc.
Community Social Support: this can include assistance accessing community programs or activities (both attending & participating), etc.
To sign up, please complete the fields below, and a staff member will contact you with additional information on how you can get involved!
BIAPH believes that caregiver relief should be:
Registration deadlines are on June 30 and December 31
Successful applicants might be asked to submit proof of income by providing a copy of their notice of assessment issued by Revenue Canada for the most recent taxation year.
Telephone: (905) 823-2221 or toll free at 1-800-565-8594
Online/Email: biaph.com or caregiver@biaph.com
Mail: Brain Injury Association of Peel and Halton (BIAPH), 2000 Argentia Road Plaza 4, Suite 295, Mississauga, Ontario L5N 1W1
Individuals receiving Caregiver Relief from BIAPH are:
In addition to the minimum requirements, preference will be given to clients and families whose financial limitations would typically prevent them from accessing such services on their own. Successful applicants may be asked to submit proof of income by providing a copy of their notice of assessment issued by Revenue Canada for the most recent taxation year.
Please note, the Caregiver Relief Program cannot be used for the funding of active therapy or neurorehabilitation interventions (e.g., Speech-Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation Support Worker).
This program provides relief for caregivers of individuals with an acquired brain injury. As such, formal therapeutic goals are not expected to be met through BIAPH’s services and service providers are not expected to carry out therapeutic goals with the client.
1. Application Procedure:
A formal application must be submitted to BIAPH. Applications for service can come from the survivor, family members, or professionals (e.g., family physician, psychologist, social worker, etc.).
The Application Package should include:
The individual/family:
2. Decision Process:
Once the application is received, a member of the Caregiver Relief Committee will review the application and conduct a telephone screening interview with the individual or family. Once the screening interview is complete, the Caregiver Relief Committee member will discuss the client’s needs with the Caregiver Relief Committee, including recommendations for service provision.
PLEASE NOTE: All decisions about Caregiver Relief funding amounts are made on a semi-annual basis. Funding decisions are based on your individual/family needs and supports, services available, locally identified priorities, and the availability of Caregiver Relief funding from BIAPH’s yearly fundraising. Due to funding limitations, the Caregiver Relief Program cannot guarantee immediate service provision to all those who have been approved for service. It is possible that clients may be placed onto waiting lists until additional funding becomes available.
3. Arrangement of Services:
Once recommendations are agreed upon, the client/family and relevant service providers will be contacted via mail, email, or telephone contact to initiate services. Before services can begin, both the family and the service provider must sign letters of agreement. These letters will include important information about the nature of the service provided and other expectations and procedures. If these letters are not complete, services cannot begin.
4. Service Provision:
Once funds are allocated and a service provider is determined, families will direct their own care. Hours of service will be determined between the family and service provider. Please note that funding for services is based on the hourly rates of the service providers. In some cases, hourly rates differ for evenings, weekends or holidays. In those cases, funding cannot cover situations in which the hourly rate would be higher. Currently, there is a maximum allotment of 4 hours per week per client. Delivery of these 4 hours can be arranged with the individual service provider as needed. It will be up to the client and the service provider to determine a suitable schedule that works for both. Service providers require 24-hour notification to cancel or reschedule. In cases where this is not provided, BIAPH is required to pay them regardless, which further limits funding. As such, to avoid paying for services that are not provided, BIAPH reserves the right to discontinue services to clients who show a pattern of last minute cancellations or reschedules. Barring extenuating circumstances, if this occurs three times over the course of the 12-month contract, we retain the right to discontinue services.
5. Service Duration/Discontinuation:
Clients/families will receive services for a 12-month period. The date on the Letter of Agreement will mark the start date for funding. After completion of the 12 months, the client/family will be required to submit a new application for services. There is no automatic renewal process or automatic “rollover” of services. In addition, if a client/family goes longer than 3 months without using services or contacting the Caregiver Relief Committee, they will receive notification that services are going to be discontinued and reallocated to a client/family on our waitlist. For those clients who contract/arrange their own private service provider, hours must be submitted on a monthly basis (even if no service hours were used for the month). Failure to provide this information may indicate lack of use of such services, it may result in discontinuation of services altogether. If clients/families know that they will not be utilizing service for extended periods (e.g., month-long vacation, prolonged hospitalization, etc.), we ask that they contact our office to notify us of this change. Services may commence when the client returns home, however the arrangement would still end 12 months after initial start date.
Just a quick note to say thank you for the work you do. I really value the time you've taken each time to find me the right mentor. I am once again absolutely loving my calls with my current mentor and they are a highlight of my week where I know I can speak with someone who understands what I'm coping with. These are wonderful people who are mentors and I truly value their volunteered time to help people like me as we join the same path. I look forward to giving back as a mentor myself at some point.
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2000 Argentia Road Plaza 4, Suite 295, Mississauga, Ontario L5N 1W1