How To Become A Respite Care Provider: What It Is and Career Path

What is a respite care provider and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Lynette M. Fraga Ph.D

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a respite care provider. For example, did you know that they make an average of $12.87 an hour? That's $26,773 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 36% and produce 1,185,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a respite care provider?

Lynette M. Fraga Ph.D

CEO, Child Care Aware of America

Future child care workers-more appropriately named early childhood educators-can expect to play a critical role in children's development as the most rapid period of brain development occurs during the first five years of life.

At the same time, the pandemic has exacerbated the existing inequities in the child care system. The median wage for child care workers in 2019 was $11.65 per hour, hardly a living wage. They deserve to be treated as the professionals they are, and to be fairly compensated and valued.

ScoreRespite Care ProviderUS Average

Salary

2.1

Avg. Salary $26,773

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.0

Growth rate 36%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.26%

Asian 7.91%

Black or African American 7.21%

Hispanic or Latino 20.52%

Unknown 4.46%

White 58.63%

Gender

female 84.07%

male 15.93%

Age - 50

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 50

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.6

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a respite care provider

Explore respite care provider education requirements

Most common respite care provider degrees

Bachelor's

49.6 %

Associate

20.2 %

High School Diploma

15.0 %

Start to develop specific respite care provider skills

Skills	Percentages
CPR	15.48%
ABA	14.60%
Autism	10.19%
Child Care	9.96%
Applied Behavior Analysis	8.59%

Gain additional respite care provider certifications

Respite care provider certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific respite care provider certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for respite care providers include Medical Assistant and Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS).

More About Certifications

Research respite care provider duties and responsibilities

Aid and facilitate higher functioning patients reach their fullest potential while managing behavioral episodes as needed.
Certify as head agency trainer for CPR and first aid.
Assist with medication, ADL's, and recreational activities within the home.
Promote care for disable individuals, helping with their ADL's and IADL's.

Prepare your respite care provider resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your respite care provider resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a respite care provider resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable respite care provider resume templates

Build a professional respite care provider resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your respite care provider resume.