Missouri service credit system for respite care: An exploratory study

The aim of respite care services is to alleviate the stress placed on primary caregivers of the frail elderly. This article describes an innovative respite care program in Missouri that incorporates a service credit system as an incentive for volunteers to participate. It also presents the findings of an exploratory study on the volunteers who participated in the program. Among other things, the study found that the volunteers' level of satisfaction with the program was extremely high and that those who were less healthy, were recipients of Supplemental Security Income, and had never done volunteer work before, took the service credit system more seriously than did others.