At the Respite Center, we recognize that parenting is one of the toughest jobs that is tougher yet when impacted by racial and economic inequality, isolation, issues with health, housing, or domestic stability. Providing caregivers with well-timed breaks for respite and a safe place when in crisis, helps keep families together when times are tough and support is needed. The Respite Center has been available to the community for over 40 years, providing a place for children to stay with the support of skilled staff who provide an engaging therapeutic space with nourishing meals, warm spaces to rest, and a welcoming place for all families.

At the Respite Center we help families access what they need to land on solid ground when resources are tight. Beyond childcare, we have stocked our pantry so that we can stretch a family's capacity to meet their basic needs  - it may be a gas card, a pack of diapers, a bag of groceries - we tap our pantry to help ease the needs in our community. Your donation deepens our reach to reduce stress for families with a steady stream of essential supplies that we provide both in-house and in response to families requesting relief.

Every contribution has impact.

Thank you for your support!

The Respite Center was established in 1979 through a cooperative effort with the Daycare Consortium and Red Caboose, initially with three years of funding from a federal grant from the National Council of Child Abuse and Neglect. The original location on Williamson St. on Madison's East side served 8 children a day and up to four overnight. The Respite Center continues to provide service six days and seven overnights a week and is funded primarily though Dane County Human Services, the City of Madison, and private donors. 

2020 Innovative and Exemplary Respite Service Award Winner

In 2020, the Respite Center was named by ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center as a model for respite centers across the United States, "to help build and promote stronger respite opportunities to caregivers across the network and the nation." Our unique model of care serves as a template for other communities to build create respite services and an exemplary model of care that has been serving the Dane County community for over 42 years.