Answers for Families and Childcare Centers
Everything you need to know about respite care, in-home support, caregiver vetting, booking and staffing — answered by the Lapapoe team.
For Families
Questions we hear most often from parents and guardians looking for respite or in-home care.
Respite care is short-term care that gives parents and guardians a planned break while their child stays safely supported by someone trained to meet their needs. It might be a few hours so you can go to an appointment, work a shift, spend time with your other children, or simply rest.
Lapapoe connects Georgia families with vetted caregivers who have real experience supporting children with developmental differences. You tell us about your child, we match you with caregivers whose skills fit, and care is delivered on a schedule that works for your family — not a fixed program you have to fit into.
Our caregivers support children across a range of needs, including:
- Communication support — for verbal and non-verbal children
- Behavior support and emotional regulation
- Sensory processing needs, including sensitivity to sound, touch or light
- Daily living skills — dressing, toileting and feeding routines
- Gross and fine motor skills, including mobility assistance
- Learning and cognitive support, attention span and following instructions
- Social interaction and supervision for safety
Caregivers also list specific areas of experience on their profiles — such as autism support, ADHD support, Down syndrome support, developmental delays and physical disabilities — so you can see who is the right fit before you book.
Getting started takes three steps:
- Let us get to know you. Tell us about your child, your family and what matters most to you.
- Meet your family partner. We connect you with trained caregivers who bring experience in autism, education, child development and disability support.
- Ongoing support. We stay with you as your family’s needs change.
You can start a booking online or call our team on (470) 305-3471 if you would rather talk it through first.
Every caregiver must pass our four-point diligence process — interview, background check, qualification check and orientation — before they can work with a family. In practice that means:
- State background checks — we run background checks through the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) and the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), the same agencies that screen staff in licensed childcare and home care settings
- Criminal history — a criminal background screen through a third-party vendor, with results received before anyone is accepted
- Sexual offender history — screening against the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW)
- Licensing and professional certification verification — checked against sources such as the Georgia Secretary of State professional licensing portal and university records
- CPR and First Aid certification
- Right to work — a state or federally issued form of identification
- An interview — so we understand why they want to work with children with additional needs
Vetting is where we start, not where we stop: we stay involved once care begins.
Lapapoe caregivers come from education, health and care backgrounds — teachers and paraprofessionals, early childhood educators, behavior technicians, therapy assistants and experienced direct support professionals. Many hold CPR and First Aid certification, and some bring additional licenses or credentials that we verify during vetting.
Just as important as credentials is fit. Each caregiver writes a profile describing the areas they feel most confident and competent in, so you are choosing someone whose real experience matches your child.
We support families across metro Atlanta and the surrounding counties, including Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton counties, as well as the City of Atlanta.
If you are just outside these areas, still get in touch — our caregiver network is growing and we may be able to help.
Yes. Most Lapapoe care is in-home care, which is usually where children are most comfortable and where their routines, equipment and familiar spaces already are. Care can also take place in the community — a park, a library, a therapy appointment — when that suits your family better.
You set the location and the schedule when you book, and you are always told in advance who is coming.
We recommend booking as early as you can, especially for recurring care or for specific skill areas, so we have time to match you well rather than quickly. That said, we know real life is not always plannable — if you need care at short notice, call (470) 305-3471 and we will tell you honestly what is available.
Once you are set up, you can request and manage bookings through your Lapapoe account.
Rates depend on the type of care, the level of support your child needs and the length of the booking, so we share clear pricing with you during your consultation rather than quoting a single number that may not apply to your situation.
There are no surprise fees — you see the rate before you confirm a booking, and payment is handled securely through your Lapapoe account.
Yes. Lapapoe accepts Family Support funds, so if your family has been allocated them you can put them towards respite and in-home care with us. Family Support Services in Georgia provide flexible funding to families caring for a child with a developmental disability, and respite is one of the things those funds are commonly used for.
We deliver this work as a subcontractor to the Bobby Dodd Institute, which means Family Support funding can only be used with us in the specific counties covered by that agreement — a narrower list than the areas we serve for privately funded care.
Contact us or call (470) 305-3471 and we will confirm straight away whether your county is covered and what you are eligible for. Tell us you are using Family Support funds when you first get in touch and we will work with you and Bobby Dodd Institute on the paperwork, so the funding side does not become another thing you have to project-manage.
Yes — behavior support is one of the most common reasons families come to us, and it is a skill area caregivers are specifically tagged for. When you tell us about your child, describe what a hard moment actually looks like and what helps: triggers, warning signs, calming strategies, and anything that definitely does not work.
We use that to match you with someone who has genuine experience with similar needs, and we share your plan with them before the first booking so nothing has to be explained in the moment.
Yes, and we encourage it. Consistency matters enormously for children with developmental differences — a familiar caregiver means less transition, less anxiety and more actual rest for you. Where availability allows, we will keep matching you with the caregiver your child already knows.
If a match is not right, tell us. We would rather find you a better fit than have you continue with care that does not feel right.
Lapapoe Circle is our community for families and professionals in the special needs space — a place to share resources, learn from other parents and stay connected between bookings. You can read more about Lapapoe Circle and join at any time, whether or not you currently book care with us.
For Childcare Centers
Questions from directors and owners about staffing, placements and inclusive classroom support.
We connect childcare centers with caregivers who are experienced in supporting children with developmental differences, so your classrooms can be genuinely inclusive without stretching your existing staff. That may mean one-to-one support for a specific child, an extra pair of experienced hands during the hardest part of the day, or cover when you are short-staffed.
You keep control of your program; we supply the trained people.
Four steps:
- Tell us your needs. Share your center’s care preferences and the type of support you are looking for.
- We find your match. We identify and connect you with qualified providers who meet your requirements.
- Book your provider. Review availability and book with confidence.
- Care, simplified. Providers deliver care at your convenience, with ongoing support from our team.
Register your center or call (470) 305-3471 to talk it through.
Common placements include:
- Substitute lead teachers — covering a classroom when your lead teacher is out, planned or unplanned
- Substitute assistant teachers — keeping your ratios right without pulling staff from other rooms
- One-to-one classroom support for a child who needs a dedicated person
- Additional support in an inclusive classroom, alongside your existing team
Providers bring experience in behavior support, communication support, sensory needs, daily living skills and supervision for safety — the areas centers most often tell us they need depth in.
If you have a need that does not fit neatly into those categories, describe it to us and we will tell you honestly whether we can staff it.
Yes. Every provider passes the same four-point diligence process before working with anyone. That includes background checks run through the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) and the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), plus a third-party criminal background screen, National Sex Offender Public Website screening, verification of licenses and professional certifications, CPR and First Aid certification, right-to-work identification, and an interview.
Because we screen through DECAL, providers we place are checked against the same standard your own classroom staff are. We can share documentation of a placed provider’s screening for your records and your licensing file. Centers remain responsible for their own licensing obligations, so tell us what your Bright from the Start requirements call for and we will make sure the provider we place meets them.
It depends on the skill areas you need and how specific the role is. Planned placements and recurring coverage give us the most room to match well. For urgent gaps, call (470) 305-3471 — we will tell you straight away what is realistically available rather than leaving you waiting.
Both. Some centers use Lapapoe for a single day of coverage, others for a recurring weekly placement or ongoing one-to-one support for a particular child through the school year. You are not locked into a minimum commitment to try us.
Yes. Where a child has an IEP, IFSP or behavior support plan, share the relevant goals and strategies (with the family’s consent) and we will match a provider whose experience fits and brief them before they start. Our providers support the plan your team and the family have already built — they do not replace your teaching staff or write plans of their own.
Centers are invoiced for booked hours at rates agreed up front, based on the type of support and the length of the placement. You see the rate before confirming a booking, and we will walk you through the details during your consultation so there are no surprises on the invoice.
We work with centers across metro Atlanta and the surrounding counties — Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton — plus the City of Atlanta. If your center sits just outside that footprint, contact us anyway; our provider network is expanding.
Register your center on our For Childcare Centers page, or call (470) 305-3471 to speak with our team. We will ask about your program, your classrooms and the kind of support you need, and follow up with providers who fit.
Still have a question?
Our team is happy to talk it through — no obligation, no pressure.