One of the most important postulates of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the right of persons with disabilities to live independently, with access to quality services to support them in their daily lives, and inclusion in all segments of the community.
In Article 19, the Convention obliges states to ensure the right of persons with disabilities to live in the community:
(a) Persons with disabilities have the opportunity to choose their place of residence and where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others and are not obliged to live in a particular living arrangement;
(b) Persons with disabilities have access to a range of in-home, residential and other community support services, including personal assistance necessary to support living and inclusion in the community, and to prevent isolation or segregation from the community;
(c) Community services and facilities for the general population are available on an equal basis to persons with disabilities and are responsive to their needs.
These provisions of the Convention began to be implemented in our country even before its ratification in 2011. Deinstitutionalization and the development of community-based services are processes that have been implemented in the country since 2000, and the Republic Centre – PORAKA has been involved in this reform from the very beginning, creating conditions for prevention of institutionalization and the establishment of social services - primarily Day Centres for adults with intellectual disabilities.
In 2017, with strong support from the Delegation of the European Union and UN agencies, the deinstitutionalization was re-emerged as one of the priorities in the social policy and reform, although in the last two years there has been a slowdown and less intensity, partly due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Deinstitutionalization Strategy "Timjanik" 2018-2027 formulates the priorities in an ambitious action plan, but due to the poor experience with the implementation of the previous strategy, there is great concern about the implementation of the transition from institutional to community-based care, especially in the development of support services that would enable independent living for persons with disabilities.
The National Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2023-2030, in its priority area 4, addresses the independent living of persons with disabilities, where the fourth specific goal states that the state strives to ensure independent living for persons with disabilities in the community. This goal provides measures for improving the conditions and quality of independent living in the community for persons with disabilities, such as supporting the biological families of persons with disabilities by providing in-home support services for the family as well as for the person with disabilities, promoting the foster family system, supporting foster families in providing the role of caregiver, developing and implementing family counselling programmes for families with a child or adult with disabilities and parents with disabilities, improving the personal assistance service, as well as educating persons with disabilities and organizations of persons with disabilities to be service providers. The National Strategy also envisages the establishment of rehabilitation and habilitation centres for the independence of persons with disabilities, education and support for persons who are deinstitutionalized, for their integration into the community.
Recommendations of the Republic Centre – PORAKA for advancing independent living and inclusion in the community for persons with intellectual disability
- It is necessary to ensure continuity and stability in the implementation of the deinstitutionalization process and effective transformation of large residential institutions through the implementation of the developed transformation plans.
- Ensuring sustainability of existing support services and continuing to create new support services, based on a real assessment of the needs of persons with disabilities.
- Establishing new types of services in order to cover the gaps in the offer of services at the local and/or regional level: help and care in the home, respite care, crisis centres, support for persons with high support needs. Personal assistance as a service should also be available for persons with intellectual disability.
- Improving the quality and upgrading the function of existing support services (day centres, foster care, small group homes and personal assistance for persons with disabilities).
- Additional person-centred methodologies need to be developed, and training provided for social services staff.
- Complementing regulatory mechanisms with quality standards, including monitoring and evaluation procedures.
- Establishing a partnership between service providers from the civil sector and the state – equal treatment of all service providers.
- Providing support to informal care in order to prevent placement in institutions and enable a decrease in the rate of institutionalization.
- Strengthening decentralization and the role of local self-government units in the reform of the social protection system and the provision of community-based services through sustainable financing.
