PERSONAL ASSISTANCE BILLS

Denmark: New Rules on Personal Assistance Kirsten Plambech from Disabled Peoples Organisations Denmark (DPOD) reports about new legislation in Denmark:From 1st January 09 new rules are effective in relation to personal assistancebased on direct payment. The municipal council shall pay a subsidy towards the costof engaging assistant carers and attendants for persons with substantial andpermanent impairment of physical or mental function requiring particular support.What is new about these rules is the possibility for the individual to hand over thesubsidy to an organization, ruled by persons with personal assistance themselves, toa private company or a relative. They will hereafter administer the assistance.From a legal point of view, the individual can hand over the responsibility for being anemployer. However it is done, the individual keeps the responsibility for the day-todayplanning of the work, engaging the necessary help and so on.If being entitled to this kind of assistance, the municipal council cannot decideanything on behalf of the individual in relation to the planning of the arrangement.The individual decides, whether they wish to be an employer themselves or they willhand over the responsibility to an organization, a private company or a relative. Theindividual decides who to employ, the day-to-day planning and so on.About 2200 persons in Denmark are expected to fulfil the conditions to thisarrangement.A new organization called LOBPA (The national organization of people with personal

assistance ruled by themselves) has come into existence.

Finland: Bill on Personal Assistance Terhi Toikkanen from Assistentti.info pointed out a new bill on PA.A government bill on personal assistance for people with severe disabilities draftedunder the lead of the Finnish Minister of Health and Social Services Paula Risikkotogether with the Finnish Disability Forum has been completed. According to the bill,persons with severe disabilities who are in need of necessary and repeatedassistance in their everyday activities as well as for work and studies are entitled topersonal assistance. The objective is that the Act will enter into force on 1 Sep 2009.In the present Finish system, the municipality compensated the disabled person whoemploys an assistant for their costs. With the new Act, there are two morealternatives: - a) the municipality will give the person with severe disability a servicevoucher for purchasing assistance service – b) the municipality organises the servicein the form of a purchased service, through its own service production or in acontractual cooperation with one or several municipalities. In this way, the lawamendment will make it possible for persons with disabilities to obtain personalassistance in the form of a service – without employer obligations.

 

23.02.2009