The Disability policy in Sweden

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The Disability policy in Sweden

• A top-down presentation for the MECED project
• by Octavian Dumitriu

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Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (1)

• Areas of responsibility peoples financial
  security, social services, health and medical
  care, public health and the rights of children
  and disabled people.
• Objectives of the Disability policy
• a social community based on diversity
• a society designed to allow people with
  disabilities of all ages full participation in
  the life of the community
• equal opportunities in life for girls and boys,
  women and men with disabilities.

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Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (2)

• Focus areas for the work with disabled
• identifying and removing obstacles to full
  participation in society for people with
  disabilities
• preventing and combating discrimination against
  people with disabilities
• enabling children, young people and adults with
  disabilities to achieve independence and
  self-determination
• Aim to remove obstacles to full participation in
  society, action to combat discrimination and
  individual support
• The measures are cross-sectoral and included in
  most policy areas

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Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (3)

• Challenges
• Remove deficiencies in action to safeguard the
  people in most need and the people who cannot
  always speak for themselves (such as mentally ill
  and persons with extensive disabilities)
• More attention to labour market greater priority
  to work to increase employment for people with
  disabilities and to identifying and removing the
  obstacles to participation in working life
• Making Sweden accessible The national action
  plan for disability policy - clear objectives for
  accessibility that should be attained during 2010
  (making public transport accessible and remedying
  easily eliminated obstacles in premises and
  public open spaces)

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The National Action Plan

• The most important policy document in Swedish
  disability policy
• Covers all sectors if of society and shows
  disability policy to be of an inter-sectoral
  nature.
• Objectives
• a social community based on diversity
• a society designed to allow people with
  disabilities of all ages full participation in
  the life of the community
• equal opportunities in life for girls and boys,
  women and men with disabilities.
• Focuses on the following tasks in particular
• identifying and removing obstacles to full
  participation in society for people with
  disabilities
• preventing and fighting discrimination against
  people with disabilities
• making it possible for children, young people and
  adults with disabilities to lead independent
  lives and to make their own decisions in life.

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The Swedish agency for Disability Policy
Coordination (Handisam)

• Government agency aiming to remove the obstacles
  which people with disabilities are still
  encountering in the community
• Tasks
• Co-ordination
• Acceleration
• Co-ordination
• supporting the sectoral authorities tasked with
  implementing the national plan for disability
  policy
• follow up and evaluate the work on the action
  plan.
• Acceleration developing knowledge concerning
  accessibility in the community and in particular
  ensuring that the public sector sets a good
  example
• Guidelines for an accessible Government Service
  

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The Swedish Handicap Institute

• Government institute acting as national resource
  centre on assistive technology and accessibility
  for persons with disabilities.
• Aim full participation and equality for persons
  with disabilities by ensuring access to
  high-quality assistive technology, an effective
  provision of assistive devices and an accessible
  environment.
• Activities
• testing and procurement of assistive devices
• research and development
• analyses of needs, knowledge and method
  development
• training and capacity building
• international cooperation
• information

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The Swedish Disability Ombudsman

• A government agency that works for people with
  disability, by monitoring the rights and
  interests of the people with disabilities.
• Objective that people with various kinds of
  disability should be able to participate fully in
  the life of the community and live on the same
  terms as others
• The foundation for the operations the UN
  Standard Rules on the Equalization of
  Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities and
  Swedens Action Plan for Disability Policy, "From
  Patient to Citizen
• Four acts prohibiting discrimination on the
  grounds of disability.
• The Prohibition of Discrimination in Working Life
  of People with Disability Act
• Equal Treatment of Students at Universities Act
• The Prohibition of Discrimination Act
• Act on the prohibition of discrimination and
  other degrading treatment of children and pupils
• The Ombudsman task to see to it that this
  legislation is complied with and to bring court
  actions where necessary.

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The Swedish Disability Federation (1)

• The united voice of the Swedish disability
  movement before government, the parliament and
  the local authorities.
• Founded 1942 - consists today of 43 national
  disability organisations with about 500 000
  individual members
• Each organisation makes its own decisions and
  determines its own activities but on issues where
  all member organisations agree, common action is
  taken.
• The 43 member organisations
• Work basis everyone is equal and that everybody
  has the right to decide over their own body and
  life
• Goal a society for everyone, characterized by
  solidarity, equality and participation
• Needs political initiatives in many fields
  medical care, support services, education and
  training, labour market policy, physical
  planning, culture and information.

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The Swedish Disability Federation (2)

• Intensive dialogue with the government
• member of the government's disability council.
• separate meetings with any minister it wishes to
  approach on a specific issue.
• member of official governmental inquiry
  committees.
• Receives reports from governmental inquiry
  committees with the right to comment officially.
• Has extensive informal contact with governmental
  officials, groups and committees.
• Agenda 22 - a method to realise the UN Standard
  Rules (Agenda 22)
• Co-operation on a European level - member of the
  European Disability Forum (EDF)

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Internet links

• www. sweden.gov.se/sb/d/2061
• http//www.handisam.se/Tpl/StartPage____287.aspx
• http//www.hi.se/templates/Page____132.aspx
• http//www.ho.se/Tpl/NormalPage____118.aspx
• http//ec.europa.eu/employment_social/disability/i
  ndex_en.html
• http//www.who.int/topics/disabilities/en/
• http//www.disabilityworld.org/
• http//wallis.kezenfogva.iif.hu/eu_konyvtar/Projek
  tek/Vocational_Rehabilitiation/sweden/sweden.htm
• http//adulted.about.com/od/disabilities/a/LDadult
  s.htm

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The End

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