Personal Assistance in Sweden

Tillander, Erik. 2012. Benefit fraud in relation to personal assistance in Sweden.

Summary of legal cases, statistics and media coverage as of November 2012

In early 2010, Halmstad District Court handed down three judgments and several people were sentenced to prison for benefit fraud. These cases involved people pretending to be disabled, as well as other types of crimes, such as tax evasion and fraudulent timesheets that also figured in the subsequent discussion. In 2011 about 20 assistance companies were investigated, and two more people were convicted in February 2012.http://assistanskoll.se/20120209-Dom-mot-agare-till-assistansforetag-i-Halland.html.

Tillander, Erik. 2012. Working and parenting with personal assistance.

Summary of legislation, interpretations and other developments as of August 2012

In sweden there is a law that defines the rights people with severe functional impairments have to various fully funded services and benefits, including personal assistance. The law also defines requirements for a functional impairments to be considered severe. This Law is called "The Law about Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS)" and is the subject of regular review. If you are too old or not sufficiently impaired to qualify for LSS services then you may only be entitled to partially funded services according to another law.

Independent Living-rörelsen banade vägen (sidan på svenska)

Dr. Adolf Ratzka. 2012. The Independent Living movement paved the way: Origins of personal assistance in Sweden. Perspectives on personal assistance.

Chapter 2 Perspectives on personal assistance, Brusén Peter, Flyckt Karin (ed.), Gothia Förlag 2012 Adolf Ratzka Benign oppression Social policy is rarely made by the people whose lives it affects. Rather, it is formulated based on political considerations by politicians and bureaucrats who, by necessity, have limited knowledge of the conditions of other people’s lives – especially regarding those of us with extensive disabilities who depend on other people to survive and require practical assistance with activities of daily living such as getting out of bed, dressing, personal hygiene and bathing. The greater our dependence, the more others assume they are entitled to have opinions about our needs and the less those of us affected have a say in how we want to live our lives and what social resources we need. As a result, solutions and services often make us more dependent on others rather than independent.

Westberg, Kenneth, Berg Susanne, Dr. Adolf Ratzka. 2012. Personal Assistance in Sweden.

The Independent Living Institute (ILI, Sweden) Sweden has written this report on Personal Assistance in Sweden for the Expertise Centre Independent Living, Flanders, Belgium.

We gave ILI a list containing questions and topics on hot issues in Flanders. What is the legal framework? How does the assessment take place? What is the assistant's statute? What are the experiences with private enterprises? In this report, Kenneth Westberg answers these questions. He has written this report under the guidance of PhD. Adolf Ratzka.

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Personal_Assistance_in_Sweden_KW_2010.pdf

Erdtman, Emil. 2010. Municipalities as personal assistance providers in Sweden.

Summary of legislation, court interpretations and reports as of October 2010

Individuals granted personal assistance under the Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS) may choose whether their local municipality, a private company or cooperative will provide the assistance.

La place des aidants familiaux dans le système d'assistance personnelle suédoise (page Français)

Jaillet, C. 2009. The role of relative helpers in the Swedish personal assistance system.

In most European countries the most common assistance for people with disabilities is provided by relatives, we can easily understand that this system has weaknesses. The trustful relationship makes it work but : -family members, especially parents, are getting old and can't help eternally their child or relative with disabilities -children that help a parent with disability have to handle with too much important responsibilities and too young -relationship partners can't sacrifice their career for the other and can't fear to sign for a life-long 24hour job -assistance with filial feelings most of the time leads to unequal relation -hiring external assistants is considered as an abandonment if relatives worked before as assistants

Jaillet, C. 2009. From institutions to Independent Living: the need of peer-support and education programs.

En français

25 years of Independent Living in Sweden- Documentation - Susanne Berg on STIL

Panel discussion: Models, milestones and achievements by the Swedish Independent Living organisations, Susanne Berg, November 8 2008.

STIL is the oldest Independent Living organization in Sweden. The organization started the Swedish movement and therefore has worked the longest with the Independent Living model.

At the conference in 1983 the Independent Living movement was presented by Ed Roberts and Judy Heumann among others. It was presented as a movement with two sides, two legs.

Read more about 25 years of Independent Living in Sweden- Documentation - Susanne Berg on STIL

Westerberg, Bengt. 2008. IL 25 years Documentation - Bengt Westerberg.

Speech by Bengt Westerberg, chair of Swedish Red Cross and former Minister of Social Affairs, 2008. 22 years ago I met with Adolf Ratzka for the first time. I was then a politician, the leader of the Liberal party in Sweden, Folkpartiet and had welfare policy for disabled people high on my agenda. Adolf and Bengt Elmén, who also was present when we met in 1986 and who is present here today, told me about the social experiment they had initiated in Stockholm and some other municipalities to substitute the conventional social services provided by the local authorities with personal assistance.

Independent Living Institute. 2008. 25 år Independent Living - Dokumentation.

Internationell konferensen i november 2008 för att fira 25 år av Independent Living i Sverige. Dokumentation från konferensen: Välkomstanförande, tal av Bengt Westerberg, Adolf Ratzka med mera.

Summary of legal cases, statistics and media coverage as of November 2012

Summary of legislation, interpretations and other developments as of August 2012

Summary of legislation, court interpretations and reports as of October 2010

25 years of Independent Living in Sweden- Documentation - Susanne Berg on STIL

Panel discussion: Models, milestones and achievements by the Swedish Independent Living organisations, Susanne Berg, November 8 2008.

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