Personalised Support and Services for Persons with Disabilities – mapping of Nordic models

In what way and how can models for personalised support such as personal budgeting strengthen the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities? Personal budgeting refers to a sum of money that is granted to the individual on the basis of an assessment of the need for service and calculation of a budget for this purpose. The individual can buy the service he needs for his budget. Personal budgeting is in use in social and health care in several countries. In the Nordic region, personal assistance is the main example of such solutions, but other models have also been tried and adopted in social and health care, such as systems of freedom of choice and increased opportunities for users to choose a provider. The report presents a number of personalised systems for support for people with disabilities that have been implemented in the Nordic countries and their experiences. The mapping was carried out jointly by the Nordic Welfare Center and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). The report will be considered when forming a proposal for a future reform of support and services for people with disabilities in Finland.