Targu-Mures Declaration, Romania Call for Action October, 7th, 2005
EASPD
The European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities
(EASPD) represents more than 7,000 organisations across Europe and across disability
(including the accession countries Romania and Bulgaria) and is the voice of
the service provision sector in Europe. EASPD strives for equal opportunities
for people with disabilities through high quality services and believes in
interdependence and partnership of user's organisations, providers and authorities
at all levels to tackle the challenges ahead.
EASPD … gets involved!
In just over 30 years, the EU has grown from a six-member entity with a population
of 185 million into a 15-member entity with 375 million people before becoming
a 25-member entity with 455 million citizens in 2004. The EU's next scheduled
enlargements would bring Romania, Bulgaria and in a later stage Croatia and
Turkey into the fold. EASPD believes that the enlargement process should not
only be seen in terms of economic profitability (ie by widening the European
single market). The new member states and accession countries also bring along
a whole range of different cultures, social policies and political structures
too. EASPD is convinced that social NGO’s should play an important role in
helping to implement human rights through high qualitative service systems
and ensuring that both the new member states and the accession countries are
assisted to meet the social criteria for becoming fully integrated in the EU.
Service providers are important stakeholders in building up social cohesion
in Europe. For those reasons, EASPD has established a Standing Committee on
Enlargement and adapted its statutes to open up membership for organizations
from all countries of the Council of Europe.
The care sector in the new member states and in the accession countries generally
less structures and developed. EASPD is committed to share its networks and
experiences with service providers and their umbrella associations in all new
member states and accession countries. EASPD does this to support the development
of local -provider activities and to enhance the quality of services to people
with disabilities. In particular, EASPD launched a very practical grass-root
initiative: the twinning initiative. Using its international networks of providers
and umbrella bodies, EASPD has invited local service providers in accession
countries to link up with their counterparts from the EU or the other way around.
In 2005, EASPD significant steps to strengthen the ties with providers in
all Eastern and South East European countries and participated in three important
events. In Belgrade on between 8-10th of September, (Serbia-Montenegro, organised
by Handicap International South-East Europe), the focus was on service development
and stakeholder involvement. In Budapest between 15-17th of September (Hungary,
‘Common Voice’), we tried to identify common strengths, weaknesses and needs
of the sector in Central and Eastern Europe. During our conference in Targu-Mures
on 7th of October (Romania), local authorities, experts, service providers,
researchers and other relevant stakeholders from both the “new” and the “old”
Europe were invited to contribute to a seminar on community based settings
and person centred services. Poster sessions were organized to exchange models
of good practice on service development and to promote transnational cooperation
amongst the service providers present.
As a follow up of these enlargement events, EASPD wishes to launch its “Targu-Mures
Call for Action” with observations, findings, recommendations and specific
proposals for the future. The “Targu-Mures Call for Action” was adopted by
all EASPD members on 8 October 2005, during the Board meeting in Targu-Mures,
Romania.
An analysis of the existing situation in Eastern, Central and South-East European
countries in the three above events has made clear that all participant countries
experience a series of similar problems. EASPD with its collective expertise
in service provision has decided to focus its proposal solely on service and
support related issues.
In order to tackle all these problems, more
action at national and European level is needed.
1. Legislation
Recommendation A coherent and efficient legal framework to support: • The development of a service provision sector in all EEC/SEEC countries;
• The development of NGOs & their activities as service providers
should be adopted by national authorities. Governments should ensure that this
legal framework is enforced and in concordance with existing EU
legislation, the Council of Europe Disability Action Plan and the forthcoming
UN legally binding instrument to promote and protect the rights and dignity
of persons with disabilities.
Special attention should be paid as well to the development of a legal framework
for the protection of /and equal opportunities for children with disabilities,
people with severe and profound disabilities, Roma people with disabilities
and ageing people.
Call for action
EU level:
-The EU should review the effectiveness of all its current legislation
and requirements in so far as they impact upon the provision of support for
social services within member states and in doing so should focus in particular
on how EU requirements impact upon support for people with disabilities;
National level:
-National authorities should adopt legislation aiming at delivering
high quality services for persons with disabilities;
-National authorities should adopt legislation facilitating the development
of service provision across a diverse range of providers offering genuine choice
and user involvment;
-National authorities should ensure the setting-up of a monitoring system on
the implementation and the effectiveness of their proposals.
2. Quality Assurance
Recommendation
CoE, EU, national authorities and providers should ensure that all services
provided meet acceptable quality levels by adopting a set of outcome-based
quality principles for service development including user involvement. Instruments
for monitoring systems should be developed and implemented at the same time.
Call for action
EU level:
-DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities should organise
an interactive platform where stakeholders could meet to discuss how effective
QA systems can be implemented;
National level:
-National authorities should integrate into their legislation
systems of quality assurance and quality control, supported by an effective
accreditation system and licensing;
Service providers:
-Should implement these quality principles in their own
services and
&NGOs actions, taking account of the requirements and conditions of each
region.
3. Social inclusion and the availability of services
Recommendation
Policy development in the EU cannot take place without a clear understanding
of the level and nature of social need in each member state, as needs assessment
is crucial for policy development.
Needs assessment is crucial for policy development. EASPD suggests that a minimum
data set of social needs to be collected in each member state, built on a common
approach, agreed on a European level.
Call for action
EU level: -DG Research should facilitate the collection of comparable data
in relation to the availability of services in order to get to a common European
approach;
-Comparable data in relation to the availability of services for people with
severe and multiple disabilities is a priority;
National &
regional level:
-National authorities should incorporate in the National Action
Plans (NAPs) a “needs assessment instrument” - National Minimum Social Need
Data Set in a format to be agreed between all stakeholders;
-National authorities should implement this National Minimum Social Need Data
Set;
-Local authorities should include in the Local Action Plans (LAPs) a priority
list on service development agreed between stakeholders – so that services
become more available to persons with disabilities;
-NAPs and LAPs should focus on the situation of people with severe and multiple
disabilities and children with disabilities;
4. Employment
Recommendation
In the field of employment, national authorities should develop
a set of binding support measures to help people with disabilities to both
find and keep a job (Accessibility and Availability of jobs).
Employment is the lever for social inclusion in Europe (cfr. the Lisbon process),
but nevertheless, statistics prove that persons with disabilities have consistently
achieved a significantly lower employment rate than the rest of the population.
Call for Action
EU level:
-DG Competition should recognize the needs and concerns of sheltered
workplaces and supported employment agencies in Europe, when drafting a new
State Aid Regulation;
-In its employment guidelines, the European Commission should include a demand
for national authorities to acknowledge the existence of the financial obstacles
to employment of people with disabilities (often called the benefits trap)
and to search for solutions;
National level:
-National authorities should launch outcome based research
work on the benefits trap;
-National authorities should develop supported employment strategies;
-Member States and Candidate countries should ensure a correct implementation
of the current and new State Aid Regulation.
5. Education and Training
Recommendation Training programmes should be developed and/or made available both by EU and
national authorities for both senior management and
front line workers on the management and delivery of good quality social
services and qualitative
management. In relation to education, national authorities and EU should implement
the Salamanca Declaration on special needs education and the right to education
for all.
Call for action
EU level: DG Education and Culture - should as a first step facilitate work
towards a Europe wide accepted and agreed Care Licence as a qualification covering
all staff new to the care sector, supporting a common set of values, attitudes,
knowledge and skills;
-Should follow up the above proposal with further developments to support transferability
of staff and skills across the sector with additional EC wide qualifications
in care at higher levels
–Should facilitate value based transnational cooperation and exchange of know-how;
-Established programmes could support training exchange for first line staff
and top managers from the service provision sector;
-We call upon the European Agency for Development in Special
Needs Education to pay in-depth attention to the right for education for people with multiple
disabilities and complex dependency needs in the new member states and candidate
countries;
-EC should monitor the implementation of the Salamanca Declaration;
National level:
-National authorities should incorporate
the above-mentioned European Care Licence & integrate its principles
in their care and training systems;
-National authorities should adopt National Action Plans for the implementation
of the principles of the Salamanca Declaration;
-National authorities should ensure that children with severe disabilities
are able to attend appropriate education systems. A monitoring system at national
level should be put in place;
Service providers:
-Should recruit well-trained staff and organise value based
training, in line with the above mentioned European Care Licence and quality
principles.
6. Networking and stakeholder approach
Recommendation
CoE, EU and national authorities should contribute to the creation
of networks of service providers and facilitate
networking as tool for capacity building in Europe.
Call for action
CoE level:
-All stakeholders should be present in all working groups
and structures of the CoE and especially the Committee on the Rehabilitation
and Integration of People with Disabilities (CD-P-RR);
EU level: -The Meetings of the DG Enlargement, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
and the High Level Group on Disability should be open for all relevant stakeholders
and thematic meetings on EEC should be organised at least twice a year;
National & regional level:
-National & regional/local
authorities should contribute to the instalment of national disability fora
in which providers should be involved;
Service providers:
-Should organise themselves in federations and organisations
at national/regional level.
7. Governance principles
Recommendation
The adoption in practice of the governance principles – openness,
participation, coherence, accountability, effectiveness – introduced in the
White Paper on European Governance ‘COM (201) 428 final’ by governmental bodies and structures
and non governmental organisations (NGOs) in day to day working methods is
needed for good quality in service delivery and policy implementation.
Call for action
EU level:
-EU should implement the White Paper on governance in all aspects
and identify key networks of all stakeholders in order to consult them on relevant
topics;
National level:
-Independent bodies should monitor the implementation of governance
principles in order to fight corruption and lack of competence in all fields
and in all European countries.
8. Person centred services and community based settings
Recommendation
CoE, EU and national authorities should adopt a European
wide framework for establishing community-based settings and person centred
services using a
step-by-step methodology and a stakeholder approach.
Call for action
CoE level:
-Should focus on the development of clear proposals for change
agreed between stakeholders;
EU level:
-EU should focus on research on the mechanisms that might assist
in the progressive dismantling of large scale institutional services in exchange
for small, locally based services which empower users and their families;
-Funding should be made available for supporting the ‘step by step’ de-institutionalisation
process;
National level:
-National authorities should set-up National
Action Plans on the development of community-based settings & person
centred services;
-Research should be undertaken on the causes of bottlenecks in setting-up person
centred services & community based settings and on the pressures and policies
that tend to produce large-scale segregated services in isolated settings;
Service providers:
-Should commit themselves to making the shift towards person
centred services and community based settings, which could be facilitated by
the EASPD framework on community-based services and person centred services.
9. Organ and human trafficking
Recommendation Very often, persons with
disabilities are mistreated in the fight for donor organs. A comprehensive
strategy on organ- and human trafficking is needed in Europe. Blood,
and products derived from it, are essential to modern medicine. People with
disabilities (as do all other EC citizens) have the absolute right to control
the use of their own blood and organs and should never be compelled or tricked
into ‘donating’ them to others. Fighting human trafficking is “a moral necessity”
and more action at this level is also needed.
Call for Action
EU level:
-The EC should take into account the needs and rights of persons
with a disability in the two new directives concerning the quality and safety
of blood and blood derivatives;
- The follow-up of the Commission’s new communication “Fighting
trafficking in human beings – an integrated approach and proposals for an action
plan” should focus and take into account the situation of persons with disabilities;
- DG Health – should compare the ways in which member states have tackled this
issue and seek to spread best practice across all member states.
National level:
-Provider agencies and umbrellas and user groups should report
any such trafficking to their national authorities and monitor what happens
next. Where effective corrective action does not occur they should bring the
matter to the attention of the EC and to EASPD.
10. Equal access to health services for people with disabilities
Recommendation
There is clear evidence that people with disabilities often receive a poorer
level of health care support than the general population. There should be
EC wide action to alert member states and their citizens to this and effective
action taken to outlaw such behaviour.
Call for Action
EU level:
-DG Health - research should be undertaken to discover the extent
of this problem and to what extent any member state has been able to take effective
action against this tendency;
- The EC should consider the most effective method of banning such actions
throughout the EC;
National level:
-Member states should incorporate effective strategies for
ensuring that such discrimination does not happen into their health care systems
and to monitor the effectiveness of their proposals;
Provider levels:
-Providers at local and national levels should work with
users their families and support organisations to monitor local practice and
to highlight such discrimination whenever it occurs;
-National authorities should install monitoring systems to make sure people
with disabilities have the same rights, to health services and in particular
to donated blood and organs as anyone else.
11. Funding opportunities
Recommendation CoE, EC and national governments
should coordinate their actions & efforts
in order to provide structural funding for service development and implementation
of quality principles.
CoE level:
-Should raise awareness on the need for structural funding (of
service providers) and integrate it in the Action Plan on Disability;
EU level:
-EC to provide more appropriate funds for capacity building for
service provision in the disability field through the already existing programmes
such as PHARE, CARDS, IPA, Structural Funds and the new programme PROGRESS;
National level:
-National authorities to provide coherent and sustainable
funding covering all costs of the basic services provided, in concordance
with the priority list mentioned under Recommendation
3.
Adopted by the participants in the ‘EASPD goes East – event’ – Targu-Mures,
7 October 2005 and EASPD Board 8 October 2005
