The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has published a report examining several good practices of social services to foster community inclusion for persons with disabilities. In particular, the work of two members of EASPD was featured in the report: Support-Girona, a Catalan organisation offering decision-making support to vulnerable groups and ensuring that people are able to make their own decisions about their life course, and Plena Inclusión, a Madrid-based entity supporting housing programmes that allow persons with disabilities to live independently.

The report highlights the importance of adopting a disability rights-based approach to support and care, and identifies key policy areas:

• Social protection: different forms of cash benefits to support people with disabilities; access to assistive technology, products and services; tax exemptions, fee waivers and subsidies.
• Human support: unpaid support from family members and relatives, mainly women and girls, and paid support from support and care workers.
• Infrastructure: transportation, housing, digital technology.
• Legal capacity, deinstitutionalisation.

A series of cross-sectoral good practices are also identified, with the aim of addressing the challenges that States face in developing support systems policies:

• Effective governance structures, which consist of adequate legal, policy and institutional frameworks. 
• Measuring support and care needs via effective information and knowledge management systems.
• Ensuring adequate financing.
• Raising awareness and improving education.

The report emphasises that community inclusion should be at the centre of the policy making process, in order to build robust care and support systems which reftect and meet the needs of people with disabilities of all ages and gender.

To read more about the OHCHR report on good inclusion practices for people with disabilities, please click here.