Legal pre-survey of the co-ordination of the Services and Assistance for the Disabled Act and the Act on Special Care for the Mentally Handicapped. Jukka Kumpuvuori, University of Turku, Faculty of Law 2004. 56pp. (Reports of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland, ISSN 1236-2115; 2004:14.) ISBN 952-00-1555-8.

Commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Jukka Kumpuvuori carried out from 1 January – 30 June 2004 a legal pre-survey with a view to co-ordinating the Services and Assistance for the Disabled Act and the Act on Special Care for the Mentally Handicapped, as laid down in the Government Programme.

Kumpuvuori’s task was to study, i.a., the strengths and weaknesses of the present special legislation and the requirements arising out of international legal regulations, the Finnish Constitution and other legislation to develop the legislation regarding special services for people with disabilities. A further task, based on the Government Programme, was to develop the system of personal assistance and interpreter services as a part of the forthcoming legislation.

The survey contains a review of the relevant legislation, presenting the present statutes on the provision of services and support for people with disabilities and outlining at a general level how the realisation of the rights of people with disabilities could be secured. An impact of intergovernmental co-operation and international co-operation between NGOs is that disability policies become more harmonised, although the systems of countries are different. Kumpuvuori examines the ways to secure the opportunities of people with disabilities for participation in society from two points of view: a service-oriented model and a non-discrimination model.

After discussing the present situation the author examines some questions related to the system of legislation, such as the relationship between the general and special legislation. The chapter dealing with the substantive content focuses on how to co-ordinate the provisions of the Services and Assistance for the Disabled Act and of the Act on Special Care for the Mentally Handicapped. Kumpuvuori proposes a provision on the scope of application that would take into account both the characteristics of the individual and the relationship between the individual and the environment with a view to making it possible to target the services encompassed by special legislation appropriately.

At the end of the survey there is a draft statute that compiles the development possibilities presented before. The purpose of the draft statute is to provide a basis for a constructive discussion in the context of further work on the issue. Financial effects of the proposals have not been estimated and neither does the report deal with the administrative structure of their implementation.

Key words: Act on Special Care for the Mentally Handicapped, discrimination, Services and Assistance for the Disabled Act, services for people with disabilities