The government will improve the disability assessment system for children

this year On April 23, the Cabinet of Ministers considered the conceptual report “Improving the system of determining disability for children”. A decision was made to support the solution contained in the mentioned report – to improve the disability assessment approach for children with disabilities, while improving support services for mitigating the consequences of disability.

The current approach to disability assessment for children is still dominated by the medical model or the fact of illness, which does not allow an objective assessment of the child’s functional abilities in each individual case. When reaching adulthood, disability status is increasingly associated with the assessment of functioning abilities rather than with a specific diagnosis. Thus, during the transition from child to adult, contradictions and misunderstandings arise regarding the approach to determining disability and state support for mitigating the consequences of disability.

Minister of Welfare Uldis Augulis emphasizes that “the solution proposed by the Ministry of Welfare will not only ensure a gradual transition to a unified approach to the disability assessment system for children and adults, but will also improve the support provided by the state for mitigating the consequences of disability. In addition, the development of such an approach will contribute to the creation of an increasingly targeted support system for mitigating the consequences of disability, which will promote the integration of children with disabilities into society.”

The implementation of the supported solution requires additional funding: in 2025 – 1.8 million. EUR, in 2026 – 3.9 million EUR, in 2027 and thereafter – 6.4 million euro. Therefore, the Ministry of Welfare, together with other ministries, needs to submit proposals for priority measures in the process of preparing and reviewing the draft law on the state budget for the current year and the medium-term budget framework, in order to ensure the implementation of the supported solution from September 2025.

The basic principles of disability policy derive from the main principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including assessment of disability based on the human rights model, in which emphasis is placed on the right of a person with a disability to an independent life, opportunities to fully develop their potential and active participation in public processes.

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