As part of its conference, the European Expert Group (EEG) on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care has issued a statement marking 10 years of coordinated EU action on deinstitutionalisation, taking stock of past achievements and setting out a common vision for the future. The EEG advocates for replacing institutions with family and community-based support, promoting person-centred, quality and empowering models of services, with formal and informal care that fully complies with the human rights of children and adults.
The statement highlights that awareness of the issue has been raised in different European contexts, with examples such as the Špidla Report, the EEG Guidelines and Toolkit, and changes to the ESIF Regulations highlighted as particular areas of progress. However, the statement also notes that EU policies and funding have not always been aligned and that institutionalisation remains a problem in Europe. It highlights that over 1 million people in the EU still live in institutions, segregating them from society and denying them control over their lives.
The statement also advocates for further funding to help Member States change their rules, procedures and practices, with a focus on changing the social protection and welfare systems, putting individuals’ needs at the centre.The statement concludes by calling on the EU to support the transition from institutionalisation to family and community-based support in all of its relevant legislative, policy and funding instruments. You can read the full statement at: www.deinstitutionalisation.com/2020/01/16/10-years-towards-inclusion/