Flemish government wants to make disability care more accessible
The Flemish government aims to ensure that all people with disabilities can access care services by the end of its legislative term. To reach that goal, it plans to expand directly accessible support, Welfare minister Caroline Gennez announced on Monday.
The region had already committed to increasing its annual budget for disability support. Funding will rise from 102 million euros in 2025 to 478 million euros by 2029. The government has now outlined how those funds will be used to overhaul the system.
Currently, many people must wait years to receive a person-centred budget - funding that allows them to pay for the care they need. Only those in the most urgent situations receive assistance almost immediately.
To reduce waiting times, the government will invest in services that do not require formal certification or intervention from VAPH, the Flemish agency for people with disabilities. These may include in-home assistance, day care, group support or training in specific life skills.
Those who do receive a person-centred budget will be given clearer guidelines on what the funds can be used for. In addition, to ease the transition to adulthood, minors will also be shifted into the system of personal budgets.
“This reform will ensure that thousands more people receive care during this legislature,” Gennez said at a press conference on Monday.
Implementing the plan required significant changes to systems developed over the past two decades. “We made things rather complicated in the past,” said minister-president Matthias Diependaele. “Now we’re making it easier for people to apply for support.”
The changes also aim to ease pressure on the courts. Because of the long waiting times, approximately 18,000 people have attempted to claim their person-centred budgets through legal channels in recent years.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD / AFP
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