In a new report from the National Board of Social Services (Ankestyrelsen), it is revealed that legal shortcomings have been found in over half of the municipal cases regarding accompaniment for adults with disabilities. The report, “The Handicap Case Barometer 2023”, has examined 385 cases from various municipalities across the country, none of which have previously been the subject of complaints to the National Board of Social Services. The results show that 51 percent of the cases contain one or more legal shortcomings that have influenced the decisions made regarding accompaniment. These shortcomings often include an insufficient amount of relevant information about the social pedagogical support that citizens receive during accompaniment. This is particularly problematic, as in 47 percent of the cases, these shortcomings have had a direct impact on the National Board of Social Services’ assessment of the municipality’s handling of the cases. This highlights a significant need for improvements in the municipalities’ handling of disability cases, to ensure that legal requirements and citizens’ needs are met in a correct and fair manner.
The National Board of Social Services’ report indicates a need for municipalities to improve their case processing and ensure that all necessary information is available when decisions need to be made. This will not only benefit the disabled citizens who rely on accompaniment but also strengthen trust in the public system that is supposed to represent their interests.