Annual Report (Summary)2004
Part IV. Building the foundations for daily life
Part IV. Building the foundations for daily life
Section 1. Measures for securing livelihood for persons with disabilities
- With regard to welfare services for persons with disabilities, establishing a user-oriented life support system through a shift to a new user-oriented system (the assistance benefit supply system), accessible consulting support system and promotion of protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
- To promote measures for independence and social participation of persons with disabilities through steady implementation of in-home care services like home help services and day services, and securing of housing like group homes.
- To support economic independence of persons with disabilities through securing their income by disability pension and support for appropriate management of individual property by utilizing Guardianship System for the Adults.
- To restructure the facilities services as the basis for community life, such as promotion of utilization of the facilities in the community.
- To promote sports, recreation, and cultural activities by holding various kinds of sport games.
- To promote research and development on welfare equipment and dissemination as well as supporting the utilization.
- To train such welfare professionals as certified social workers and certified care workers, and such rehabilitation professionals as physical therapists and occupational therapists.
[ Principal measures implemented ]
- Since April 2004 welfare services for persons and children with physical or intellectual disabilities has been changed from a measure-oriented system under which administrative governments specify the recipients of services and decide on the nature of services to a new user-oriented system ("assistance benefit supply system") under which persons with disabilities, on an equal footing with the service provider, select and utilize the services by the contract.
- In May 2003, the Headquarters for Mental Health and Welfare Measures (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) prepared an interim report on the future direction of measures to be taken which said that realization, if conditions were met, of early deinstitutionalization of persons with mental disorders might be taken into consideration, in accordance with promotion of spread and education (promotion of people's understanding of persons with mental disorders), reform of mental health (enhancement of the quality of medical treatment through functional segmentation of psychiatric beds and establishment of a community care system, including emergency care system), and community life support (securing housing, promotion of employment support, improvement of consulting institutions).
- According to the full enforcement of the Law of the Assistance Dog of Persons with Physical Disabilities in October 2003, managers of such facilities for public use as hotels and department stores, shall in principle accept persons with disabilities accompanied by certified assistance dog.
- ISO/IEC Guide 71, a set of guidelines to address the needs of elderly persons and persons with disabilities, was established as Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) in June 2003.
- The 3rd National Sports Games for Persons with Disabilities was held in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan.
- Equipment of text-to-speech reading for persons with visual disabilities and equipment of receiving information for persons with hearing disabilities became assistive items for daily life supplied by the public.
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