Integration assistance: How cuts affect children with disabilities!

Integration assistance: How cuts affect children with disabilities!

Integration assistance for children with disabilities is an important issue in Cologne. More and more families rely on support to enable their children to live an independent life. Today we highlight significant cases that exemplify the challenges and needs of these families. Due to his autism spectrum disorder, Anton, 16 years old, needs a school companion in order to achieve his high school diploma goals at a school in Müngersdorf. Twelve-year-old Marla from Porz, on the other hand, relies on a leisure assistant who paves her way to the youth club and wheelchair basketball training. Likewise, four-year-old Simon, who is both physically and mentally impaired, is dependent on a special education daycare center in Rodenkirchen and a therapist.

But what exactly are integration aids? These state support offers enable young people with disabilities to lead an individual lifestyle and participate equally in social life. They are regulated by the Federal Participation Act (BTHG) and have been anchored in Social Security Code Nine since 2020. The Basic Law guarantees every person, including those with disabilities, equal participation in social life. In 2023, around one million people in Germany received integration assistance, of which 31.6 percent were children under 18 years of age.

Integration assistance in the Cologne administrative region

In the Cologne administrative region in particular, around 60,000 people are dependent on this help, a third of whom are under 18 years old. Expenditure on integration assistance nationwide amounted to around 25.4 billion euros in 2023, which represents an increase of 9.4 percent compared to the previous year. However, these developments have led to uncertainty among those affected.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that the rising costs are “no longer acceptable” and plans to review integration aid. Critics, such as Ulla Schmidt from Lebenshilfe, warn that such statements suggest that people with disabilities are unfairly receiving benefits. This has also led to a big outcry in Cologne, because Cologne institutions that support the disabled emphasize that the weakest members of society cannot be saved.

Insights from experts and those affected

Silke Mertesacker and Matthias Toetz from Lebenshilfe Köln are calling for those affected to be included in discussions about cost savings. Petra Guest from “wir für pänz e.V.” gets to the point: participation is a human right! Cuts in integration assistance endanger social peace. In addition, many families point out the difficulties in applying for support measures. Long waiting times and frequent rejections are a sad reality.

The BTHG, which will be implemented in four reform stages by 2023, is intended to improve the participation and self-determination of people with disabilities. A major goal is to relieve the burden on municipalities and states by separating basic security and integration assistance and partially taking over the federal government. It is also envisaged that people with disabilities who receive integration assistance will be able to keep more of their income and assets.

Integration assistance was not only newly regulated, but also separated from social assistance and transferred to SGB IX, Part 2. This also has the advantage that parents of adult children with disabilities no longer have to pay maintenance contributions since 2020. The income and asset allowances have also been increased, so that there is more protection, especially for socially disadvantaged families.

If you would like to find out more about integration assistance and the Federal Participation Act, you can find the complete information on the websites of ksta.de, Lebenshilfe.de and bmas.de read up!