Accessibility
Participation is a human right – Federal government plans cuts to participation benefits
The German government is planning far-reaching cuts in integration assistance for people with disabilities and in child and youth welfare. This would affect those groups whose life situations are already particularly characterised by social inequality, an increased risk of poverty and limited opportunities for participation: People with disabilities, young people with a migration background, single parents and young adults who are dependent on child and youth welfare services. Cuts are also planned for family benefits.
The more than 70 ideas for cuts include, for example:
- Significant cuts to the existing catalogue of integration assistance benefits, which would significantly worsen social participation opportunities for people with disabilities,
- Restrictions on the right of choice in the selection of service providers, which would significantly impair the self-determination of people with disabilities in key areas of life, such as the choice of living arrangements,
- a move away from individualised support services, which can make it difficult or impossible to provide tailored support,
- additional financial burdens for universities and schools if services for participation in education in accordance with § 112 SGB IX are no longer provided to the current extent by the integration assistance organisations, but are transferred to the area of responsibility of universities and schools,
- higher childcare costs for families and a possible increase in involuntary part-time work as a result of the postponement or restriction of the entitlement to all-day care for schoolchildren.
The planned cuts are far more than an administrative reorganisation of individual service areas to reduce costs. They are aimed directly at the structural conditions under which active social participation is made possible or limited. There are also considerable doubts about the compatibility of at least some of the proposed changes with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This political development is of central importance for universities. It not only has an impact on students, staff and university budgets, but also fundamentally raises the question of how seriously a democratic society actually takes its constitutional right to inclusion.
We would like to call for support for existing petitions and initiatives that oppose these cuts and advocate for the preservation of participation, self-determination and social security:
The Bundesvereinigung Lebenshilfe e. V. has launched the campaign "Teilhabe ist Menschenrecht".
The Deutsche Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband provides a detailed overview with legal categorisation and evaluation of selected proposals from the Federal Government for download.