The value of services for people with disabilities: policies, interventions and resources for families

Principal investigator: Elisabetta Notarnicola

Team UB/Cergas: Giovanni Fosti, Elisabetta Notarnicola, Eleonora Perobelli

Partners: Italian Federation for overcoming handicaps (FISH, Federazione italiana per il superamento dell’handicap)

Sponsor: Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo e Fondazione con il Sud  

Duration: 2018-2020

Abstract:

This research explored unmet needs in extant social and care services and determinants of access to services for adults with disabilities in 4 Italian regions (Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont, Puglia). Data collection was based on three sources: archival documents (mostly regional policies); 14 focus groups including 71 adults with disabilities; a survey that was successively submitted online to adults with disabilities across regions, counting 450+ valid responses. Our analysis showed that despite the recall of frameworks like the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in regional policies, there is a wide gap between policy intentions and practical implementations. Moreover, the lack of comprehensive data and the fragmentation of the welfare system emerged as major barriers to effective service delivery. Families often bear the burden of care, requiring more individualized and holistic approaches that go beyond single and uncoordinated interventions from the public sector. The research emphasizes the need for a shift in public debate from funding levels to the actual needs and rights of people with disabilities, advocating for innovative, integrated solutions aligned with contemporary social contexts and individual expectations.

Material produced and publications:

Research report, open access in the FISH website.

Dissemination:  

“Welfare: Osservare il presente per ripensare il futuro” Conference, organized by FISH on June 2020.