Following the promulgation of Law 104/92, significant changes have been made to the network of services for the disabled in Veneto. This derives from a different cultural approach that has favoured the right to social integration and to avoid institutionalisation through promoting care aiming at rehabilitation and personal autonomy.
In fact on a national level, Law 104/92 promoted the recognition of disability rights and established basic principles for processes of social integration through the establishment of a network of services and regional measures aimed at the prevention and early diagnosis of disability, rehabilitation, integration in schools and in the labour market, promotion of accessibility, relationships and active participation in social and community life.
The expansion of a culture of social inclusion at school and on the labour market, and the capillary spread of daytime services and support for families throughout the region, have favoured an increasingly effective response to the needs of the disabled, even those with severe disabilities. This has reduced the phenomenon of institutionalisation and developed the culture of domiciliary care in the region, that is services that allow a person to live in their home environment, carry out life plans and be integrated in society.

The network of services for the social integration of the disabled consists of measures that guarantee integration at school and on the labour market and favour the personal autonomy of the individual.
The service for school and social integration (SISS) aims to support disabled pupils' right to study and to receive education. This concerns children of school and pre-school age who have moderate or severe problems concerning psychomotor skills, psycho-relational skills, and personal and social autonomy. One of the aims of the service concerns the promotion of integrated, coordinated collaboration between the school, the Local Health Authority, the family, the Municipality, the Province and other related bodies. Schools send a request for support workers to the child's Local Health Authority, along with statements and assessments. The Local Health Authority then assigns the number of hours' assistance according to established criteria.
Over recent years, the number of assisted pupils has increased, rising from 2,909 in the 2005/2006 school year to 3,211 in 2007/2008. The pupils are mainly in primary school (37.8% of the total number of assisted children), lower secondary school (29.4%) and upper secondary school (15.2%).
The service for labour market integration (SIL) (Note 1) aims to promote and implement social inclusion and inclusion on the labour market for the disabled and/or socially disadvantaged.
It is a social health service supplied by the Local Health Authorities and has an important role in coordinating employment services with regional social health services for the inclusion of the disabled in society and on the labour market. In particular the SIL evaluates the potential and individual needs of the people and companies, manages personalised schemes for integration in the workplace, monitors experiences and facilitates collaboration between institutional bodies in the business world, in professional training and social cooperation, in voluntary organisations that specifically operate in the sector, and in associations for the disabled and their families. In detail, the service offers guidance, evaluating the person's potential and aptitude as concerns autonomy and learning; it also provides training for character development, rehabilitation of functions and skills, the acquisition of social and work skills, and mediation, thus favouring the learning of specific work skills, and the achievement and maintenance of work relations.
Over the years, the SIL has helped an increasing number of people: 9,042 in 2007, 6,994 of whom were assisted by the SIL, while 2,048 only turned to the service for guidance and counselling.
Most of the users are people with disabilities (physical, intellectual and sensory) or with psychological or neuropsychiatric problems, but there are also those with drug and alcohol addictions. Most are adult males (Figure 14.4.1).
In the same year, 1,232 users stopped using the SIL: 36.8% had achieved their objective of finding employment, 15.7% gave up, 11.5% were forced to stop because of a degeneration in health, and the rest stopped for other reasons including, for example, moving house.
The SIL has, moreover, set up individual projects for social integration in the workplace for those who cannot be employed because of the gravity of their disability, even though they have the work and social skills to give them a certain degree of independence and allow them to take part in social life. These projects allow people to stay in the workplace though employment is not their objective. In 2007, this included 1,578 people, of whom 94.5% had disabilities (physical, intellectual and sensory) or psychological or neuropsychiatric problems.
Interventions for the promotion of personal autonomy are carried out by the Local Health Authorities and aim to promote forms of independence that improve social skills and participation in social and working life. They also promote sport, freetime activities and social integration activities through personalised projects (Note 2). Activities and services carried out in collaboration with various public and private bodies, centres, associations and social cooperatives favour and enhance personal autonomy, improve social skills, as well as active participation and integration in society, sport and freetime activities. Between 2006 and 2008, the number of individual projects constantly increased, in particular in 2008 when 610 people used the services.

The network of services for home care offers assistance in the following areas: care in semi-residential establishments, home care and support for families, financial support for assistance for the disabled person and for respite for the family.
Interventions supporting home care are aimed at those with severe and very severe disabilities (who need a statement according to Art. 3, Paragraph 3 of Law 104/1992) and at their families. They concern social and welfare domiciliary care and integrated care, care allowance, "personal help" and "independent living" assistance (Note 3).
"Personal help" is a Local Health Authority service that aims to favour home care for those whose disability cannot be overcome through technical aid, computer aid, prosthesis and/or prevents access to experiences outside the family. This includes support, domiciliary assistance, education and accompaniment for the disabled person.
"Independent living" (Note 4) concerns an allowance for those who have severe physical motor disabilities but are capable of self-determination. This should be used for services that allow the person to freely participate in society. The allowance is assigned on the basis of an individual project defined with the full participation of the disabled person who takes on a personal assistant and directly manages their contract.
Overall in 2008, 2,274 "personal help" projects and 1,050 "independent living" projects were set up, both showing a considerable increase on figures for 2006 (Figure 14.4.2).
Day centres are also part of the network of services for home care. They are a semi-residential service offering courses, rehabilitation and assistance and are aimed at disabled adults. Through personalised projects they guarantee each adult services that respect their personal needs and the characteristics of their family and social context.
The development of these centres has been strongly supported by families, who are often both the users and the managers. The centres have allowed an efficient integration of the service in the network of regional services and day care.
In recent years there has been a progressive increase in the number of users in Veneto, from 5,641 in 2006 to 6,254 in 2009.

The residential system for the disabled, which was defined on a national level in the 1990s (Note 6) and on a regional level around ten years ago (Note 7), reflects an intervention model aiming to guarantee the right to social integration and to favour care procedures for the rehabilitation and maintenance of personal autonomy.
This cultural approach, along with the change in awareness about people's ability to work towards self-determination, has had an effect on the reasons for people being admitted to residential care. As a consequence, the age of people being admitted has risen, which means that those with severe or very severe disabilities are able to stay at home for as long as possible.
With the support of associations for the disabled and their relatives, small centres have been set up which enable the severely disabled to be cared for without going into institution-based care.
In Veneto, the network of residential services for the disabled is organised into small care homes, residential homes and residential homes with medical care (RSA) (Note 8).
Small care homes are for disabled adults who have no family or are temporarily or permanently unable to live with their family. They may accommodate up to ten people.
Residential homes are for adolescents and adults with severe and very severe physical and mental disabilities. They offer accommodation, help with daily tasks, rehabilitation, provide courses and personal protection and can accommodate up to twenty guests.
RSAs offer accommodation to disabled adults whose independence is severely limited both physically and mentally. They offer assistance, medical care and the functional rehabilitation of people who mostly are not self-sufficient. These accommodate a minimum of twenty and a maximum of forty guests.
Some of the residential homes in the region are large and may be converted into highly specialised establishments for rehabilitation, care and medical care. There are also "sheltered apartments" and "family homes" (Note 9) for the partially independent in their own social context.
The most recent statistics on residential services (2007) reveal that there are 23 residential homes with 736 places, 110 small residential homes with 1,100 places and 3 large establishments with 1,328 places (Figure 14.4.3).