COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 27 June 1974 establishing the initial Community action programme for the vocational rehabilitation of handicapped persons

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaties establishing the European Communities;

Having regard to the draft from the Commission;

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (1);

Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee;

Whereas the Council Resolution of 21 January 1974 (2) concerning a social action programme provides, inter alia, for the implementation of a programme for the vocational and social integration of handicapped persons;

Hereby adopts the initial Community action programme for the vocational rehabilitation of handicapped persons, the text of which is attached;

Hereby requests the Commission to report to it within three years on the initial results of implementation of the initial programmes;

Notes that, as provided for in the Council Resolution of 21 January 1974, the Commission will submit proposals to it for implementing other Community projects on behalf of handicapped persons before the end of 1975.

I. OBJECTIVES - DEFINITIONS

The general aim of Community efforts on behalf of the handicapped must be to help these people to become capable of leading a normal independent life fully integrated into society. This general aim applies to all age groups, all types of handicaps and all rehabilitation measures.

With a view to the practical requirements of joint action, the above concepts are defined as follows:

Handicap:

any limitation, congenital or acquired, of a person's physical or mental ability which affects his daily activity and his work by reducing his social contribution, his employment prospects, his ability to use public services.

Handicapped person:

a person whose handicap (or potential handicap) is recognized by the authorities appointed to this purpose, with a view to rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation:

a whole range of measures aimed at establishing and maintaining the most satisfactory relation possible between the individual and his environment, following contraction of a handicap or of an injury or illness resulting, in each case, in handicap. The attainment of this objective depends both on the handicapped person safeguarding and developing his capacity to act and to work and on the environment in which he is placed facilitating his integration and employment, with medical, vocational and social rehabilitation being considered as different aspects of one overall and continuous process.

In this context the programme covers all handicapped persons having the potential capacity (1)OJ No C 23, 8.3.1974, p. 17. (2)OJ No C 13, 12.2.1974, p. 1. for employment in non-sheltered conditions, whether as employees or self-employed workers, namely: - persons discovering their handicap in the course of their work or upon changing their occupation,

- persons who have undergone medical rehabilitation following an injury or illness,

- persons whose handicap is the result of a long-standing or congenital ailment.

Under the programme these handicapped persons will be able to take up and hold a job, or an occupation as self-employed persons, under conditions and with earnings which are equivalent, or as nearly equivalent as possible, to those of other workers.

The specific aim of the programme is to improve the opportunities for vocational rehabilitation available within the Community to the above persons. Vocational rehabilitation shall be considered in all its aspects : guidance, training, employment and assistance during adjustment to the job. Rehabilitation shall be based on accurate assessment of the individual needs and potential of handicapped persons and of socio-economic prospects.

II. ORGANIZATION OF THE PROGRAMME

The programme as a whole provides a flexible framework designed to enable the different sections of the Community to become aware of their social responsibilities. Public authorities, bodies and services engaged in rehabilitation, labour and management, undertakings, local populations, and especially handicapped persons themselves, each have a role to play.

The Commission will use the financial resources at its disposal to improve the opportunities for vocational rehabilitation rather than simply to supplement inadequate financial means.

The programme may be divided into activities of three basic kinds: 1. Cooperation between rehabilitation and training bodies, selected in order to encourage the development of, and exchange of information on, new ways and means for vocational rehabilitation and the training of persons capable of applying them

A number of the best rehabilitation and training bodies in the Member States will be invited to form a European network, thus forming the basis of Community cooperation. These will be training centres whose methods, programmes, and standards are well adapted to the needs of handicapped persons, centres with special experience in the vocational training of handicapped persons no longer obliged to undergo full-time medical treatment, or post-hospital rehabilitation centres specially suited to vocational training. They will be selected by the Commission, on the basis of proposals from the Member States, according to the merits of their methods and their role as reception centres and their role as promotional centres.

The Commission will invite the persons in charge of these bodies to meet with a view to defining principles and methods which ought to be more widely known and applied, and to organize a programme of advanced courses for instructors in vocational guidance and training from those centres which seek to improve the quality of their rehabilitation services. Such courses will be eligible for financial assistance from the Community.

The network will also be encouraged to collaborate in the preparation of teaching material and to coordinate study and research programmes.

2. Short-term demonstration projects aimed at improving the quality of vocational rehabilitation facilities currently in operation

Short-term demonstration projects aimed at improving the quality of vocational rehabilitation will be encouraged by the Community. Such projects must conform to the following criteria: (a) they must be such that their results can be easily assessed, their scope and length being well defined from the outset;

(b) they will seek to apply new methods, particularly those tested and circulated in accordance with point 1;

(c) they will be launched following efforts to ensure a coordinated contribution from all the bodies involved in this phase of rehabilitation;

(d) vocational rehabilitation must be seen as the culmination of an overall and continuous process requiring coordination of the activities of all the organs involved;

(e) the methods of training selected must prepare handicapped persons for normal employment.

3. Longer term projects extending the measures referred to in points 1 and 2

To maximize the advantages of the programme it will be necessary to disseminate as widely as possible the lessons learned as a result of the short-term demonstration projects, referred to in point 2, in order that longer term projects may be developed with the object of establishing permanent new facilities or of improving existing facilities both quantitatively and qualitatively. These projects must ensure gradual and closely supervised transition for handicapped persons from vocational guidance through training, to employment and adaptation to the new environment. It might be suitable for such projects to be supported by the Community, and the Commission will submit proposals on the form which such support as it considers desirable should take.

III. PROJECTS CONCOMITANT WITH THE PROGRAMME

At the same time and in conjunction with other work being carried out by the Community to prepare for the future long-term programme, two further types of activity are planned: 1. Coordination of study and research on rehabilitation

During the various stages of the programme, and especially through the exchange of information, it will be possible to define areas where research is necessary. The Commission will thus be able to encourage coordination of rehabilitation research and to develop activities in this field having regard to practical requirements.

In addition to the above activities, directly linked to the specific problems of rehabilitation, the Commission will endeavour to work out the principles of better medical and social prevention.

2. Information campaigns aimed at the general public, with a view to the social integration of handicapped persons

New steps will be taken by the Commission to improve the general level of information on the problems of handicapped persons in the Community and to create a common awareness of the collective responsibility of the entire population for solving these problems. In these projects the Commission will seek in particular the assistance of associations for handicapped persons.

IV. COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION

The Commission will be responsible for the coordination and general direction of the programme and will consult the circles concerned with a view to defining a Community approach to the implementation of the programme.

The Commission will be assisted by a Working Party which will cooperate in implementing the programme, particularly by determining the various projects to be undertaken and by evaluating results.

The Working Party will consist of one representative from each Member State, who may be assisted, as required, by up to two experts.

The Commission will keep the Advisory Committee on Vocational Training regularly informed on the evaluation and implementation of the programme.