Habilitering som koordinerende tiltak

This report is about how three different groups of people with disabilities perceive their relationship to the Norwegian habilitation- and rehabilitation services, both at the municipal level and at the regional specialist level. Based on the experiences of 32 parents with disabled children, 6 immigrant families in the same situation, and 5 young adults with disabilities, the report highlights the habilitation- and rehabilitation services from three different perspectives. Although the three groups’ experiences may be understood as interpersonal encounters, through our empirical data we render these encounters as between service-recipients and a public system. The report concerns the three groups’ encounters with public bodies that are governed by a particular ideology and regulations. Our data was collected over the course of 2011. The participants’ experiences are thus discussed in reference to the regulations and guidelines that were in operation until January 1 2012, when a new healthcare law came into effect. Yet, in analyzing the participants’ experiences, particular aspects come to life, which ought to be addressed within the framework of the new healthcare law. The report is organized thematically. In the first chapter we present the report’s focus and key issues. The following questions are important: How was contact established with the service system? What information did participants have about services prior to established contact? What are the participants’ concrete experiences with coordination tools, such as responsibility groups and individual plans? In chapter two, we outline the political and ideological backdrop of the report from a historical perspective. Focus here is primarily lent to the relationship between policy developments and the practice field. Chapter three presents the three participant groups and the data collection methods. Chapter four and five are empirically oriented. In the fourth chapter, we discus aspects related to the participants’ first contact with the habilitation system. In chapter five, we analyze the three groups’ specific experiences with the habilitation services. Focus is on the relationship between service utilization and satisfaction. We also discuss the coordination tools, responsibility groups and individual plans. In the concluding chapter, we present our final thoughts. The cues, accessibility, visibility, and continuity can be said to sum up our findings. The accessibility dimension can be understo