The "I Know What I Want!" project aims to develop personal budgeting practices suitable for Finland's social care system and test them out. Models of personal budgeting and person-centered planning are being piloted across the country from 2010-2013. The project provides training and support for people with disabilities, their families, and local authorities. It also researches how people with disabilities participate in personal budgeting. The goal is to give people more choice and control over their lives through alternative funding approaches.

1. I Know What I Want! -project
Aarne Rajalahti, KVPS
28.3.2013

2. I know what I want! –project develops and tries
out personal budgeting in Finland
Trying out and development • A model that’s suitable in Finnish operational
environment in services and support of persons with
(intellectual) disability
Research • The key question of research is ”what’s the role and
state of a person with disabilities in a personal
budgeting process”
Target groups • Young adults and adults with disabilities and their
families
• Local authorities and people who plan and organize
services
Operation time • 2010: planning and defining of different models of PB
• 2011-2013: trying out, development, research
A support group consists of • Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
• Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities
• The Social Incurance Institution
• National Institute for Health and Welfare
• Associations of persons with disabilities
• Local authorities
• Service producers
International partner • In Control

3. The aim of the project
• The aim of the “I know what I want!” -project is to develop personal
budgeting practices that are suitable for the Finnish social care
environment and to test out these practices.
• Models of personal budgeting and person centered planning are being
piloted across the country. Participants to these pilot projects include
people with disabilities and their families, support staff and local
authority- and service provider representatives.
• The participants are offered training and are able to join in on different
peer group activities to support them along the process. The project
will also produce different materials about personal budgeting and
person centered planning for young people and adults with an
intellectual disability.
• The project runs from 2010 to 2013 and is carried out by the Finnish
Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (FAIDD) and
the Service Foundation for People with an Intellectual Disability. The
project is funded by RAY (Finland’s Slot Machine Association).

4. How do we define personal budgeting
and a personal budget?
• A process based on self-determination of a person who
needs some support, where support, services and a
budget reserved on them is being planned
• (Re)allocation on resources and money that is spent
on services and support anyways
• The goal is a life that’s unique, meaningful and self-
determined
• The key focus has been in the principles of Self-Directed
support that’s been developed in In Control and by Dr
Simon Duffy

5. The service system in Finland
Local authorities responsible
for services
Services
available
 Can
they really
be person
centered?
People and their lifes and
needs are different
Person-centered planning
isn’t enough, if there are no
real choices or they are
always similar to everybody
Public tendering processes
have mixed the picture
even more. Bidding doesn’t
fit in housing and support
services of people with
disabilities
There are 320
municipalities and they
have 535 tasks assigned in
legislation and the
obligations relating to
them (114 tasks in year
1970). Health and social
services takes 60 % of
annual budgets.
Laws
People with different lifes and needs
Funding by
taxes

6. These are things that people actually said:
“I sit in a day activity center and do
nothing except drink coffee. I am a
young man. Is this what my life will
always be?”
“My self-autonomy isn’t being respected
in a service home. I wan’t to move out”.
“I’d like to spend my leisure time
sometimes with someone else than my
mom or in a group”

7. Creating of a personal budget
- from people’s needs, services and support they are entitled to
- from things people want to change or achieve
Making of a support plan
Analyzation and acceptance of a support plan ( + final budget)
Living life = getting the support and services, what’s written in the support plan
Evaluation = Is the support right and adequate
Revising of a budget
Person-centred planning
What do I want to achieve?
What do I want to keep?
What do I want to change?
(Self) evaluation of
support needs
We changed the
process

8. Possible allowances and benefits due to disability in Finland
Housing services and support (local
authorities)
Essential home renovations to
make it accessible (local
authorities)
Return of vehicle tax
Disability parking permit
50 % allowance of buying a car and
essential amendment works
Work and day activities (local
authorities)
Morning- and afternoon activities
after school days (local authorities)
Specialist services of health centers
or rehabilitation centers (local
authorities)
Adaptation and rehabilitation
guidance
Assistive devices (covered by the
Social Insurance Institution, Kela)
Support person (voluntary)
Disability allowance (Kela), 85,59 €,
199,71 € or 387,26 €
Per month
Care allowance for pensioners
(Kela)
Special care allowance for parents
with ill child (Kela)
Disability pension, minimum 687 €
per month (The Social Insurance
Institution, Kela)
Medical, vocational and discretio-
nary rehabilitation and allowance
(Kela)
Compensation for medication (42,
71 or 100 %, Kela)
Travelling expenses to a hospital
and getting and maintaining
assistive devices (covered by health
insurance of Kela)
Dietary Grant for persons with
coeliac disease, 21 € per month
(Kela)
Personal assistant for education
Physical, psychological and social
care of students
Housing allowance for students
- Respite care for minimum 3 days
per month (Support for carers,
local authorities)
Personal assistance for persons
with severe disabilities (local
authorities)
Transportation services for persons
with severe disabilities (for work
and studying + 18 one way trips
per month)
Interpretation services (Kela)
Contribution for special nutrition
(Kela or local authorities)
Contribution for special clothing
Decrease of taxes
Housing allowance for Pensioners
(Kela)
These services and
support we have
started transforming
into personal budgets
These things are covered by
The Social Insurance Institution
These services and
benefits are harder to
transform into personal
budgets?
Supported employment services
(local authorities)
Other essential support for
independent living, and individual
care (local authorities)

9. Support and services can be arranged in different
ways
”Traditional social
services”
”New ”precautionary” social
services
• Physical education services, culture services,
lifelong learning services in local
authorities/outside
Other support and services
• Private sector
• Third sector
• ”Something else”

10. Pekka Kinnunen changed his day activities from a centre to a
farm

11. ”The quality of life improved with another job”

12. Sirpa Kemppinen lives independently
and leads her life after 30 years in
institutions

13. http://verneri.net/yleis/arki/henkilokohtainen-budjetointi/tiedan-mita-tahdon-materiaalit.html
Some tools for PCP and evaluation of needs

14. Some points so far
• Empowerment of the people with disabilities and their
families during process
– ”It’s like my son is suddenly more self confident and
therefore taller”
– The families have gotten new strength to enhance their
family members lives
– Many have learned new things from services

15. Some points from the local
authorities point of view
• There’s been good conversations and pondering of how
we do work and what are the positions of social worker
and a client in the process
• Everybody has realized the importance of the voice of a
person and we have moved towards real companionship
• We have learned new ways of working (PCP)
• The life of the clients are changing
• It’s been a very worthwhile experience that lifts the
traditional way of organizing care to this era of
citizenship and self-determination

16. Kiitos!
Aarne Rajalahti
Development Manager
Service Foundation for People with
Intellectual Disabilities
tel. +358 207 713 516
aarne.rajalahti@kvps.fi
www.verneri.net/hb
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