Additional funding for group homes for persons with severe disabilities has been included in the national budget since the 1996 fiscal year. People with severe disabilities have gained the opportunity to live in a group home in their community. To improve the quality of their life there, it must be necessary to consider their condition from the viewpoint of staffing and protection of rights.
On the other hand, people with mild retardation can live independently if they are given advice and support for their needs, and the opportunity for leisure4ime activities. Unfortunately, however, such a support system is not yet adequate in the communities in Japan. Very few of the people with disabilities who live alone can get help from support staff, even though regulations require that workers offer them support (35 programs in fiscal year 1995). Both the staff of the welfare office and counselors specializingin mental retardation cannot afford to talk with each individual warmly and give good advice. It is not yet known whether or not the consultative and living support programs in the "Plan for People with Disabilities" get excellent results. In Europe and America, they have an "adults' guardianship system," which protects the rights of adults with mental retardation and helps them to live independently in the comity. It is hoped that such a system will be realized in Japan as soon as possible.
We must understand what people with disabilities really want to be done, and must reflect their voices in our support services.
H. Financial Guarantees
Treatment for individuals with intellectual disabilities began in child welfare institutions and the educational system, and, due to the characteristics of their disabilities, it was inevitable that training and protection became the center of the concept. Because, up to now, this concept was the foundation,financial guarantees such as the applicability of tax exemption for families that have a family member with a disability as a dependent, and allowance and annuity management by the family were thought of within the framework of family support. In addition, the amount of welfare allowance and benefit was low at that time and, in reality, these payments were meant as a consolation or bonus for the family. Therefore, the former view of disability had a tendency to see individuals with intellectual disabilities as an "accessory",financially attached to the family.
Now, a new view of disability has appeared. For example, after the basic annuity was enforced in 1991, the financial environment changed drastically. The Fundamental Law for People with Disabilities which was proclaimed in 1994, stated the concept of participation and independence. With the growing rise of the self-advocacy movement in recent years, some say that there is a need to reexamine the idea of a financial guarantee. With the assumption of participation in community life and living financially independently from one's parents, it seems obvious that the content of the financial guarantees should be altered.
Reforms in the view of disability are necessary in several areas. First, the amount of the annuity and allowance should be set so that they are enough for a person to be able to live financially independently in the community. Second, subsidy programs, such as the allowance and assistance with medical expenses that was set up mainly for persons with severe disabilities, should be expanded to include individuals with mild disabilities. Third, the idea of self-advocacy should be adopted, and a system should be constructed that supports individuals with intellectual disabilities taking care of their own financial management.
If the changes in 1995 in the financial guarantees are examined from the point of view stated above, some partial change can be seen, but in actuality, real progress could not be confirmed. That the Ministry of Welfare released a report on the management of the assets of individuals with intellectual disability, and that adult guardianship was studied by the Council for the Legal System in June, 1995,brings hope.
The system not only functions to assure the human rights of people who have difficulties in expressing their intentions, but is also effective for people who intend to live independently. This is because if one can get help with financial management from a third person and acquire an environment for independence, this will be an opportunity to change the way family members and others think.
