Community support (Samhällets stöd, SoL och LSS)
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People with disabilities are entitled to special support from the community. This applies to both adults and children. This is an information about the laws that apply to the support. The text is written in an easy to read language (lättläst).
The support you are entitled to depends on your disability and how much it affects your everyday life.
The municipality (kommun/stadsdel) is responsible for support in everyday life. The region is responsible for healthcare, such as habilitation services.
Laws on support and care
In particular, there are three laws that apply to support and care:
- Healthcare Act (Hälso- och sjukvårdslagen, HSL)
- Social Services Act (Socialtjänstlagen, SoL)
- Act on Support and Service to Certain Disabled Persons (Lagen om stöd och service till visa funktionshindrade, LSS).
Healthcare Act (HSL)
The Healthcare Act states which care you are entitled to from the Region, the municipality and other healthcare providers.
The law also states who can receive health care. (Habilitation & Health) is part of the health care service Region Stockholm.
The Region offers different kinds of help to people with disabilities. For example, it could be:
- habilitation
- aids and devices
- interpreting service for everyday interpretation.
The law also covers the care guarantee (vårdgaranti). It means that you have the right to receive care within a certain period of time.
Social Services Act (SoL)
The Social Services Act states that persons with disabilities and their relatives are entitled to support from the municipality.
Which kind of support depends on your needs. The goal is to enable you to live like others.
The support from the municipality is usually called aid (bistånd). You can apply for several different types of support. Examples of support are:
- housing support (boendestöd)
- contact person (kontaktperson)
- accompanying persons (ledsagare)
- accommodation with special service (boende med särskild service)
- money – income support – for housing, food and other things you need.
You apply for support within the Social Services Act in the municipality (kommun) where you live. If you live in the City of Stockholm, you must apply for support in your district (stadsdel).
Caregivers, contact persons, guardians or trustees can apply for support.
If you have turned 15, you can apply for your own support. You can no longer apply for monetary support.
The application can be made verbally or in writing.
Act on Support and Service to Certain Disabled Persons (LSS)
The Act on Support and Service to Certain Disabled People (LSS) states that people with extensive disabilities can apply for support. This means that the disability must have a significant impact on life. It must also be of a life long character or present for a long time.
The law applies to three different groups. In the law, these groups are called “personkrets”:
- People with intellectual disabilities and people with autism.
- People who have suffered a brain injury as an adult, after an accident or illness, and where the brain injury is severe.
- People with other major disabilities, which cause many difficulties in life.
The support should help to give the person a good life.
You can apply for ten different forms of support. They are called interventions (insatser) and include:
- contact person (kontaktperson)
- reliever service (avlösarservice) and accompanying person service (ledsagarservice)
- personal assistance (personlig assistans)
- short-term stay (kortidsvistelse)
- daily worklike-activities (daglig verksamhet)
- accommodation in a family home (familjehem) or with a special service.
You apply for support within the Act on Support and Service to Certain Disabled People (LSS) in the municipality where you live.
Caregivers, contact persons, guardians or trustees can apply for support.
If you have turned 15, you can apply for your own support.
The application can be made verbally or in writing.
Coordinated individual plan (Samordnad individuell plan, SIP)
People who receive support from both the municipality and health care services in the Region can ask for a coordinated individual plan (SIP).
A coordinated individual plan (SIP) can be helpful to you and your loved ones, in order to plan and coordinate help from different health care services. An example of this is if you recieve support from both the habilitation services and social services within the municipality.
A coordinated individual plan should be clear and, among other things, deal with:
- what services you will receive
- who is responsible for the services
- how the plan will be followed up.
If you have contact with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) and the Swedish Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen), they can also be included in a coordinated individual plan (SIP).