Autism Europe, a network of organisations advancing the rights of autistic people and their families became co-chair of the European Expert Group on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based support (EEG), with COFACE Families Europe. They took over from the European Disability Forum.
The EEG is a coalition advocating to replace institutionalisation with family- and community-based support. It represents children and their families, people with disabilities and their families, homeless people, people experiencing mental health problems, service providers, public authorities, UN organisations.
The EEG advocates to replace institutionalisation with family- and community-based support. The EEG reminds the EU and member states of their obligation to stop funding and to replace institutionalisation with family- and community-based support based on:
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
- The UN Guidelines on the Use and Conditions of Alternative Care for Children
- European Fundamental Rights Charter.
The EEG provides expertise on the transition from institutionalisation to family- and community-based support. We focus on how EU funding, law and policy should be used to facilitate the transition:
- no spending on institutionalisation;
- resources available to expand capacity and quality of family- and community-based support;
- resources available to facilitate access to housing, early childhood education and care, inclusive education and accessible general public services and built environment;
- resources available for monitoring of reforms at national level.
The EEG facilitates development of quality family- and community-based support; by quality we mean support that is:
- respecting human rights of all people with care or support needs;
- person-centred.
See more information about the EEG-DI here
