Föräldraansvaret vid bedömningen av barns rätt till personlig assistans
(2018) JURM02 20181Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Personlig assistans infördes som stödinsats för personer med funktionshinder 1994. Insatsen är av stor betydelse både för den enskilde och anhöriga. På senare tid har två rättsfall lett till att flera personer fått sin assistans indragen eller fått avslag på ansökan om personlig assistans. Barn med funktionshinder är den grupp som drabbats värst av det restriktiva rättsläget. Utvecklingen har lett till att föräldrarna till dessa barn fått ta ett större omvårdnadsansvar än tidigare. Frågan om föräldraansvarets omfattning har således blivit högst aktuell.
Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka omfattningen av föräldraansvaret vid beslut om personlig assistans för barn. Principen är att personlig assistans för barn endast får... (More) - Personlig assistans infördes som stödinsats för personer med funktionshinder 1994. Insatsen är av stor betydelse både för den enskilde och anhöriga. På senare tid har två rättsfall lett till att flera personer fått sin assistans indragen eller fått avslag på ansökan om personlig assistans. Barn med funktionshinder är den grupp som drabbats värst av det restriktiva rättsläget. Utvecklingen har lett till att föräldrarna till dessa barn fått ta ett större omvårdnadsansvar än tidigare. Frågan om föräldraansvarets omfattning har således blivit högst aktuell.
Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka omfattningen av föräldraansvaret vid beslut om personlig assistans för barn. Principen är att personlig assistans för barn endast får beviljas för behov som går utöver vad som är normalt för ett barn utan funktionshinder i samma ålder. Behov som omfattas av det normala föräldraansvaret enligt föräldrabalken (1949:381) (FB) berättigar inte till personlig assistans. Bedömningen av föräldraansvaret för barn med funktionshinder utgår således ifrån föräldraansvaret enligt FB.
Slutsatsen är att varken förarbeten, lagstiftning eller rättspraxis ger några klara besked om föräldraansvarets omfattning vid beslut om personlig assistans för barn. Det råder dock ingen tvekan om att det normala föräldraansvaret enligt FB ska beaktas vid bedömningen av barns rätt till personlig assistans. Rättsläget är oklart, vilket skapar en stor oförutsägbarhet för familjer som ansöker om personlig assistans. Det behövs därför tydligare riktlinjer ifrån lagstiftarens sida.
Orsakerna till det oklara rättsläget är flera. Det framgår varken av FB eller dess förarbeten vad det normala föräldraansvaret omfattar. FB anför endast ett rättsligt vårdnadsansvar för vårdnadshavare. Regelverket stadgar ingen skyldighet för vårdnadshavare att personligen sköta sina barn. När föräldraansvaret beaktas vid bedömningen av barns rätt till personlig assistans, förutsätts dock att FB föreskriver ett sådant ansvar. Assistanslagstiftningen stadgar endast att det normala föräldraansvaret enligt FB ska bedömas utifrån barnets ålder, utveckling samt övriga omständigheter. Det finns ingen angiven metod för hur föräldraansvaret ska beräknas. I rättspraxis har domstolen bedömt föräldraansvaret genom att göra en jämförelse mellan hjälpbehovet hos det funktionshindrade barnet och ett barn utan funktionshinder i samma ålder. Domstolen har dock inte klargjort hur den här jämförelsen görs. När domstolen väl fastställt föräldraansvarets omfattning, avräknas detta ifrån barnets hjälpbehov. Detta görs genom att det funktionshindrade barnets behov beräknas i antal timmar personlig assistans per dygn/vecka, och därefter subtraheras föräldraansvaret för ett barn utan funktionshinder i samma ålder. Det framgår dock inte hur domstolen bedömer hur mycket tid som ska avräknas. Sammanfattningsvis är det flera variabler som bidrar till det diffusa rättsläget. (Less) - Abstract
- Personal assistance was introduced as a relief effort for people with disabilities in 1994. It is of great importance both for the individual as well as family members. Recently two court cases have resulted in numerous individuals losing their personal assistance, in addition to an increasing number of application rejections. Children with disabilities are the ones most affected. As a result, an increased responsibility has been placed on the parents of these children. The topic of parental responsibility has therefore received more attention than before.
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the extent of the parental responsibility when authorities decide whether children should be granted personal assistance. The legal principle... (More) - Personal assistance was introduced as a relief effort for people with disabilities in 1994. It is of great importance both for the individual as well as family members. Recently two court cases have resulted in numerous individuals losing their personal assistance, in addition to an increasing number of application rejections. Children with disabilities are the ones most affected. As a result, an increased responsibility has been placed on the parents of these children. The topic of parental responsibility has therefore received more attention than before.
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the extent of the parental responsibility when authorities decide whether children should be granted personal assistance. The legal principle stipulates that personal assistance for children can only be granted for needs that go beyond the standard requirements of a child without disabilities at the same age. Needs considered to be part of the normal parental responsibility according to föräldrabalken (1949:381) (FB), do not warrant personal assistance. The extent of the parental responsibility for children with disabilities thus stem from the normal parental responsibility as stated by FB.
The conclusion is that neither legislative history, legislation nor legal precedents give any clear indications of the extent of the parental responsibility when authorities decide whether children should be granted personal assistance. There is yet no doubt that the parental responsibility is to be considered in these decisions. The legal position is unclear, which causes uncertainty for families applying for personal assistance. Consequently, there is a need for clarity from the legislator.
There are several reasons for this uncertainty. Neither FB nor its legislative history clarifies what the normal parental responsibility actually entails. FB only states that parents have a legal responsibility for their children. The legislation does not assert a responsibility for parents to personally care for their children. However, when the parental responsibility is considered vis-à-vis personal assistance for children, it is assumed that FB declares such a responsibility. Further, the legislation on personal assistance merely states that the normal parental responsibility should be determined with regards to the age and development of the child as well as other circumstances. There is no given method to use. In legal precedents, the court has determined the parental responsibility by making a comparison between the needs of the disabled child and the average needs of a child without disabilities at the same age. The court has however not clarified how this comparison is made. When the extent of the parental responsibility has been determined, time corresponding to the parental responsibility is subtracted from the total hours of personal assistance that the child requires. The problem is that there is no information on how the court decides how much time to subtract in each case. Overall, there are several variables that cause this unclear legal position. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8955340
- author
- Melén, Anna-Therese LU
- supervisor
-
- Eva Ryrstedt LU
- organization
- alternative title
- The parental responsibility when determining personal assistance for children
- course
- JURM02 20181
- year
- 2018
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- familjerätt, socialrätt, personlig assistans, föräldraansvar
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 8955340
- date added to LUP
- 2018-09-07 14:21:31
- date last changed
- 2018-09-07 14:21:31
@misc{8955340,
abstract = {{Personal assistance was introduced as a relief effort for people with disabilities in 1994. It is of great importance both for the individual as well as family members. Recently two court cases have resulted in numerous individuals losing their personal assistance, in addition to an increasing number of application rejections. Children with disabilities are the ones most affected. As a result, an increased responsibility has been placed on the parents of these children. The topic of parental responsibility has therefore received more attention than before.
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the extent of the parental responsibility when authorities decide whether children should be granted personal assistance. The legal principle stipulates that personal assistance for children can only be granted for needs that go beyond the standard requirements of a child without disabilities at the same age. Needs considered to be part of the normal parental responsibility according to föräldrabalken (1949:381) (FB), do not warrant personal assistance. The extent of the parental responsibility for children with disabilities thus stem from the normal parental responsibility as stated by FB.
The conclusion is that neither legislative history, legislation nor legal precedents give any clear indications of the extent of the parental responsibility when authorities decide whether children should be granted personal assistance. There is yet no doubt that the parental responsibility is to be considered in these decisions. The legal position is unclear, which causes uncertainty for families applying for personal assistance. Consequently, there is a need for clarity from the legislator.
There are several reasons for this uncertainty. Neither FB nor its legislative history clarifies what the normal parental responsibility actually entails. FB only states that parents have a legal responsibility for their children. The legislation does not assert a responsibility for parents to personally care for their children. However, when the parental responsibility is considered vis-à-vis personal assistance for children, it is assumed that FB declares such a responsibility. Further, the legislation on personal assistance merely states that the normal parental responsibility should be determined with regards to the age and development of the child as well as other circumstances. There is no given method to use. In legal precedents, the court has determined the parental responsibility by making a comparison between the needs of the disabled child and the average needs of a child without disabilities at the same age. The court has however not clarified how this comparison is made. When the extent of the parental responsibility has been determined, time corresponding to the parental responsibility is subtracted from the total hours of personal assistance that the child requires. The problem is that there is no information on how the court decides how much time to subtract in each case. Overall, there are several variables that cause this unclear legal position.}},
author = {{Melén, Anna-Therese}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Föräldraansvaret vid bedömningen av barns rätt till personlig assistans}},
year = {{2018}},
}