Making impact(s) visible in integration assistance. A multi-perspective view
The Impact Day at Fachhochschule Dortmund was very popular and fully booked with more than 150 participants. Prof. Dr. Michael Boecker (Fachhochschule Dortmund) and Dr. Michael Weber (HPZ-Krefeld) were more than satisfied.
Many had to cancel in advance. The representative of the NRW state government for people with disabilities also took part in the panel discussion. Prof. Dr. Helmut Hachul (Vice-Rector for Studies and Teaching) opened the event.
The discussion focused on the different positions and perspectives on measuring the effectiveness of assistance for people with disabilities. Prof. Dr. Michael Boecker and Dr. Michael Weber from the Heilpädagogisches Zentrum in Krefeld hosted the event at Fachhochschule Dortmund on 20 September 2018. Although the topic of proof of effectiveness has been prominently anchored in the legal text since the Federal Participation Act was passed at the beginning of 2017, the consequences of this decision in the field of integration assistance are not foreseeable. In addition to the scientific-theoretical examination of the possibilities and limits of the measurability of social services, there was also tangible discourse surrounding the new participation procedure for people with disabilities in NRW. It was therefore not surprising that, in addition to researchers, numerous stakeholders from the NRW welfare sector and representatives of the regional associations and self-help organizations took part. The input from the speakers in the plenary session and during the panel discussion in the afternoon made it clear that there is a lot at stake! With the new participation procedure for people with disabilities, person-centered assistance needs and the approval of individual benefits are directly linked for the first time in the inpatient area of disability assistance. This also clearly demonstrated the very different interests of the stakeholders involved in the social benefits triangle.
Another highlight of the day was the presentation of the results of a teaching research project by students on the Master's degree course in Social Management at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences under the direction of Prof. Dr. Michael Macsenaere. Beforehand, 120 users of workshops for people with disabilities were asked about their personal satisfaction. In addition, the students presented a suitable measuring instrument for measuring the satisfaction of users in workshops for people with disabilities.
At the end, the two hosts agreed that this could only have been a start to continuing the discourse on the participation of people with disabilities in NRW. Next time, however, in a larger venue.