Report on the Disabled 2002

The Report on the Disabled 2002 (Rapportage gehandicapten 2002) provides an overview of the social position of people with physical or intellectual disabilities. It looks at aspects such as education, paid and unpaid work, financial position, leisure time use, use of care services and housing situation.

A great deal of policy has been introduced in the Netherlands in recent years aimed at people with disabilities. This report shows that this policy has not always had the desired effect. Dutch society is still insufficiently accessible for people with disabilities, whether it be the education system and the labour market, public buildings, their own homes, public transport or the care system.

People with intellectual disabilities are increasingly living independently in ordinary residential neighbourhoods, giving them greater freedom of choice and more autonomy. However, that independence also has disadvantages; for example, many of them have a very limited social network and a low income. As a result, they do not fully integrate into society.

The Report on the Disabled 2002 is the fifth in the series of Reports on the Disabled published by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research/SCP at the request of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.