Active Citizenship and Disability

This book provides an international comparative study of the implementation of disability rights law and policy focused on the emerging principles of self-determination and personalisation. It explores how these principles have been enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and how different jurisdictions have implemented them to enable meaningful engagement and participation by persons with disabilities in society. The philosophy of 'active citizenship' underpinning the Convention - that all citizens should (be able to) actively participate in the community - provides the core focal point of this book, which grounds its analysis in exploring how this goal has been imagined and implemented across a range of countries. The case studies examine how different jurisdictions have reformed disability law and policy and reconfigured how support is administered and funded to ensure maximum choice and independence is accorded to people with disabilities.Part I. Towards Active Citizenship for People with Disabilities: 1. Introduction; 2. Supports to persons with disabilities in the context of international and regional disability law and policy; 3. Towards an enabling state and revitalising disability support; Part II. Learning from Comparative Perspectives: 4. Active citizenship and disability in the United States; 5. Active citizenship and disability in Canada (British Columbia and Ontario); 6. Active citizenship and disability in the UK (England and Northern Ireland); 7. Active citizenship and disability in Sweden; 8. Active citizenship and disability in France; Part III. The Development of Reform in the Disability Support Sector in Ireland: 9. Tracing the origins of disability support in Ireland; 10. Towards active citizenship and disability in Ireland; Part IV. The Journey Ahead for Independent Living: 11. Options and alternatives for a new support delivery framework that encourages independence; 12. Conclusion.