National youth program

3.3. Youth with disabilities
All social interventions towards disabled persons must aim at achieving the greatest possible 
independence of each person, economic independence and full integration into the society. 
This requires consent and coordinated action by all sectors and various political levels, but the 
actual integration must and only can happen on the local community level. For this purpose, 
the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted the National Strategy of Equalization of 
Possibilities for Persons with Disabilities from the Year 2007 till the Year 2015. 
However, disabled persons are a heterogeneous group, with various types and degrees 
of disabilities and various abilities. Youth with disabilities are also a heterogeneous group 
and many of them, due to their basic difficulties, simultaneously need health, social and 
other forms of care. However, one should not forget the needs and interests of youth with 
disabilities arising from their age and the current life period.
According to the Croatian Register of Persons with Disabilities, in 2008, there were 16,036 
persons with disabilities in the age group from 15 to 29 years of age, of which 9,838 are male 
(61%), and 6,198 female (39%). Of this number, the greatest percentage (45.7%) belongs to 
the age group from 15 to 19 years. Regarding place of residence, the greatest percentage 
of persons with disabilities and significant developmental difficulties in the age group from 
15 to 19 years of age, in proportion to the total number of population, live in Međimurje, 
Krapina-Zagorje and Požega-Slavonia counties. The data indicate that the largest number of 
youth with disabilities in these areas belongs to marginalized social groups (Roma) and that 
disabilities and difficulties of these persons may be related to socioeconomic conditions, i.e. 
poverty they live in. According to the Croatian Register of Persons with Disabilities, disabled 
persons mainly live in their families, while 215 of them live alone, 480 in institutions, and 
188 are in foster families, which indicates their dependence. The fact that 1,674 persons live 
in unsatisfying living conditions is alarming.

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Various rights to receive benefits (including cash benefits, institutional and foster-family 
accommodation) are realized through the social care system by around 15,000 young 
people. A certain number of students with difficulties are deprived of certain rights from 
the social care system, mainly due to insufficient system coordination, but also because 
disabled persons themselves, their parents and carers are not familiar enough with the 
rights of disabled persons or the ways to exercise them. Therefore, it is important to 
ensure information about their rights to families of youth with disabilities, and to ensure 
free legal and other forms of aid in order for them to exercise these rights.
The area crucial to all young people, and therefore also to youth with disabilities, is 
education. To ensure the access of disabled young people to education is a constitutional 
and legal obligation of the state authorities and as such it must be monitored and 
provided by all systems, particularly educational system, healthcare, social care and 
state administration bodies responsible for spatial planning. According to the data from 
education system, 3,471 persons (47%) in the age group from 15 to 19 years are involved 
in some form of adapted education, which is most often full upbringing and educational 
integration with adapted teaching procedures. In addition, the social care system (data 
for 11,859 persons) shows that 1,256 persons are included in special education, 689 
have not completed elementary school, 1,467 have completed elementary school, 1,229 
persons have high school qualifications, while 37 of them have college or university 
qualifications (source: Croatian Register of Persons with Disabilities). Regarding persons 
who have not completed elementary school, in 93 cases they have multiple impairments, 
and others are persons with mental retardation (471), cerebral paralysis (11), blind 
(10), hydrocephalus (4), Down syndrome (4), Laurence Moon Bild syndrome (1), Turner 
syndrome (1), achondrodysplasia (2), severe forms of epilepsy (12), muscular dystrophy 
(11), Charco-Merie-Tooth (2), neoplasm (19), psychoses (36), deaf and dumb (4), autism 
(4), cystic fibrosis (1), spinal muscular atrophy (2) and cerebral atrophy (1). Education of 
youth with more severe developmental difficulties (who are not able to continue high 
school education, i.e. become qualified for work) is conducted in accordance with the 
Rulebook for Elementary School Education of Students with Developmental Difficulties 
(Official Gazette, 23/01). In any case, persons with disabilities and severe developmental 
difficulties are not sufficiently represented in education, which has extremely negative 
impacts on their employment and further degree of social inclusion.
According to the data available from the Croatian Employment Institute, in 2008 there 
were 2,038 persons aged between 15 and 29 registered as unemployed, whereby 
young persons participate with 35.4% in the total number of unemployed persons with 
disabilities. It is paradoxical that according to the data from the social care system, the 
ability for professional training for independent work exists in 3,497 persons (29%) and 
partial ability for professional training for independent work in 647 persons (5.4%), and 
very few of them are employed. Poor access to education and employment for disabled 
persons leads to their life-long dependence on others, poverty and social exclusion. 
Without education or formal qualification, it is more difficult to get employment, and 
the employment is an important aspect of acquiring social status and respect and an 
important path to social inclusion. Research shows that income and independence 
contribute to a positive self-perception and a greater life satisfaction of disabled persons 
irrespective of the degree of their disabilities.

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Numerous physical obstacles represent a huge problem and they prevent the access and 
participation of youth with disabilities in activities in community, education in regular 
educational institutions and independent performance of basic activities of everyday life. 
However, one must not forget that physical obstacles also prevent youth with disabilities 
to enter spaces where young people gather, and inclusion into activities for youth, 
thereby additionally strengthening their exclusion and preventing connections with 
peers. Although the measures have been taken and certain progress in removing physical 
obstacles and enabling better inclusion of disabled persons and their active participation 
in society has been achieved, the situation is still far from satisfying.
The additional problem is that within various organizations of disabled persons 
(associations and unions), young people sometimes have marginal position, so their 
needs remain insufficiently articulated and they fail to participate in decision-making 
proces. However, when speaking of youth with disabilities, associations and unions 
of disabled persons should be the first to be contacted, and they should be the best 
advocates of the specific needs and interests of youth with disabilities.