Apply for integration assistance for adults with disabilities or for minors with physical, intellectual, or sensory impairments
Service description
The services provided under the Integration Assistance Program are intended to enable people with significant disabilities to participate fully in all areas of social life.
Integration assistance benefits are divided into 4 benefit groups:
- Medical Rehabilitation Services
- Services to Support Participation in Education
- Benefits to Support Participation in the Workforce
- Social Participation Services
These services are designed to enable you to lead your life as independently and autonomously as possible. The following integration assistance services, for example, can help you achieve this:
- Living
- Finance
- Household Management
- Leisure Activities
- Encouraging Personal Relationships and Hobbies
- Dealing with government agencies (preparation and assistance), unless this is the responsibility of a legal guardian
- Mobility
- Parental Assistance
- Support at school, college, or for continuing education in the workplace
- Support at the Daycare Center
- Resources
- Promoting Understanding
- Work
- unique living arrangement
The services are tailored to each individual.
You are eligible to receive integration assistance benefits provided that you do not already receive the necessary benefits from other social service or rehabilitation agencies, such as your health insurance provider, pension insurance provider, the Employment Agency, or your workers’ compensation insurer.
The costs for these services are covered by the agency responsible for integration assistance. The federal states determine which agency is responsible for integration assistance.
For integration assistance benefits, you are generally required to make a contribution based on your income and, if applicable, your assets, provided they exceed a set threshold. The income and assets of the person with a disability receiving benefits are taken into account, as well as those of the parents in the case of minor beneficiaries. Some benefits are provided free of charge, such as special education services, educational assistance, and social participation benefits for eligible individuals who have not yet started school.
Procedure
You can apply for integration assistance from the agency responsible for your case. If you are unsure which agency is responsible for you, you can submit your application to any agency. That agency is required to forward your application to the agency responsible for your case.
- Please contact the integration assistance agency responsible for you.
- There, you can get advice or submit an informal application right away.
- The relevant agency may ask you to fill out a form and submit additional documents.
- The agency will conduct a participation assessment, a comprehensive planning process, or both, to determine your individual needs for integration assistance services and any additional participation services. You may request that a person you trust be included in the comprehensive planning process.
- Once all the necessary documents have been submitted, the responsible agency will review your information and the needs assessment to determine whether you are eligible for benefits and, if so, which ones. This also includes determining whether your income and assets will be taken into account and, if so, to what extent.
- After your application has been reviewed, you will receive a decision.
Prerequisites
You are eligible to receive integration assistance benefits if
- You have a disability or
- are at risk of becoming disabled and
- This significantly limits them in their daily lives.
You can also apply for integration assistance on behalf of individuals whom you represent as a legal guardian, under a guardianship arrangement, or as an authorized representative or custodial parent.
What documents are required?
- You must submit an application to the appropriate agency. The application does not need to be in any specific format.
- Please contact the appropriate office to find out what additional documents you need to submit. The agency may ask you to use a specific form.
Depending on the circumstances, you may need, for example,
- Proof of disability
- all proof of income
- Proof of housing costs and proof of financial resources (bank statement)
What fees apply?
There are no costs involved.
What deadlines do I have to observe?
If the agency was unable to provide an urgent service in a timely manner and you incurred costs as a result of arranging the service yourself, the agency must reimburse you for those costs, provided the service was necessary. The same applies if the agency wrongfully denied a service.
If you obtain a non-essential service on your own without prior approval from the competent authority, you are not entitled to reimbursement.
If, after reviewing your application, you are found to be eligible for integration assistance, it will be granted to you no earlier than the first day of the month in which you submitted your application, provided that the eligibility requirements were already met at that time.
In order to provide the most effective support possible for the person with a disability, the social welfare agency works with the person with a disability, the attending physician, the public health department, and, if necessary, the youth welfare office or the employment agency to develop a comprehensive plan for the implementation of the individual services as early as possible.
Processing time
The processing time for your application depends on various factors. Please contact your local integration assistance agency, which can provide you with more detailed information about the duration of the process.
However, the agency to which you submitted your application must determine within 2 weeks of receiving the application whether it has jurisdiction over your application. If the agency does not have jurisdiction, it will forward your application immediately to the appropriate authority. You will be notified of the forwarding.
If the agency does not forward your application, it must determine your need for assistance and provide it as soon as possible.
If an expert opinion is required to determine your needs, the agency must make a decision within 2 weeks of receiving the expert opinion.
If the agency is not required to obtain an expert opinion, it will make a decision within 3 weeks of receiving your application.
Legal basis
Legal remedy
- Objection within one month of notification of the administrative decision
- File a lawsuit with the Social Security Court within one month of receiving notice of the decision on the appeal
- Action for Failure to Act in Social Court
What else should I know?
There are no notes or special considerations.
Issuing body
Forwarding service: Deep link to the original portal- Integration Assistance for People with Disabilities in Hesse
Display of performance in the source portal
- Integration Assistance for People with Disabilities in Hesse