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Bulgaria

A. UN Convention status

A1. Ratification or conclusion of the UN Convention

Bulgaria signed the UN CRPD on 27 September 2007 and the Optional Protocol on 28 December 2008. On 26 January 2012, the Bulgarian Parliament ratified the UN Convention.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

A2. Ratification or accession to the Optional Protocol

The National Assembly decided not to ratify the Optional Protocol at the same time as the Convention. The Council of Ministers adopted an updated Action Plan for the Implementation of the UN CRPD (2015-2020) on 25 June 2015. According to it the Optional Protocol would be officially translated into Bulgarian in 2017 and ratified until 2020. As of May 2018 Bulgaria has not put any effort to ratify the Optional Protocol, although the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities explicitly asked the Bulgarian Government to provide such information in its list of issues in September 2017. As of March 2019, no steps had been undertaken to ratify the Optional Protocol although the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities expressed its concern that Bulgaria has not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention and recommended acceleration of its ratification process and dissemination of public information concerning this process in October 2018.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

A3. Declarations, Reservations and Objections

No declarations or reservations have been made.

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

A4. Comprehensive review

After the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) in 2012, the Minister of Labour and Social Policy announced that he would propose a new two-year plan for the application of the Convention within six months of ratification. The plan was adopted and implemented in 2013-2014. A review of the legislation and concept papers for legislative amendments were adopted to comply with Articles 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 21, 24 and 30 of the UN CRPD. In 2015 another five-year Action Plan for the Implementation of the CRPD was adopted. It again envisages comprehensive review of the legislation and adoption of concept papers about the needed legislative amendments in compliance with the articles of the UN CRPD to be prepared until 2020. As of May 2018 no further steps had been undertaken regarding comprehensive review implementation, although the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities explicitly asked the Bulgarian Government to provide such information in September 2017. In its concluding observations (October 2018), the UN Committee stated that it is concerned that definitions of disability and assessment of persons with disabilities in the Bulgarian legislation are not in line with the Convention. The Committee recommends that Bulgaria: undertake a review of its legislation with the aim of bringing it into line with the human rights model of disability; remove any derogatory terminology concerning persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities; and, in consultation with representative organisations of persons with disabilities, develop an assessment policy and procedure in line with the human rights model of disability (abandon medical and charity approaches); establish a framework for adoption of sectorial legislation that ensure mainstreaming and inclusion of the rights of persons with disabilities in all areas of life.
On 1 January 2019, the Persons with Disabilities Act and the Personal Aid Act entered into force. Despite the recommendation of the UN Committee, these acts are based on a medical assessment of disability performed by the Territorial Expert Medical Commissions (TEMCs). Social assessment would try to take into account the functionality barriers according to both acts. However, the Social Assistance Departments have no guidance yet, have very limited options to offer to persons with disabilities and social workers are insufficient in number and training to implement even them. The lack of individual needs assessment based on actual functionality and the lack of options to compensate the disability are the basic points of non-compliance of the newly-introduced acts to the UNCRPD.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

A5. Focal point

The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) was responsible for the coordination and for setting up an expert group which was supposed to elect/appoint the authority in charge of the coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the UNCRPD. However, as of April 2017, such an authority has not yet been appointed. The elaboration of legislative amendments which would provide for the functioning of the coordination and monitoring authority is scheduled for 2020. In September 2017, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities asked the Bulgarian Government to provide “updated data on the financial and human resources provided to national focal points and independent and impartial monitoring mechanisms” which was not provided as of May 2018.
In its concluding observations the UNCRPD (October 2018) noted with concern that Bulgaria has not yet designated an independent monitoring mechanism in accordance with provisions of Articles 33 (2) and 33 (3) of the UN Convention. It recommended that Bulgaria designate an independent monitoring mechanism, such as the Office of the Ombudsman or the Commission for Protection against Discrimination. It also recommended full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in such independent monitoring mechanisms.
Under the newly enforced Persons with Disabilities Act (as of 1 January 2019) the promotion, protection and monitoring of the implementation of the UNCRPD would be performed by a Monitoring Council. The Council includes: two representatives appointed by the Ombudsman; two representatives by the Protection against Discrimination Commission; four representatives of the organisations of and for persons with disabilities; and a representative of the academic community, appointed by the Bulgarian Science Academy. The Council meets at least every three months to implement an annual programme elaborated by itself. The members do not receive remuneration and report annually to the Parliament. The Council members are entitled to: elaborate statements, recommendations and proposals to responsible authorities for prevention and injunction of violations of the rights of persons with disabilities; perform regular review and assessment of the national legislation, practices and drafts of legislative acts for compliance with the UNCRPD and report on the implementation of the UNCRPD.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

A6. Coordination mechanism

A National Council for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities was established to include representatives of the state, national representative organisations of and for people with disabilities, national organisations representing employees, nationally representative organisations of employers, and the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria. An expert group was established in 2013 to co-ordinate the implementation of the 2013-2014 Action Plan. However, according to the 2015-2020 Action Plan a new expert group for appointment of coordination body was supposed to be set up in 2016. Another expert group was supposed to elaborate the coordination mechanism in 2017. No developments in this regard took place in 2017 nor in the first half of 2018.
The Persons with Disabilities Act (Art.18) adopted on 1 January 2019 introduced an obligation of the central and local departments of the executive power to appoint officers who would have coordination functions on the rights of persons with disabilities. They are supposed to participate in elaboration of policies and programmes in the disability field; in the elaboration, implementation and reporting on legislative acts, strategic policy papers, plans, project, analysis and reports related to the rights of persons with disabilities; to coordinate and report on the implementation of the measures related to rights of persons with disabilities within their competence and to coordinate collection and dissemination of data and best practices in the disability field.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

A7. Independent mechanism

Independent monitoring authority was supposed to be appointed and a mechanism to be elaborated in 2016 (according to the 2015-2020 Action Plan). As of May 2018 such an authority and mechanism have not yet been established.
Under the recently enforced Persons with Disabilities Act (as of 1 January 2019) the promotion, protection and monitoring of the implementation of the UNCRPD will be performed by a Monitoring Council. The members of this Council are: two representatives appointed by the Ombudsman; two – by the Protection against Discrimination Commission; four representatives of the organisations of and for persons with disabilities; and a representative of the academic community, appointed by the Bulgarian Science Academy. The Council meets every three months to implement an annual programme. The members do not receive remuneration and report annually to the Parliament. The Council members are entitled to: elaborate statements, recommendations and proposals to responsible authorities for prevention and injunction of violations of the rights of persons with disabilities; perform regular review and assessment of the national legislation, practices and drafts of legislative acts for compliance with the UNCRPD and report on the implementation of the UNCRPD.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

A8. Official reporting

Bulgaria's initial State Party report, covering the period 2012-13, was due in April 2014 and was submitted in July 2014. The version appearing on the UN database is identified as an 'advance unedited version' in certified translation from Bulgarian to English. In September 2017, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities issued a list of issues based on the State report and the NGOs’ reports submitted. Bulgaria replied to the list of issues in May 2018. Bulgaria wаs reviewed by the UN CRPD during its 20th session – on 3 and 4 September 2018. The Committee’s concluding observations were issued and published on 22 October 2018.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

A9. Shadow reporting

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee prepared a shadow report which was sent to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in June 2017. The EU FRA, the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Bulgaria, the Alliance for Protection against Gender Based Violence (APGV), the Bulgarian Centre for Not-for-Profit Law (BCNL), the Centre for Inclusive Education (CIE), the Centre for Independent Living (CIL), and the Validity Foundation – Mental Disability Advocacy Centre (MDAC) submitted also their shadow reports during the period of February 2017-August 2018.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

B. General legal framework

B1. Anti-discrimination legislation

The Constitution of Bulgaria does not include disability as a protected ground for unequal treatment. The disability anti-discrimination framework is shaped by two major pieces of legislation: Protection from Discrimination Act (general) and Persons with Disabilities Act (specific) where all disability-specific provisions are included. The Protection from Discrimination Act, passed in 2003 and which came into force in January 2004, fully transposes the EU Equality Directives (43/2000/ЕС, 78/2000/ЕС, 75/117/ЕCR, 97/80/ЕC, 76/207/ЕCR) and regulates the protection of all citizens from all forms of discrimination. The law also bans discrimination on the grounds of disability. Article 5 of the Protection from Discrimination Act provides that 'construction and maintenance of inaccessible environment' is direct discrimination. All subject laws (on education, employment, transport, social services, protection of children rights, protection from domestic violence, etc.) include an anti-discrimination provision, which usually has a disability reference along with all other vulnerable groups (ethnic minorities, women, elderly, etc.).
In its concluding observations about Bulgaria (October 2018) the UNCRPD apart from being concerned that definitions of disability and assessment of persons with disabilities in the Bulgarian legislation are not in line with the Convention, also notes that, under the current legislation, denial of reasonable accommodation is not explicitly recognized as an act of prohibited discrimination in all areas. Furthermore, it highlights the lack of enforceability of the decisions issued by the Commission for the Protection against Discrimination; the insufficient implementation of provisions of legislation on multiple and intersectional discrimination as an aggravated form of discrimination and the barriers that persons with disabilities face in their access to remedies in cases of discrimination. The Committee recommends Bulgaria to: amend its legislation and explicitly prohibit denial of reasonable accommodation as an act of disability-based discrimination in all spheres of life; repeal provisions that discriminate against persons with disabilities in legislation; improve the enforceability of decisions on disability-based discrimination, including decisions with regard to multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination that persons with disabilities may face; ensure that persons with disabilities, including persons under guardianship, have access to remedies in cases of disability-based discrimination, and strengthen the capacity of the Equality and Human Rights Commission to exercise its mandate concerning procedures for protection of persons with disabilities against discrimination.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

B2. Recognition of legal capacity

Bulgarian legislation, which regulates the issues related to legal capacity of persons, including persons with intellectual disabilities and mental problems, is still mainly based on the concept of substitute decision making. The Natural Persons and Family Act (NPFA) provides for the basic definitions of plenary and partial guardianship, the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) regulates the incapacitation court proceedings; the Family Code provides for the administrative proceeding for appointment/change of a guardian/guardianship council and their obligations and powers. Medical diagnosis is necessary for a spouse, close relative, prosecutor or anyone who has a legal interest in initiating a procedure for putting a person with intellectual disabilities or mental disorder under guardianship, which is done by the regional court. Once the status of legal incapacity is granted, it is not periodically reviewed. No options for supported decision making are available yet. As a product of a working group at the Ministry of Justice, which consisted of NGOs, academic and governmental representatives, a Draft Act on the Natural Persons and the Support Measures was elaborated and introduced in the Parliament by the Council of Ministers on 4 August 2016. The draft act is centred on the UNCRPD recognition of legal capacity concept and was elaborated to implement the supported decision making concept in legislation. The draft was approved for voting by all Parliamentary commissions by the end of 2016. After that Parliamentary elections took place in March 2017 and a new Government was appointed in May 2017. The new Parliament has not discussed the draft anymore.
In its concluding observations (October 2018) the UNCRPD expressed concern that Bulgarian legislation still restricts the legal capacity of persons with disabilities and provides for guardianship for persons with psycho-social or intellectual disabilities. The Committee is also concerned about the failure to approve the draft Natural Persons and Support Measures Act that had been prepared with the aim to bring Bulgarian legislation into line with Article 12 of the Convention. The UNCPRD recommended Bulgaria to amend its legislation and adopt the Natural Persons and Support Measures Act, and uphold and recognize the full legal capacity of all persons, regardless of their impairments. It also recommended to establish, in consultation with organisations of persons with disabilities, support decision-making procedures and provide continuous training on Article 12 of the Convention to the stakeholders concerned, including members of the judiciary and health-care and social protection professionals.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

B3. Accessibility of voting and elections

Bulgarian legislation has created opportunities for persons with disabilities to exercise their political rights in principle, but these opportunities are limited for persons with certain types of impairments, e.g. mental, visual and intellectual. According to Article 42 of the Constitution, all persons who are 18 years of age, except those who are placed under guardianship or are serving a prison sentence, have the right to vote in central and local authority elections and to participate in public referenda. Therefore, there is a prohibitive norm for persons with intellectual and mental disabilities placed under guardianship to exercise their active or passive rights to vote. Polling stations - usually school premises - are quite inaccessible despite the fact that a special 'disability' section should be located on the lowest floor and the process of registration of the disabled voters be simplified as much as possible. The new Electoral Code passed in 2011 established a mobile polling station for people with permanent disabilities, which is available if the person submits a request in writing at least 30 days before the election day (Аrt.176). The privacy of voting is guaranteed in Art.182 of the Electoral Code by prohibiting the presence of other persons than the voter in range of three meters from the polling station.
In its concluding observations (October 2018) the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities noted with concern that the Bulgarian legislation deprives persons with disabilities under guardianship, in particular persons with intellectual disabilities, of their rights to vote and to participate in election. It also notes that some polling stations are not accessible, and that information and communications relating to elections are not fully accessible. The Committee recommended Bulgaria to amend its legislation and bring it into line with the provisions of Articles 12 and 29 of the Convention enabling all adult persons with disabilities to exercise their rights to vote and to stand for election. It also recommended producing information about elections in accessible formats, including in Easy Read format, and to allocate financial and technical resources to improve physical accessibility of the polling stations.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

B4. Official recognition of sign language

Sign language is not officially recognised. The Integration of Persons with Disabilities Act requires national media to provide media information accessible to persons with disabilities (Art.39), but this is not implemented. Some regional broadcasting companies deliver simultaneous sign language for their mainstream news, due to private funding. The 2015-2020 Action Plan for the Implementation of the UNCRPD envisages research, recognition, trainings in sign language and legal regulation of interpretation in sign language for persons with hearing disabilities to take place until 2020.
The Bulgarian government reported to the UNCRPD in May 2018 that existing regulations concerning teaching to early-childhood and school students with impaired hearing allow the use of sign language in kindergartens and schools as a communication aid, but there is still no linguistic model or methodology to educate children and school students with impaired hearing in its use. In line with the strategic objective to introduce sign language, which is embedded in the 2015–2020 Action Plan for the implementation of the CRPD, the Foundation ‘Deaf Unlimited Bulgaria’ carried out a public contract entitled ‘Nationwide Research into the Bulgarian Sign Language’ under the Project ‘Support for Equal Access and Personal Development’, which, as part of the Operational Programme Science and Education for Smart Growth 2014–2020, was co-financed by the EU through the European Social Fund. The study provides a basis for granting official recognition to the Bulgarian sign language, for the wide acceptance of conventional signs, the expansion of its grammatical structure and the development of methodological tools for its teaching and use in various spheres and activities. Meanwhile, according to the government, a working group set up by the public advisory body, which is part of the Parliamentary Committee on the interaction with NGOs and dealing with citizens’ complaints, has been tasked with the drafting a bill on the Bulgarian sign language.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

B5. National disability strategy and action plan

In 2012 a process of updating the Strategy for Equal Opportunities of Persons with Disabilities 2008-2015 was carried out in order to reflect the novelties included in the European Disability Strategy (EDS) 2010-2020. The main goals of the updated strategy are a repetition of the goals of the previous strategies, namely: accessibility of public buildings and public and private transportation; quality day care and education for children with disabilities; quality vocational training; high school and university education for young persons with disabilities; complex medical and social rehabilitation; widening of the employment options for persons with disabilities; priority development of community-based social services for persons with disabilities; access to cultural, tourist and sport activities and designated areas for persons with disabilities, and raising awareness about the rights of persons with disabilities.
On 7 July 2016 the Council of Ministers adopted new National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities (2016-2020) which reflects the EDS and was elaborated to reflect also the 2015-2020 Action Plan for Implementation of the UNCRPD. It contains six priorities – access to living environment and freedom of expression and opinion and access to information; access to inclusive education and life-long learning; access to effective quality health care services; access to employment; adequate support for community living and access to cultural, tourist and sport activities. A 2016-2018 Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities (2016-2020) was also adopted at the end of December 2016.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

C. Accessibility

C1. Transport accessibility

Anti-discrimination legislation requires all transport-related agents such as government agencies, operators, etc. to ensure that their services are available to all citizens. In addition, the Integration of Persons with Disabilities Act provided that the Ministry of Transport is responsible for the elaboration of legislative acts and standards for: ensuring accessible public transport; introducing technical devices into the public space and transport facilitating mobility of persons with disabilities; ensuring special conditions for movements, parking, stay of vehicles led or transporting persons with disabilities; ensuring of non-problematic access to public transport of persons with disabilities and their accompanying dogs (Art. 34).
The Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 was transposed into the Road Transport Act in which introduced provisions ensuring accessible bus stations and sanctions for violation of this obligation. The Road Transport Act establishes the requirements of the parking card allowing its owner to park in designated places for persons with disabilities and to use facilitated access to them.
Ordinance 2 of 15 March 2002 for Transport Schemes and Public Bus Transport requires municipal councils to ensure that the city and intercity bus lines are adapted for persons with disabilities and limited mobility. According to this Ordinance, 35% of the total number of bus routes should be operated by buses adapted to the needs of persons with disabilities. The tender eligibility requirements for bus transport providers contain obligatory requirement for availability of equipment of the vehicles for transportation of persons with disabilities. In cities with population over 100,000 citizens, the Ordinance requires that at least one main and one additional line are performed only by buses equipped to transport persons with disabilities.
Ordinance 33 of 3 November 1999 sets the accessibility requirements for bus stations such as: availability of a platform or ramp for wheelchairs allowing access to buses; appropriate access from the street to the bus station and to the buses, in waiting rooms, ticket offices there should be at least one accessible toilet. Ordinance H-32 of 16 December 2011 for periodic technical inspection of the public transportation vehicles regulates the technical requirements for the vehicles for persons with disabilities.
Railway Administration Agency implements Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations. Regulation (EC) No 1300/2014 of 18 November 2014 on the technical specifications for interoperability relating to accessibility of the Union's rail system for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility is also implemented in Bulgaria. A National Plan for its implementation from December 2016 reports in detail about the numbers and locations of railway stations and stops partially accessible for persons with disabilities and those that would be adapted in the future to comply with the Regulation. Only eight long-distance trains serve persons with disabilities on a daily basis. To benefit from the railway transport a person with disability needs to request the support one day before the trip. Around 1,000 persons with disabilities a year use this service (while persons with physical and sensory disabilities who need support in transport are over 100,000).
In its concluding observations (October 2018) the UNCRPD Committee expressed concerns that the public transport and services in Bulgaria are still not fully accessible for persons with disabilities and recommended to make public transport and services fully accessible, including through the application of monitoring mechanisms in private and public sectors, fines and sanctions, and public procurement procedures.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

C2. Built environment accessibility

Since 1995 two laws have required owners/investors to ensure that the built environment, especially public facilities, is made accessible for disabled people. The Protection from Discrimination Act, passed in 2003, bans discrimination on the grounds of disability. Article 5 of this Act declares ‘construction and maintenance of an inaccessible environment’ to be direct discrimination, and this has allowed many physically disabled people, individuals with visual impairments and disabled people’s organisations to challenge public and private entities about inaccessible environments. The Regional Development Act sets out the legal basis for full accessibility of the built environment, including a requirement for planning of adaptations where needed. Ordinance 4 of 1 July 2009 for planning, implementation and maintenance of building constructions in compliance with the requirements for accessible environment for the population including for persons with disabilities, enforced on 7 July 2009) contains all standards that make the built environment (newly built and renovated) accessible. Most of the urban environment is not accessible and rural areas are even less so. Official data on accessibility of the environment is not available.
Under the Integration of Persons with Disabilities Act (IPDA) the municipalities are responsible for ensuring accessibility of kindergartens, schools and public or special transport, as well as for providing persons with permanent disabilities with municipal housing (Art. 38 and 48). According to para. 6 of the IPDA the state and municipalities were obliged to ensure access for persons with disabilities to public buildings owned by the state and municipalities until 31 December 2006. This had not yet happened 10 years after the adoption of that Act. A concept paper for legislative amendments regarding accessibility in compliance with Art.9 of the UNCRPD was prepared and discussed with the National Council for Integration of Persons with Disabilities in 2015. The paper was not approved, and the new deadline for its elaboration under the 2015-2020 Action Plan was set for 2016 and the deadline for elaboration and adoption of the amendments is 2020.
In its concluding observations (October 2018) the UN CRPD is concerned that Bulgaria’s legislation does not fully comply with the provisions of Article 9 of the Convention and that persons with disabilities face physical barriers, particularly in remote and rural areas. The Committee recommends that Bulgaria, in accordance with general comment No. 2 (2014) on accessibility: harmonize its legislation fully with the provisions of Article 9 of the Convention and intensify its efforts to work towards the creation of barrier-free environments throughout the country, including in remote and rural areas.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

C3. ICT and Web accessibility

Anti-discrimination legislation requires websites to be accessible for disabled people. Most of the official websites of the Bulgarian government institutions are accessible to the standards of the Web Accessibility Initiatives.
The Electronic Communications Act was amended in 2011 to provide for compliance with all EU legislation and regulations and explicitly mentions the protection of rights and interests of persons with disabilities in Art.4 and 227. Ordinance for Electronic Administrative Services also contains provisions for accessibility for persons with disabilities. A 40-pages concept paper for the needed policy and legislative amendments for the implementation of Art.21 of the UNCRPD was elaborated and adopted in 2015; the amendments are planned to be adopted until 2020.
In its concluding observations (October 2018), the UNCRPD recommended that Bulgaria should intensify efforts to ensure full accessibility of ICT, including to all persons with all types of impairments.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

D. Independent living

D1. Choice of living arrangements

The Regulations for the Implementation of the Social Assistance Act define ‘institutional placements’ as voluntary, based on official application submitted by the individual (or his/her guardian) with attached file of documents proving that the person has no access and cannot afford the care needed, as well as a social assessment results reported by the social services department of local authorities. There is no legislation that will directly force disabled people to live in residential care. However, for people with intellectual or psycho-social problems who are placed under guardianship or whose relatives made them sign the application (or the relatives signed the application themselves violating the law), the placement in residential care is actual detention. A judgement by the European Court of Human Rights in 2012 has established that practice of placement in a social care institution for persons with mental disabilities constitutes deprivation of liberty and requires judicial review while subjection to inhuman conditions in such institutions is unlawful.

In January 2016 amendments of the Social Assistance Act were introduced stating that placement in institutions shall be done only after all other options for community–based services have been exhausted (Art.16, para.2) and that children, persons with permanent disabilities and persons under plenary guardianship may be placed in institutions for a period no longer than three years (Art.16, para.3). Yet the court might extend the terms if the children cannot be reintegrated in their families, adopted, placed in families of relatives and close friends, foster family or residential community-based service and the adults cannot be cared for in family environment or residential community-based service (Art.16, para.4). The 2016 amendments also introduced a court procedure for placement of adults under plenary guardianship in institutions or community-based residential service (Art.16b), while the administrative temporary placement by the Social Assistance Departments (SAD) is also kept in cases when there is no other option for provision of care. The wish of the person with disability and the opinion of his/her guardian are taken into consideration in both court and administrative procedure, and the wish of the person with disability is regulated to have bigger significance for the decision of the court or the SAD in cases of conflict (Art.16a, para.3, Art.16b, para.2.). The law also obliges the court to hear the person with disabilities in person and to get evidence about his wish/choice (Art.16c). According to the Persons with Disabilities Act people with permanent disabilities are entitled to a monthly allowance for renting a municipal dwelling if they are single and have a personal rent contract.
According to the 2015-2020 Action Plan for the Implementation of the UNCRPD a draft of the Social Services Act to comply with the UNCRPD was supposed to be elaborated in 2016, no evidence about which had been identified. A concept paper for legislative amendments in compliance with Article 19 of the UNCRPD was also adopted in 2015.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

D2. De-institutionalisation

The issue of institutionalisation in general, and among children and particularly disabled children, was raised around 2000-2002. After the Europe-wide debate on de-institutionalisation, numerous charity initiatives were launched followed by substantial government plans to effect deinstitutionalisation but provisions for community living were less discussed. There is a detailed operationalised plan for de-institutionalisation, which affects placements of children – with and without disabilities. The approach used is to set up small group homes mainly in urban settlements where residents of large institutions are to be moved to. Foster care, temporary placement in the families of relatives/close friends and adoptions (for children without parental care) are other tools for de-institutionalisation of children, those with disabilities included. All institutions for children with disabilities were closed down by the end of 2016.

A National Strategy for Long-Term Care was adopted in January 2014 to plan the main aims and activities for the development of community-based services for elderly and adults with disabilities and de-institutionalisation of persons with disabilities living in institutions. However, during the period of 2010-2016, 10 institutions for persons with mental disabilities were closed down, although 10 were opened where children with intellectual disabilities have lived and reached the age of 18, and thus these institutions turned into institutions for adults. The total number of residents in institutions for persons with mental disabilities in 2015 was 3,979. There is a list of social services delivered in the community (the Social Assistance Act and its Regulations provide for it – Art.36), mostly organised within small group homes, supported and/or supervised housing and day-care centres.

The 2014-2016 Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (NGO) monitoring report (that indicated about 81 newly established family-type centres and protected homes for adults with mental disabilities) states that although there are rare examples of good practice of real independent living and social inclusion, the majority of the residents in the so-called 'community based services' live under similar conditions to those they encounter in the institutions: placement in them is done by other persons and not by the person with disability, whose wishes often are not considered. Buildings vary between luxury and old houses, and institutions. In small towns they used to be kindergartens, schools or they are separate buildings or corridors of institutions or local hospitals. Out of a total of 128, 45 protected homes are located in villages where there is no opportunity for activities; food is prepared by catering companies; daily activities are rare and largely not corresponding to personal needs and the wishes of the users. Personal money is not spent according to the wishes of persons with disabilities; the guardians of the majority of the users placed under guardianship are staff members; few persons with disabilities use educational or day-care services and/or go to work; few persons with disabilities maintain regular contacts with the outside world. Staff is insufficient, under qualified and underpaid. Medical care is not provided in the same way as to persons living outside residential services and when provided often lacks or has low quality.

There is no legislation that regulates provision of support for living in the community (professional and peer counselling, personal assistance and support at school, at work or leisure) which would facilitate independent living.
The Government Action Plan for 2018-2021 for the Implementation of the National Long-term Care Strategy was adopted in January 2018. The Plan identifies the following main problems: the large number of persons are placed in institutions or are waiting for placement; the number of community-based services meeting the needs of the target groups is insufficient; and the existing services in the country are unevenly distributed. According to the Plan, 11,000 persons with disabilities and elderly persons live in 161 institutions; persons waiting for placement in institutions are 3,600 out of whom 2,200 are persons with mental health problems, intellectual disabilities and dementia. Around 900 persons wait to be placed in community-based residential services (family-type accommodation centres (FTAC)), out of whom 750 are persons with mental disabilities. The Plan earmarks: provision of home care to 17,000 persons with disabilities and elderly persons; de-institutionalisation of 750 persons; provision of hourly, day-care and resident care for 2,000 persons with disabilities/elderly persons; closure of 10 institutions for persons with psycho-social and intellectual disabilities; setting up: 68 FTAC for persons with disabilities and elderly persons and six day-care centres for persons with dementia with the total capacity of 1,260 persons, 10 day-care centres for persons with disabilities and their families for 300 users and 600 family members and 10 centres for rehabilitation and integration with total capacity of 400 persons. The Plan’s implementation is ongoing as of March 2019.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

D3. Quality of social services

Quality control of social services is one of the numerous responsibilities imposed on the Social Assistance Agency (SAA). It is performed by a special department, named Inspectorate which reports to the Executive Director and runs inspections of the service providers checking on their compliance with the rules and regulations on the provision of social services. It is also supposed to respond to complaints submitted by clients. The basic and very vague quality standards for institutional and community-based social services are regulated in the Regulation for the Implementation of the Social Assistance Act (Art.40e-41b). Additional regulations are contained in guidelines for each type of service but they are not legally binding. Information about the activities of the Inspectorate is included in the Social Assistance Agency’s annual reports. However, the 2016 report, for instance, mentioned that only 44 visits had been performed to institutions for persons with disabilities and in some of them improvement of the living conditions was needed; and that 36 visits to community based services had been done with the main aim to check the budget expenditure in them. Publicly available reports of the Inspectorate are not available. Quality evaluation of social services involving the opinion and suggestions of the users (persons with disabilities) as well as taking into consideration the respect or the failure to respect their fundamental rights is not performed.

A 2016 report by the Centre for Independent Living (NGO) analyses the policies and practices for persons with disabilities. According to it the social assessment for integration benefits and technical aids does not seek or give any information about the way in which the social environment would be adapted to the needs of persons with disability to facilitate their social inclusion and participation. In another 2016 field research the CIL presents quotes of interviews both with social workers and persons with disabilities which show that the social assessment for integration benefits is formal and does not aim at estimating individual needs of the person with disability.

A 2018 report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment (CPT) from its October 2017 visit to Bulgarian social care institutions for persons with mental disabilities contains the following conclusion: “The CPT cannot escape the sober conclusion that residents in the social care establishments visited had de facto been abandoned by the State, which had manifestly totally failed to provide those vulnerable persons with the human contact, comfort, care and assistance they required, as well as the dignity they deserved. It is equally regrettable that staff (and the management) of these establishments had been left to struggle from day to day with totally insufficient human resources, without adequate funding and without any attention or support from the Bulgarian authorities.”

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

D4. Provision of assistive devices at home

There is no option in the current legislation for the provision of assistive devices. Аnnex 7 to the Regulation for Implementation of the Integration of Persons with disabilities lists exhaustively 14 items of technical aids and medical appliances altogether, for which the Social Assistance Agency grants a fixed amount of ‘earmarked cash benefit’ to eligible disabled people who filed applications, were approved and provided back invoices. The list mentions prostheses, orthoses, crutches, wheelchairs, orthopedic shoes, hearing aids, white cane, antidecubital items, etc. Highly technical appliances are not included. There are organisations - mainly international organisations operating in Bulgaria - that donate equipment to disabled people.
The UN CRPD noted with concern in its concluding observations (in October 2018) that persons with disabilities still face challenges in their access to affordable mobility-related technical aids, appliances, equipment and medical devices that they may require. The Committee recommends that Bulgaria intensify its efforts to improve personal mobility and to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to mobility-related technical aids, appliances, equipment and medical devices that are affordable and/or free, including by allocating the necessary resources.
According to the Persons with Disabilities Act enforced on 1 January 2019, since 1 January 2020 medical appliances and technical aids will be provided by the Ministry of Healthcare. Until 30 September 2019, the Minister of Healthcare and the Head of the National Health Insurance Fund are obliged to elaborate the mechanisms for their provision and to issue quality standards for medical appliances and technical aids.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

D5. Availability of personal assistance schemes

Personal assistance (as defined by the Independent Living movement in Europe) is not available in Bulgaria. Instead, day-care centres and home care services absorb a lot of money without changing the status of disabled people where the beneficiaries receive payments, which often contribute to family budgets. The personal assistance scheme was developed with the aim to provide employment options for unemployed persons who were paid to work as personal assistants (Social Assistance Act regulates personal, social and domestic assistant services). Two-stage individual needs assessments are performed. The first stage gives scores for access, depending on the family and the social status of the applicant. The number of hours per month are defined at the second stage, which provides for minimum support (up to 160 hours but this number of hours is rarely given). An Assistant for Independent Living Scheme was introduced in Sofia in 2007 which was initially designed to give disabled users control over the management of the support they need. Later on, a series of amendments made it a duplication of the national scheme described above.

Until 2019, the assistance types of services as regulated by the Bulgarian legislation were provided on a project and programme basis whenever the EU funding is available. Consequently, the provision is inconsistent and the eligibility criteria vary. During the last three phases of the EU project Alternatives (2010, 2011 and 2013/2014), a total of 35,222 persons with permanent disabilities expressed the wish to benefit from the personal assistant programme. Among the candidates for personal assistants 31,911 persons were selected, and out of these 21,920 were trained to be personal assistants. The project lasted in total for 53 months instead of 19 months. The additional amount allowed (51 partner municipalities in July 2013; 126 in January 2014; and 218 in June 2014) to increase the hourly quota and the payment for it from EUR 1 to EUR 1.50 per hour. The total number of persons with disabilities who received personal assistance during the period from 10 January 2011 to 31 December 2014 were 21,340, and there were 20,185 personal assistants involved. By the end of the project there were 13,115 users of this service and 12,416 assistants. The project budget amounted to about 84 million euros.

On 5 July 2017, the Council of Ministers increased the funding for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities Programme with BGN 15,7 million (7.85 million euros). The funding is allocated through the Social Assistance Agency to the municipalities for the provision of personal and social assistants’ services and home-care support services on the basis of needs assessments of potential users. The Programme targets 15,000 persons with disabilities and persons over the age of 65, and plans to involve 6,400 personal assistants, 1,000 social assistants and 2,500 home helpers.

According to the governmental report on poverty reduction during 2015-2016 under the “New Alternatives 2014-2020 scheme" home-care and prevention of institutionalisation was provided to 17,127 persons; personal assistant service was expanded to serve 2,500 more persons with disabilities; access to healthcare services was ensured to 7,516 users through newly employed 1,200 medical staff; and 16,055 personal assistants were employed. The “Independent Living Scheme" started in May 2015. The total number of municipalities that applied for it comprised 294. Contracts were signed at the total amount of BGN 147 million (73.5 million euros). The disabled persons and persons over the age of 65 who benefited from access to services under this Scheme are 25,164.

The poverty reduction plan for 2017-2018 envisages that:

  • "Support for persons with disabilities" scheme would start to provide: daily and hourly services to 180 persons with disabilities over the age of 18; consultation and similar services - to 360 persons; social and health services after leaving institutions - to 60 persons;
  • "Independent Living" scheme would provide personal assistance to 14,000 persons over the age of 65 and persons with disabilities unable to take care of themselves.

An important achievement of 2018 was the elaboration and adoption of the Personal Aid Act (enforced on 1 January 2019). It legislatively provides for the first time for the provision of personal assistance (so far it was provided only under EU funded projects whenever available and was only a practice). However, it is still based mainly on a medical assessment and limits the potential users until 31 December 2020 to: adults with 90% disability or more, children with 50% who are assessed as needy of personal assistance by the medical commissions, and children with 90% disability or more. The hours of personal assistance are also restricted and may vary from 15 to 168 hours monthly depending on the severity of the condition and the level of dependency of each user. The most severe condition is of a person who needs constant assistance more than four times daily for everyday activities who has completely lost his/her physical, mental or sensory autonomy. Applications for the individual assessment can be submitted after 1 April 2019. Personal assistance will be paid from 1 September 2019 onwards. Guidelines about personal assistance will be issued by the Manager of Social Assistance Agency by the end of June 2019.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

D6. Income maintenance

An officially granted disability status of more than 71% of reduced working capacity and over 16 years of age entitles beneficiaries to a social disability pension (Social Security Code, Art.90a). As of January 2018, the size of this pension is EUR 68 per month for persons with 70 to 90% disability, and EUR 74 per month for persons with 90 to 100% disability. Disabled persons with at least 50% of reduced working capacity who have some working career are entitled to a disability pension (the amount of which is based on their social security contributions done during the work period) regardless of their age (SSC, Art.72). Disabled people who have a paid job receive their salaries and pensions at the same time. Employment among disabled people is not as high as among the non-disabled but the legal option exists for this. The focus оf disability assessment is on a disabled person’s impairment and their inability to function as a non-disabled one. All disability provisions in Bulgarian legislation refer to a permanently disabled person as 'a person who, as a result of anatomical, physiological or mental impairment, has permanently reduced capacities to perform activities in the way and at the level of a healthy person and for whom the medical assessment authorities have estimated a level of reduced working capacity of 50% or more'. This medical assessment is determinant to access all sorts of disability allowances, cash benefits and services. Such references may be found in the Social Security Code, which provides for pensions and other disability allowances, in the Persons with Disabilities Act providing for monthly benefits, in the Social Assistance Act, which gives access to cash benefits and services, in the Law on Family Support and Child Benefits, which grants public resources for raising children, in the Education Act, which allows for school enrolment, in the Public Health Act, in the Employment Promotion Act, which provides for special treatment on the workplace, in the Corporate Taxes Act granting tax holidays for special enterprises and in the Taxation of Individuals Act, which stipulates tax privileges for disabled people.

Financial support under the Persons with Disabilities Act (enforced on 1 January 2019) is again mainly based on a medical assessment but it is already linked to the poverty threshold, which is updated annually (for 2019 it is BGN 348 (EUR 178). One of the components of the financial support is monthly allowance which is supposed to compensate the expenses caused by disability and is again a fixed amount according to the estimated percent disability. It varies from 7 to 57% of the poverty threshold. Persons with 50 to 70.99% disability are entitled to 7% (EUR 12), those with 71 to 90% disability – to 15% (EUR 27) and those with over 90% disability – to 25% (EUR 45), the last group are persons with over 90% disability and estimated personal assistance need who receive also social disability pension – would receive 57% (EUR 102). The size of the individual benefit depends on the type and severity of the impairment and the income of a person. Disabled people are also entitled to a non-reported cash payment for assistance of up to 10 hours a year, which is an extra allowance for income support in the form of assistance service. The disability pensions were largely and publicly discussed in 2017 as the Government received information (and carried out research) about medical doctors and persons with presumed disabilities who misuse the disability assessment and social security systems. Currently, an attempt is underway to plan a new disability assessment procedure that would allow persons with disability of working age to be employed rather than granted disability pensions, and would grant disability status only to persons who have actual disabilities.

As of March 2019, the government adopted two legislative acts – Persons with Disabilities Act and Personal Aid Act (both enforced on 1 January 2019). They both are based on a medical assessment of disability, do not provide for any supports for persons with less than 50% disability and in fact would not contribute to achieving adequate standard of living for persons with disabilities. This is contrary to the UNCRPD concluding observations (as of October 2018) that recommend Bulgaria to revise the criteria for assessing the degree of impairment, incorporate the human rights model of disability in the assessment process, and ensure that persons with disabilities continue to enjoy an adequate standard of living.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

D7. Additional costs

The Persons with Disabilities Act (Art.74 and the following) provides for one-time targeted fixed disability benefits:

  • for purchase/adaptation of a car - up to EUR 712 (for persons with over 90 % reduced working capacity who work or study and if the monthly income of each member of the person’s family is smaller than EUR 178 during the last 12 months); the support can be allocated again after five years if needed;
  • for adaptation of a house – up to EUR 356 for 2019 (for persons with over 90 % reduced working capacity and children with disability which forces them to use wheelchairs if the monthly income of each members in the person’s family is smaller than EUR 178 during the last 12 months), the support can be allocated again after 10 years if needed;
  • for rehabilitation or water treatment, at the cost of up to 142 Euro – for persons with over 90 % disability, children with permanent disabilities and war veterans, prescribed by a doctor (for those who have personal assistants up to 142 Euro for them is covered also) after they present documents certifying the expenses;
  • for rent of municipal flat/house – for persons with permanent disabilities who are single or single parents of a child with permanent disability as well for persons under plenary guardianship who signed the rent contract themselves or by their guardians;
  • for purchase and repair of enlisted medical appliances and devices – the size of the benefit would be determined by the Minister of Health and the Head of the National Health Insurance Fund in 2019.

No provisions for other additional costs are available through the law. Numerous charities run fundraising campaigns to help disabled people cover extra cost of compensation for the deficit caused by the impairment. ‘Bulgarian Christmas’ is the largest initiative launched by the Bulgarian President. Donors’ Message Service DMS is run by the Bulgarian Donors' Forum that collects donations through text messages.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

D8. Retirement income

Retirement, in terms of age and years of work service, is not relevant as disabled Bulgarians acquire retirement status when they are granted disability status and are entitled to a disability pension and all other related benefits. Nevertheless, they may continue working and receive their salaries and pensions at the same time. However, the employment among disabled people is not as high as among the non-disabled population, but the legal option exists for this. In addition, if the disability status is acquired at retirement age, a disability pension is granted based on an individual assessment of the level of disability, duration of work service, amount of social security contributions during the work period, etc. As of 1 January 2015 if another pension is received by the person with disability, the social pension for disability status (which currently is EUR 65) is terminated.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

E. Education

E1. Special schools

Mainstream schools are not allowed to refuse enrolment of a child with special needs, and if this happens, parents may complain. However, schools are not generally prepared to accommodate the needs of such children and most parents opt for special education or individual learning programmes (teachers visit students at home), which happens upon referral from a Panel of Educational Experts within the Regional Education Authorities by residence of the applicant. The Bulgarian education system remains dominated by segregated forms of teaching and learning, although for the last 15 years inclusive education has significantly developed. The new 2016 Preschool and School Education Act provides that the former special schools for children with intellectual disabilities will function as Centres for Special Educational Support (municipal and state) that are established to: perform diagnostic, rehabilitation and therapeutic work with children with special needs after being assessed as such by inclusive education departments; provide teaching and psychological support; implement programs for training of the families of students with special needs; provide education at the compulsory school age as well as vocational training of students with special needs (Art.49, para.2). As there is not any publicly available statistical data about the number of students in these schools in 2017, data from the planned budget standards of the Ministry of Education were reviewed. Accordingly, 2,722 children were reported to study in centres for special educational support in 2017. The annual allowances per child who studies in special schools are: BGN 4,565 (EUR 2,341); for centres for special educational support (BGN 8,337 (EUR 4,275) when the centre is with a boarding house); BGN 9,891 (EUR 5,072) for special schools for children with sight disabilities on boarding house (317 children study in such schools); and BGN 9,544 (EUR 4,894) for special schools for children with hearing disabilities on boarding house (401 children study in such schools). However, a large proportion of disabled children remain outside the education system (children with extensive disabilities and complex needs, as well as those in residential care).
The UN CRPD in its concluding observations (October 2018) noted its concern that segregated education systems still remain in Bulgaria, including that children with disabilities are not allowed to enrol in mainstream schools. The Committee is also concerned about: the low level of awareness, including among teachers and other education staff, and also among parents of children without disabilities, of the benefits of quality inclusive education for society; the lack of an independent mechanism to monitor and assess the implementation and effects of the Public Education Act and the Early Childhood and School Education Act, especially for children with psycho-social disabilities and children still in institutions; the uneven and unsystematic allocation of human and financial resources to ensure that sufficient teachers and auxiliary staff are trained in inclusive education and the lack of data on the number of children and youth with disabilities not currently enrolled in any form of education. The Committee recommended that Bulgaria, in accordance with general comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education: replace segregated education systems with quality inclusive education; raise awareness of the advantages of quality inclusive education for society, in particular for teachers and other education staff, and also for parents of children without disabilities; intensify its efforts to ensure quality inclusive education and the provision of reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities in mainstream schools, including by allocating sufficient human, technical and financial resources for it; collect data on the number of children and young people with disabilities not currently enrolled in any form of education, disaggregated by age, sex, type of impairment and place of residence, and develop a strategy to include these children in the mainstream education system.
It was only at the UNCRPD session in September 2018 that the Ministry of Education officials provided data on the enrollment rate for children with disabilities. According to these data, the schools for children with intellectual disabilities had been transformed into centres for special pedagogical support which are 43 in the whole country. In total, 2,821 children with intellectual disabilities had been supported by them, while 708 children with hearing and sight disabilities studied in special schools which still exist.

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E2. Mainstream schools

The Preschool and School Education Act (PSEA) was enforced on 1 August 2016. It introduces the concept that education aims at personal development of the students and acquiring of key competences for their personal and professional development as well as understanding and implementing values like: sustainable development, democratic principles, tolerance, human rights, cultural heritage, global development processes etc. The Act regulates the right to education and its components – life-long learning and inclusive education (Art.7) and provides that school education in state and municipal schools is free of charge after the compulsory school age (Art.9, para. 2.). The PSEA does not allow for discrimination on any grounds, including disabilities. Children with disabilities are enrolled in mainstream schools, special schools or in centres for special educational support depending on their assessment by Regional Education Panels and the wish of their parents/guardians. The Act also regulates the establishment of the municipal centres for personal support that develop interests, potential, skills of students in science, arts and sports; provide career guidance; provide resource support to students with special needs; ensure teaching and psychological support; implement programmes for training of parents and perform preventative, diagnostic, rehabilitation and resocialisation activities with students (Art.49). These centres together with Centres for Special Educational Support provide additional support to students with special needs.

An Ordinance for Inclusive Education issued by the Council of Ministers on 4 November 2016 provides detailed rules for the qualification of the staff, for the requirements, terms, activities, cooperation and coordination between educational institutions in the provision of education, diagnostic, therapeutic and other services for special educational support in mainstream and special schools and kindergartens. It also determines the way in which individual plans for education and development are elaborated, updated and implemented and the procedure for assessment and certification of the acquired knowledge and skills in inclusive education.
The Ordinance for the State Requirements for Professional Qualification of Teachers was adopted on 11 November 2016, which among other matters increased the overall training units (from 30 to 50 %) and introduced training in inclusive and dual education. Another Ordinance from 1 September 2016 provides for the status and professional/carrier development of teachers and other pedagogical staff. Several projects for raising professional qualification of over 17,000 teachers are ongoing. The state budget for education increased up to BGN 230 million (EUR 115 million) in 2017 allocated for raising teachers’ remuneration, inclusive education, etc. The 2017 budget estimates showed that around 14,000 students used resource support for some learning problem or disability while studying in mainstream schools. The annual allowance for resource support in mainstream schools per child with special needs comprised BGN 2,190 (EUR 1,123).
The governmental poverty reduction plan for 2017-2018 envisages that 1,800 children with special needs would be provided support in inclusive education, 250 children with special needs aged 3 to 6 would receive prevention services and 33 kindergartens would be equipped to provide supportive environment under the “Support for Early Access and Personal Development” scheme.
It was only at the UNCRPD session in September 2018 that the Ministry of Education officials provided data on the enrollment rate for children with disabilities in mainstream schools. According to it during the 2017/2018 school year the total of 22,263 children with disabilities had been involved in inclusive education and training – 18,198 in mainstream schools and 4,065 children in mainstream kindergartens. 7,583 children had been supported by Regional Centres for Support of Inclusive Education by 3,728 professionals out of whom: 1,397 special teachers, 763 psychologists, 582 speech therapists, 69 speech and hearing rehabilitators, 105 teachers for children with sight disabilities, 773 teachers’ advisors and two physical therapists.

The UNCRPD recommended that Bulgaria, in accordance with general comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education: replace segregated education systems with quality inclusive education; raise awareness of the advantages of quality inclusive education for society, in particular for teachers and other education staff, and also for parents of children without disabilities; intensify its efforts to ensure quality inclusive education and the provision of reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities in mainstream schools, including by allocating sufficient human, technical and financial resources for it; collect data on the number of children and young people with disabilities not currently enrolled in any form of education, disaggregated by age, sex, type of impairment and place of residence, and develop a strategy to include these children in the mainstream education system.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

E3. Sign language and Braille in school

There is no reference to learning Braille or sign language in mainstream schools and no special provision to this end. Braille and sign language are subjects of teaching in special schools only. According to the 2016 Preschool and School Education Act, schools for children with sensory disabilities are special and they provide primary and high school education as well as vocational training (Art 44).
The Bulgarian government reported to the UNCRPD in May 2018 that existing regulations concerning teaching to early-childhood and school students with impaired hearing allow the use of sign language in kindergartens and schools as a communication aid, but there is still no linguistic model or methodology to educate children and school students with impaired hearing in its use. In line with the strategic objective to introduce sign language, which is embedded in the 2015–2020 Action Plan for the implementation of the CRPD, the foundation ‘Deaf Unlimited Bulgaria’ carried out a public contract entitled ‘Nationwide Research into the Bulgarian Sign Language’ under the Project ‘Support for Equal Access and Personal Development’, which, as part of the Operational Programme Science and Education for Smart Growth 2014–2020, was co-financed by the EU through the European Social Fund. The study provides a basis for granting official recognition to the Bulgarian sign language, for the wide acceptance of conventional signs, the expansion of its grammatical structure and the development of methodological tools for its teaching and use in various spheres and activities. Meanwhile, according to the government, a working group set up by the public advisory body, which is part of the Parliamentary Committee on interaction with NGOs and dealing with citizens’ complaints, has been tasked with drafting a bill on Bulgarian sign language.
Both the Ordinance on Inclusive Education and the Ordinance on Evaluating Student Performance require that Braille be used in teaching to visually impaired students, both in mainstream and in the special schools for visually impaired students. Visually impaired students are also provided with materials in Braille for the purposes of their national external assessment and when sitting for their matriculation exams.

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E4. Vocational training

The new 2016 Preschool and School Education Act refers to Vocational Education and Training Act (VETA) for specific matters related to vocational training including for students with disabilities. VETA introduced dual education and training in 2016. The 2016 amendments of VETA provide for validation of acquired knowledge and skills by informal education for the purpose of continuation of vocational training and access to labour market (Art.5). The 2014 and 2016 amendments in VETA regulated in details the four levels of acquiring vocational skills and the prerequisites for each of them in terms of finished levels of education. Centres for special educational support have also right to teach students with disabilities in vocational training for the first level of professional qualification (Art.9, para.5). However, vocational training of persons over 16 years of age in state and municipal schools is to be paid by the trainee (Art.14b, para.4).
According to the National Statistical Institute data in 2015/2016 academic year there were 2,014 mainstream schools, 46 special schools for children with intellectual disabilities (with 2,427 students), five special schools for children with sight and hearing disabilities (with 588 students) and 387 mainstream vocational training high schools with around 93,000 students in them. No data is publicly available about the students with disabilities enrolled in mainstream schools including in vocational training high schools. The lack of data makes it impossible to assess the impact of the new legislative provisions on students and young persons with disabilities.
The Vocational Education and Training Act does not explicitly prohibit discrimination but provides that vocational education of students with disabilities should be done in accordance with their health condition - the students with sensory disabilities are to be trained in professions “appropriate” for them and the students with intellectual disabilities are trained in part of profession or 1st level of professional qualification (Art.32). The policy and strategic documents do not contain any information about vocational skills programmes (or professions in which training is offered) in which young persons with disabilities may be involved.
The 2016-2018 Action Plan for Implementation of the National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities (2016-2020) envisages elaboration of new curricula and vocational training modules for students with disabilities at post-compulsory age and organisation of vocational training courses for students with disabilities at the vocational training high schools in 2017.

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E5. Higher education

The Higher Education Act does not prohibit discrimination on the grounds of disabilities. It does not include an explicit obligation on colleges and universities to accommodate the needs of disabled students and report on the measures taken. The Act provides for easier access to university education (depending on the internal regulations of each university) of persons with permanent disabilities and over 70 % of reduced working capacity (Art.68) and for the right to support during the studies (Art.70). The 2016-2018 Action Plan for Implementation of the National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities (2016-2020) envisaged the introduction in 2016 of a university education fee-waiver and facilitated access to scholarships for persons with over 70 % of reduced working capacity. A review of most university websites shows that some of them waive their admission fees for disabled applicants but fewer have provided appropriate accommodations for disabled students. Most universities announce equal opportunities policies but no evidence could be traced of special measures to implement them (administrative or resource allocations).

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

F. Employment

F1. Non-discrimination in employment

Article 2 of the Employment Promotion Act prohibits direct or indirect discrimination on the disability grounds. Under the Labour Code employers who have hired over 50 employees must determine annually job positions appropriate for persons with disabilities of 4 to 10 % of all positions depending on the type of economic activity. The concrete share of the job positions for persons with disabilities for each economic activity is determined by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy and the Minister of Healthcare. Out of all job positions determined under the Labour Code the employer must determine at least 50 % for persons with permanent disabilities. The employer should inform the Employment Departments for these job positions and must announce the vacant ones in 14 days after their determination. The Labour Code also provides for protection against dismissal – no matter what the reason for dismissal, the employer has to go through a procedure to acquire an approval from the Labour Inspection Office and the Expert Medical Panel. The Employment Promotion Act contains several provisions for subsidized employment options concerning persons with permanent disabilities (Art.36, para.2; Art. 51, para.2; Art.52) and one – for supported employment (Art. 43a introduced in 2015).
In its concluding observations (October 2018) the UNCRPD noted with concern that, despite the incentives offered to employers to hire persons with disabilities, such persons continue to face unemployment and discrimination in the employment sector. The Committee recommends that Bulgaria: adopt a policy framework and a strategy to promote employment for persons with disabilities in the open labour market, including by increasing resources for it, with the aim to facilitate transition from sheltered employment to the open labour market; recognize in its legal and policy framework the right of persons with disabilities to reasonable accommodation at the workplace; raise awareness among public and private companies about reasonable accommodation at work; strengthen training programmes for persons with disabilities on skills that are required in the open labour market and skills in entrepreneurship, and collect disaggregated and targeted data about the participation of women and men with disabilities in programmes and the outcome of training for them.

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F2. Public employment services

The Employment Promotion Act imposes an obligation on the Employment Agency to ensure support for job-seekers through its local employment offices. They should all assist clients with and without disabilities. Annually a National Programme for Employment and Training of Persons with Permanent Disabilities is adopted to raise employability and to ensure training and subsidized employment to persons with permanent disabilities registered as job-seekers at the local employment departments.
In addition, the Human Resource Development Programme (one of the operational programmes for use of the EU Structural Funds) has a key priority of ‘increased employment rates’. Several significant schemes focused on training and employment of disadvantaged groups on the labour market (among which are persons with disabilities) are ongoing.
In its 2018 response to the UNCRPD’s list of issues the Bulgarian government enlisted the following employment measures: "one of the specific objectives of the Operational Programme Human Resources Development is to tackle unemployment among vulnerable groups in the labour market — unemployed and inactive persons removed at a distance from the labour market, including long-term unemployed, persons with low levels of education, persons over 54, and persons with disabilities. A number of employment-related operations placed special focus on the integration of persons with disabilities into the labour market, according to the Government. Part of the target group of Operation 'New Workplace', which has a budget of BGN 125 million (EUR 62,5 million), are unemployed or inactive persons with disabilities who could be employed in suitably adapted and equipped workplaces as a way of boosting employment. Another operation, seeking to encourage social entrepreneurship, promises support to social enterprises, specialised enterprises and cooperatives in the employment and occupational adaptation of persons with disabilities. Within the framework of the regular session in May 2018 of the OPHRD Monitoring Committee, new components were launched as part of ongoing employment agency projects ‘Training and employment of young persons’ and ‘Trainings and employment’. The aim is to provide opportunities for employment and for the acquisition of skills and knowledge to enable inactive and unemployed persons with permanent disabilities to overcome the difficulties of joining the labour market and economic life. Some 1,200 individuals are expected to join the new components of the two projects.’
According to the 2015-2020 Action Plan for the Implementation of the UNCRPD legislative amendments for introduction of promotion employment mechanisms in regular and specialized environment as well as supported employment should be elaborated and adopted until 2020.
According to Ivailo Naidenov, an Employment Agency official, who was present at the UNCRPD session in September 2018, under Art.36, para.2 of the Employment Promotion Act in 2017 the total of 10,742 persons with disabilities started work. During the first half of 2018 the total of 5,000 persons started to work and over 1,500 were involved in subsidized employment. In 2017 slightly over BGN 18,1 million (EUR 9,05 million) was spent for these activities. Ivailo Naidenov also reported that 20.1 % persons with disabilities were employed in 2017 and that the percentage of unemployment among persons with disabilities was 8.5 % compared to 6.2 % of unemployed persons in general. BGN 19 million (EUR 9,5 million) from the ESF was allocated in August 2018 for employment of around 1,000 persons with disabilities of 29 years-old and over.

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F3. Workplace adaptations

The Integration of Persons with Disabilities Act obliges employers to provide reasonable accommodation for the person with disability unless the expenses for it are unreasonably high and would be a serious burden for the employer (Art.24). The government has to promote employment of disabled people, inter alia through providing support to employers willing to hire disabled people. Since 2010 the employers may apply with projects at the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) for funding for ensuring access to the workplace, adaptation of the workplace and equipment of the workplace of the person with permanent disability (Art.25). The APD annually determines the amount of the project funding for employers which it administers. It signs contracts with the employers and provides the funding for approved projects to them. The APD mentions in its 2016 report that the employers are obliged to keep persons with disabilities for at least 36 months in order to achieve sustainability of the program.
According to the Integration of Persons with Disabilities Act, if the employer does not receive funding under the Employment Promotion Act, two other variants are possible: 1) funding from the state budget for 30% of the paid social, health and additional pension security contributions for the employees with disabilities under the Regulations for Implementation of the Integration of Persons with Disabilities Act; and/or 2) expenses for access, adaptation and equipment of the workplace which are reported in the accounting and tax documents. The APD controls the expenditure of the abovementioned funding. The APD reported that in 2016, only 20 employers applied for this program and 15 were approved with the total amount of BGN 266,671 (EUR 136,754). Thus, 45 workplaces for persons with disabilities were adapted and equipped. However, the APD notes that private companies do not apply for this kind of funding.
The amount of funding provided by the APD, however, is fixed at a minimum level and regardless of the individual needs of disabled people. There is no personal assistance or transportation allowance for disabled employees. Amounts of funding are: EUR 5,128 for physical access to the work place; EUR 2,051 for adjustments of the work place and EUR 3,076 for equipment at the work place.
In2018 in response to the UNCRPD’s list of issues, the Bulgarian government enlisted the following employment measures: ‘In terms of projects to provide an accessible working environment, the Agency for People with Disabilities (APD) has so far financed 12 contracts worth a total of BGN 401,150 (appr. EUR 200,000) including BGN 281,378 accounted for and BGN 119,772 transferred to budget-financed and municipal enterprises.”
In its concluding observations (October 2018) the UNCRPD noted with concern the low level of awareness among employers about reasonable accommodation at the work place. The Committee was furthermore concerned about the low transition rate of persons with disabilities from sheltered workplaces into the open labour market. The Committee recommended that Bulgaria: adopt a policy framework and a strategy to promote employment for persons with disabilities in the open labour market, including by increasing resources for it, with the aim to facilitate transition from sheltered employment to the open labour market; recognize in its legal and policy framework the right of persons with disabilities to reasonable accommodation at the workplace; raise awareness among public and private companies about reasonable accommodation at work; strengthen training programmes for persons with disabilities on skills that are required in the open labour market and skills in entrepreneurship, and collect disaggregated and targeted data about the participation of women and men with disabilities in programmes and the outcome of training for them.

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Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

F4. Financial incentives

The Integration of Persons with Disabilities Act contains a section on employment where mainstream employment is mentioned, and the quota system and specialised enterprises are regulated in a comprehensive manner. Article 29 of the Аct requires the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to keep a pubic register of specialised enterprises and to provide funding for their business development projects on top of subsidies granted for having disabled people on the payroll. There are also taxation laws that stipulate incentives for the self-employed disabled people in addition to start-up business grants provided by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (Art.31). The APD reports that the interest to these grants is very high. In 2016 the total of 163 persons with disabilities applied for funding out of whom only 36 projects were approved and implemented at the total amount of BGN 647,767 (EUR 332,188). People with disability are entitled to double tax-free income levels. Employers of disabled people benefit from corporate tax relief proportionate to the number of the disabled people hired in the business, while special enterprises are totally exempt from paying corporate taxes on the profits they make, as well as from paying local taxes. Provided that these businesses are members of national umbrella organisations, they are entitled to a 50% return on the social security contributions of the employer. The Employment Agency, along with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) run disability programmes that support the demand side of the labour market. Under these programmes, employers may apply for funding to employ disabled people if they make a commitment to maintain the job for 36 months. The allocated money is earmarked for minimum monthly salaries over 12 months plus social and health security contributions. However, disabled employees under these programmes are not provided with access to individual support on the job such as personal assistance, mobility allowance, etc. According to the report about the implementation of the 2016 National Programme for Training and Employment of Persons with Disabilities, during the period January-November 2016, there were 1,227 persons involved in these activities. The average monthly number of employed persons with disabilities under the programme is 1,169 and the allocated funding was BGN 5,666,700 (approx. EUR 2,833,350).
During 2017-2018 the Government reported only the average of 1,800 persons involved in a national programme for subsidized employment. According to the Ministry of Social Policy, the number of persons with permanent disabilities (and persons who have passed treatment to overcome drug addiction) employed in subsidised employment in 2018 for 24 months under the programme slightly increased to 1,990 compared to 2017. The allocated funding for this is around BGN 9.3 million (appr. €4.65 million)
The UNCRPD recommended (in October 2018) that Bulgaria: adopt a policy framework and a strategy to promote employment for persons with disabilities in the open labour market, including by increasing resources for it, with the aim to facilitate transition from sheltered employment to the open labour market.
The Persons with Disabilities Act (enforced on 1 January 2019) regulates professional and labour rehabilitation (Art.29) as well as financial incentives and sanctions for employers.
According to this Act, professional rehabilitation provides opportunities to persons with disabilities to overcome barriers of access and return to their profession. This rehabilitation aims at the development of knowledge and work skills of persons with disabilities, ensuring job opportunities appropriate to their health condition, education and qualification. Activities like: assessment of the employability, professional consultations, vocational training, provision of support services and work assistance; assistance in overcoming barriers of functional limitations in working, adapted workplace and ensuring appropriate working conditions, are elements of the professional rehabilitation. Labour rehabilitation promotes the right to work by: labour therapy; social inclusion through work, ensuring services for referral to employment in protected workshops and open labour market, training in both environments; ensuring appropriate type of employment; adaptation of work environment for ensuring employment for persons with disabilities. The promotion of employment of persons with disabilities in the open labour market (Articles 38, 40, 44) is supposed to be done by increasing of the “obligatory quota” for all employers. Those with 50 to 99 employees are obliged to employ at least one person with disability, those with 100 and over 100 employees are obliged to employee 2 % of the employees’ list persons with disabilities. So far employers with over 50 employees were obliged to hire 4 to 10 % disabled people (depending on the economic branch) and this obligation under the Labour Code is still enforced. The employer is obliged to adapt the workplace to the needs of the disabled person. If the employer is not able to do that, it is possible to ask for financial support from the Persons with Disabilities Agency. In that case, the employer is obliged to hire the person with disability for at least three years. If the employer does not implement the quota, a monthly compensation fee which is 30 % of the minimum wage for each unoccupied workplace has to be paid.

Links

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

G. Statistics and data collection

G1. Official research

National publicly available research is almost non-existent. Most research results come from international sources and are funded internationally. There is not much funding allocated for disability research. The most recent research commissioned by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) was carried out in 2008 - 2009 and the report was uploaded on the APD website (2009) and used as the basis for launching a tender procedure to set up a country wide database of disabled people. However, such a research had not been identified on this website in 2017. The Centre for Independent Living (NGO) carries out important and critical analysis and researches related to the UNCRPD, especially in the context of Art.19. The 2015-2020 Action Plan for Implementation of the UNCRPD envisages a concept paper for the needed legislative amendments concerning data collection and statistics (Art.31) to be elaborated until 2020.

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities asked the Bulgarian government in its list of issues from September 2017 to provide information about the methodology used by the State in the collection of information relating to persons with disabilities and about any plans to use the Washington Group set of questions and tools on disability for the purposes of data collection. The government has not provided such data as of May 2018.

The UNCRPD was concerned (in October 2018) about the lack of disaggregated data collected on persons with disabilities, and the lack of dissemination of such data in Bulgaria. It is also concerned about the lack of involvement of organisations of persons with disabilities in this process, which makes it difficult for the state to develop appropriate targeted policies. The Committee recommends that Bulgaria be guided by Sustainable Development Goal 17, in particular target 17.18, in its efforts to establish systematic data collection and reporting procedures by the National Statistical Institute in accordance with the Convention, and that it: take into consideration the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability when collecting information about the situation of persons with disabilities and the barriers to the exercise of their rights; take measures to increase the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable disaggregated data while ensuring the active participation of and close collaboration with representative organizations of persons with disabilities in the planning and design stages of data collection activities and develop, in close and meaningful consultation with their representative organizations, evidence-based policies to respond to the situation of persons with disabilities.

Links

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

G2. Census data

The last Census was run in early 2011 and had a chapter on disabilities. The published results show that the total number of disabled people is 474,267, of which 9,039 are children.

Links

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

G3. Labour Force Survey

The Labour Force Survey in Bulgaria does not distinguish disability in labour activity statistics. Calculation of the employment/unemployment rates is data that is secured from other sources such as the Employment Agency, Agency for Persons with Disabilities. Disabled people were not included in the Labour Force Survey ad hoc module in 2002 and 2011.

Links

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

G4. Disability equality indicators

There are no disability equality indicators established in Bulgaria. Most government disability-related initiatives state results in terms of 'clients served' or ‘increase in number’ but equality is not measured.

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

H. Awareness and external action

H1. Awareness raising programs

There are no special publically funded programmes targeted at awareness raising A few private donors offer funding opportunities to disabled people’s organisations to promote the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), for instance the Special Initiatives of the Open Society Institute in New York. Awareness raising among disabled people is also limited - government funded Disabled People’s Organisations do not do this kind of work and other organisations capable of doing awareness raising are not funded for the purpose. The 2015-2020 Action Plan for Implementation of the UNCRPD contains awareness raising measures such as: application of communication strategy for change of societal attitude towards persons with disabilities; carrying out of a national round table and a conference about the UNCRPD; seminars for the State and municipal administration servants, employers etc.; seminars for members of organisations of and for persons with disabilities.

Links

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

H2. Training for teachers

After the adoption of the legislation on integrated education of children with special educational needs and the setting up of 28 resource centres around the country during the period of 2006 - 2010, teachers have been offered different training opportunities focusing on new teaching techniques and skills in handling mixed classes. This process was further facilitated by the career development provisions in the Public Education Act, which correlates training experience with the salary of the teachers. Training sessions are usually offered by universities conducting social pedagogy and special education courses. Education and training, however, are focused on the development of skills and not on attitudes. The new 2016 Preschool and School Education Act and the Ordinances adopted for its implementation provide for trainings of teachers in skills and techniques aimed at effective inclusive education. The 2015-2020 Action Plan for Implementation of the UNCRPD does not envisage any trainings for teachers.

Links

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

H3. Training for lawyers

The Report on the Implementation of the 2013-2014 Action Plan for Implementation of the UNCRPD mentions that four seminars are to be organised in the mid 2015. One of them was planned for judges, prosecutors and other judiciary officers. No other information in the public domain was identified about the training efforts to raise disability awareness among lawyers. The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (NGO) and Bulgarian Lawyers for Human Rights Foundation (NGO), when they manage to get earmarked funding for the purpose from private donors, develop training sessions on discrimination and accessibility legislation, trial procedures and legal specifics, which sometimes but not always contain awareness raising sessions.

Links

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

H4. Training for doctors

The Report on the Implementation of the 2013-2014 Action Plan for Implementation of the UN CRPD mentions that a training seminar with doctors and other medical staff working with persons with disabilities is planned to be organised in 2015 under a EU funded project. However, no other information was identified about this training.

Links

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

H5. Training for engineers

Information on this item is not yet available

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

H6. International development aid

According to the 2015-2020 Action Plan for Implementation of the UNCRPD unified guidelines for international cooperation (Art.32) should be elaborated until 2020.

Links

Update date: Thu, 2019-05-09

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