Finnish welfare region limits care for severely disabled toddler to 20 hours a month

A Finnish welfare region has granted a severely disabled two-year-old boy just 20 hours of monthly home care, despite a court ruling that the allocation is insufficient and unlawful.

The boy, Max, cannot speak, move, or support his own head due to a rare congenital disorder, Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, which causes muscle weakness, delayed motor development, and intellectual disability. His parents, Anna Repo and Markus Korhonen, have fought for increased support since his diagnosis in 2024.

In December 2025, the Eastern Finland Administrative Court ruled that the North Savo Welfare Region had acted unlawfully by capping short-term care at 20 hours per month. The court stated that services must be individually assessed and not arbitrarily limited. However, the family’s situation remained unchanged.

In January 2026, the welfare region again denied the family’s request for 80 hours of monthly home care, citing early childhood education as the boy’s primary service. The parents argue that Max, who requires round-the-clock care and assistance with all daily functions, is being treated as if he were a healthy child.

Repo, Max’s mother and primary caregiver, receives 28 hours of legally mandated respite care per month—little more than a single day. The family has been forced to place Max in daycare due to insufficient home support.

Complaints regarding disability services have surged since Finland’s welfare regions took over in 2023, with some areas seeing a doubling in disputes. Experts attribute the rise to cost-cutting measures by the regions.