Yle seeks accounts of disputes over disability services

Yle is seeking people who have become caught in appeals over disability services, as it examines the effects of Finland’s disability services law, which changed at the start of 2025.

The new law was expected to improve the lives of people with disabilities, but its effects appear to have gone the other way. The Disability Forum estimates that wellbeing services counties have cut services, and more people have had to challenge decisions about services they are entitled to receive.

Among the cases Yle has reported on is that of Max, a two-year-old with severe disabilities. His family has been granted 20 hours of in-home care a month by the North Savo wellbeing services county, a regional public authority. A court has found that this amount is insufficient.

In North Ostrobothnia, another regional public authority, responsibility for arranging morning and afternoon care for children with disabilities has been disputed for years. In Oulu, a librarian with cerebral palsy lost transport services for work and leisure last year after a decision by the county authority.

People can request a review of a wellbeing services county’s decision, appeal to the Permit and Supervisory Agency or take the matter to an administrative court.

Responses can be sent using the form on Yle’s website or directly to reporter Anna Ronkainen at [email protected]. Yle will use responses in its reporting only with the respondent’s permission. Contact details will not be shared outside the newsroom and will be handled only by the journalists working on the coverage. The reporter will contact respondents separately if their answers are to be used.