Integration Assistance

The following steps are usually necessary in order to receive integration assistance benefits:

• You contact the integration assistance provider responsible for you.
• There you can receive advice and support or submit an informal application straight away.
• The responsible authority will ask you to complete a form and submit further documents.
• The authority will carry out a participation and/or overall plan procedure to determine your personal need for integration assistance services.
• Once all the documents have been submitted, the competent authority will check whether and to what extent you will receive integration assistance based on the information you provide.
• After your application has been reviewed, you will receive an approval or rejection notice.

The benefits of integration assistance are very diverse. It supports services that are suitable for eliminating or alleviating disabilities or their consequences. The aim is to give disabled people the opportunity to participate in social life.

The benefits for integration assistance are basically divided into four areas:

• Social participation benefits
• Benefits for participation in working life 
• Services for participation in education 
• Services for medical rehabilitation
• Examples include

Early intervention services

• Benefits for appropriate schooling or vocational training
• Disability-related benefits for higher education
• Medical rehabilitation measures
• Benefits for participation in working life in a workshop for people with disabilities 
• Benefits for living as independently as possible
• Assistance services (for example, help with housekeeping)

The assets and income of partners are not relevant for integration assistance. The assets and income of parents of adult children with disabilities are also not taken into account.

If you would like to receive social benefits in addition to integration assistance, you must submit two applications: one for integration assistance and one for social benefits.

Exception: For people with disabilities under the age of 18, integration assistance is not separate from social benefits.

Depending on how much you earn, you may have to pay part of the costs for some services. People who earn very little or receive a social benefit that ensures their livelihood do not have to pay anything or only very little. Please contact your responsible institution to find out about the asset and income limits for integration assistance benefits that apply to you.

The following are not taken into account

• the income and assets of the partner of a person with a disability,
• the income and assets of the parents of people with disabilities over the age of 18.

There are also benefits that are always free of charge. These include, for example

• Curative education services for children who have not yet started school (e.g. early intervention services)
• Services for participation in working life 
• Assistance with school education (e.g. school support)
• Services for acquiring and maintaining practical knowledge and skills if they serve to prepare for participation in working life

There are some benefits that you can apply for together (pooled benefits). The prerequisite is that the same service is needed at the same time and in the same place, which is why the service can be provided jointly for two or more people with disabilities. For example, it is possible to receive joint assistance with housekeeping or transportation (transportation service).

An important principle in the law on integration assistance is the "right to choose". If you have a claim and there are several suitable alternatives, you can choose which of these services is right for you.

The documents required vary greatly and depend on your personal circumstances. Your contact person at your competent authority will inform you which documents are required.