A Study of the New System for Certifying Disabilities and Undertaking Needs Assessment for Persons with Disabilities in Taiwan

Taiwan’s social welfare system for persons with disabilities acquired its present form after two major revisions to the Welfare Law for Handicapped Persons (1980). In the latest revision to the law in 2007, the aim of social welfare for persons with disabilities was changed to “protect the legal rights and interests of people with disabilities, secure their equal opportunity to participate in social, political, economic, and cultural activities fairly, while contributing to their independence and development.” The revised law specified that after the trial period of five years in 2012, social services would be provided through a new system for certifying disabilities and a needs assessment system would be undertaken, based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF), adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO). This paper investigates the impacts of this new system on Taiwan’s social welfare for persons with disabilities. The results demonstrate that the introduction of the ICF framework has created the possibility of developing social services for persons with disabilities, but there are a number of difficulties in certifying disabilities and in assessing the needs for persons with disabilities.