Turin Declaration demands stronger support for people with disabilities and their families
Eurochild joins EASPD and 10 other organisations in promoting sustainable, community-based support systems that empower families and informal carers, emphasising that an inclusive system is not a privilege but a right.
The Declaration lays out several recommendations for the EU and its Member States to ensure that both people with disabilities and their families can access the support they need to exercise real choice and control over their lives.
Together, we pledge to build systems where:
- Persons with disabilities exercise real choice and control.
- Families are recognised and supported, not overburdened.
- Services are valued, innovative, high-quality and sustainable and close to the people who need them.
The signatories call on the EU to:
- Ensure a strong follow-up of the European Care Strategy, including an ambitious EU Care Deal, in consultation with social actors;
- Deliver on a second phase of the EU Disability Rights Strategy (2026–2030) that moves Europe closer to the implementation of the UNCRPD;
- Secure strengthened data collection and accountability for the implementation of the Child Guarantee
- Include actions for deinstitutionalisation in the Affordable Housing Plan.
Children with disabilities and their families need to have effective access to early identification and intervention, inclusive education, healthcare, nutrition, and adequate housing and all support necessary for them to avoid family separation, as well as recognition and support for informal carers.
The Declaration was launched during EASPD’s International Conference hosted in Turin on 20–21 October. The event titled “Empowering Families, Enabling Self-Determination” gathered over 250 participants, including staff from Eurochild, who took part in a video screening and workshop on the GUIDE project, an initiative that supports guardians of unaccompanied children and in which EASPD (the European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities) and Eurochild are partners.
