End of Commitment Report – Promotion of a friendly and inclusive administration for the people with disabilities

Name of Evaluator

José Hernández Bonivento

Email

[email protected]

Member Name

Peñalolén, Chile

Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title

Action plan – Peñalolén, Chile, 2021 – 2024

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...

Promotion of a friendly and inclusive administration for people with disabilitiesA government is not open unless it is accessible to all, and governments are working to ensure people with disabilities are afforded equitable services and opportunities to participate. Technical spec...

Title

Promotion of a friendly and inclusive administration for people with disabilities

Action

Development and implementation of a strengthening plan of the municipality management with the intention of improving the process of inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More of people with disabilities, the caretakers, and their families.
Plan components:

• Territorialized Project, in order to identify the local needs of people with disabilities
• Inform about the government social benefits and support in their management, where the municipality acts as a bridge with the central level.
• A map about the programs and health services available in the borough, aimed at people with disabilities and their families.
• Public-private alliances, the creation of agreements to obtain particular benefits for our neighbors.
• The structuring and establishment of support networks for caretakers and persons with disabilities, in order to generate instances of accompaniment.
• The training of municipal officials on subjects about inclusion and good treatment to people with disabilities.

Problem

People with disabilities face daily barriers and restrictions from the environment that block their integral development and their active involvement in society. Usually, this problem not only affects the person with disability, but it’s also extended towards their families, especially in those cases where these people are in a situation of dependency, requiring permanent attention from a caretaker.
From what was mentioned by the participants of the “Dialogue of People with Disabilities and their Caretakers”, a number of problems and necessities were identified:

• Lack of support for the caretakers
• Need for educational establishments that adapt to the conditions of people with disabilities
• An insufficient number of specialist professionals in the area of disabilities
• Low accessibility to transport services for people with reduced mobility
• Unawareness of benefits and support networks for people with disabilities and their caretakers.

Consequently, the need to strengthen institutional management not only around people with disabilities but also their caretakers is noted, favoring their integral development and promoting their inclusion in society as subjects of law.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

substantial

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The municipality’s report, validated through interviews and fieldwork, shows that most of the activities planned in this commitment were completed, although there is little evidence of completionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... More of Milestone No. 4. However, everything else in the report is validated and shows the efforts on this matter by the municipality.

Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:

Verificadores Plan de Accion de Gobierno Abierto
Rendición de Cuentas Primer Plan de Acción de Gobierno Abierto

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

The commitment entailed extensive diagnosis and support for neighbors in disability situations, which consumed most of the team’s work. The existence of a specific unit for disability was helpful in many ways, as they were already working with this particular population for many years. Also, inside the municipality was the Kintun Center, dependent on the East Metropolitan Health Service (intermediate level of government), which offers substantial services to patients with mental disabilities. There is evidence of diffusion programs and a mapping of services, which are part of the commitment’s milestones. Public servants and caretakers were fundamental to the development of this initiative, and showed satisfaction with the results when interviewed. The municipality now has a municipal ordinance on these matters, due to political will from authorities and the work of public servants in the field.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

Most of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

As with other commitments in the Peñalolén Action Plan, the milestones for the third commitment were assessed as lacking specificity in the plan design review, so the Municipality modified them to make them more measurable and concrete. The overall goals were maintained, but with more specific activities. Achievement of the goals is documented in the report, which presents verifiers validated by this review. There is just a little evidence on Milestone No. 4, as mentioned before.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Verificadores Plan de Accion de Gobierno Abierto
Rendición de Cuentas Primer Plan de Acción de Gobierno Abierto
Evaluacion Inicial Penalolen

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

Yes

Degree of result:

Marginal

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The commitment was based on the diffusion of existing offers to neighbors in a situation of disability. It did not create new information, nor improve the quality of it. However, it did improve the accessibility of service information to public servants, civil society organizations, and caretakers, primarily by diffusing existing services.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Rendición de Cuentas Primer Plan de Acción de Gobierno Abierto

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The commitment implementation focused on different participatory spaces. On Milestone 1, the municipality held a public consultation to identify the needs of the neighbors with disability. On Milestone 2, the city held workshops with various organizations, caretakers, and individuals with disabilities to identify their needs. On Milestone 5, public-private alliances were formed to promote new activities for neighbors with disabilities and their caretakers. Finally, on Milestone 6, the new municipal ordinance for caretakers was built, precisely, based on the diagnosis made in the other milestones.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Verificadores Plan de Accion de Gobierno Abierto
Politica Local de Cuidados Municipalidad de Penalolen
Diagnostico Integral de Necesidades y Demandas de Personas con Discapacidad Visual y sus Cuidadores-as

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

With the new municipal ordinance, there is now a formal norm that mandates the new approach to people with disabilities in the commune. For this, a series of capacitations was conducted for public servants, enabling them to learn the appropriate manners for interacting with neighbors in various disability conditions. This may imply sanctions for non-compliance with the norm, and has an explicit set of rules that can be used to hold officials accountable.

Verifiers of the capacitations here.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Politica Local de Cuidados Municipalidad de Penalolen

2.1.4 Other Results

Not Applicable

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

In the design review, this commitment was seen as less ambitious than expected. However, after the implementation of most of its milestones, and by the response from public servants and citizens involved in these activities, it is evident that this effort did impact the well-being of people in situations of disability and their caretakers. There was a lot that was already working, something that helped its implementation, but the new efforts were very well received and appreciated by the community served. It also introduced changes within the municipality, including a new policy for local caretakers, which could provide relief to families of people with disabilities in the community.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Politica Local de Cuidados Municipalidad de Penalolen

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

Although the interviews made it clear that the work was challenging, the fieldwork revealed a significant improvement in the quality of life of people with disabilities. The creation of networks, the expansion of services, and the consolidation of municipal public policy are significant advances that have been made to serve a traditionally neglected population. It would be essential to accompany the implementation of the new public policy, especially with the change in administration, so that these efforts, so appreciated by the community, continue to improve the quality of life of the residents of Peñalolén.