Kristiansand municipality will not give Maximilian (16) help at home – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio

The case in summary: Maximilian, a mildly mentally retarded boy with cerebral palsy, can be moved from his home to a staffed home in Kristiansand municipality. Maximilian has had BPA (user-controlled personal assistance) in his home 24/7 since November last year, but the municipality will now end this arrangement. The mother, Annette Jensen, is concerned about her son’s welfare and fears that he will not receive sufficient help in the staffed residence. Kristiansand municipality says they have to set tough priorities in order to provide proper health services to the individual. The municipality has not made a decision about the move yet, and the family has not received detailed information about what the new offer entails. The date for moving into the staffed accommodation is set for 1 December. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s ​​journalists before publication. – Maximilian has had periods where he just wants to die. Then he stands in front of cars and jumps from the roof. We are terrified of what could happen if he has to live in the home, says Annette Jensen. His son Maximilian is mildly mentally retarded and has cerebral palsy. Since November last year, he has had BPA in his home 24/7. Now Kristiansand municipality wants to end the scheme, and instead move the 16-year-old to a staffed home. – Now we are in a good period, so Maximilian needs peace going forward before we can find the solutions that are best for him in the long term, says mother Annette Jensen. Photo: Tom-Richard Hanssen Olsen / news Jensen fears the consequences of this. – I am very worried about what help he will actually get up there. Do they have enough staff? Annette Jensen is also project manager in the Collaboration Forum of Disabled Organizations (SAFO). She also sits on the city council in Kristiansand for SV. news allows the mother to speak on Maximilian’s behalf as he has not yet been informed of the municipality’s decision and is not very good at expressing himself either. Kristiansand municipality tells news they have to make tough priorities related to how they can provide proper health services to the individual. Read the full response from Kristiansand municipality further down in the matter. Maximilian, like many other young people, likes to play games when he gets home. Got bruises and scratch marks Maximilian functioned mostly well until he was 13 years old. Then everything changed. He suddenly managed “nothing”, according to his mother. – It was like turning off a switch. He could neither stand in the shower nor put on shoes, she says. At the same time, he began acting out against his parents. He threw objects and pounded on the wall. – We both had bruises and scratch marks. One March evening last year, it got so bad that the parents ended up calling the outpatient emergency team for help. The son was admitted to ABUP and stayed there for eight months. After several rounds with the municipality, the State Administrator concluded that Maximilian and his parents had to get help at home. He has had that since the autumn of 2023. The walls inside Maximilian’s room bear traces of acts. Photo: Heidi Ditlefsen / news Has become a “new” boy BPA is the only offer that has worked for her son, according to the mother. She believes that Maximilian has become a “new” boy in recent months. – We hear laughter from his room, he plays games with the BPAs and asks if they are going out to play football. He has simply come back to life. This also shows the form where various outbursts are registered every day: Every day outbursts and other “unwanted behaviour” are entered into a form. The change in recent months is evident. The red line shows pounding in the table and wall. Photo: Privat Maximilian’s BPA Ida Bjørsvik confirms what her mother says. She stays with her family every three weeks. – He is now a boy who is more confident in himself. He has a much lower stress level both physically and mentally, says Bjørsvik. Maximilian plays Fortnite in his room while BPA assistant Ida Bjørsvik follows along. The two have gotten to know each other well over the past ten months. Photo: Heidi Ditlefsen / news Most concerned with wall colors The parents have still not received any decision from the municipality about the move, says the mother. They were told about the move at a meeting in May. They know little about what the offer entails. – We have only received a written offer. We know nothing about the content of the services. Our impression is that the municipality is more concerned with what color he wants on the walls, and which channel package he wants, says Jensen. news has been in contact with Kristiansand municipality, which says that normally a decision must be made before the offer comes into force. Maximilian is welcomed by mum Anette when he comes home from school. The mother also reacts to the fact that the municipality has not asked Maximilian what he himself wants. According to her, they have not been at their home even once. – We want them to talk to Maximilian and map out his wishes. We believe his vote should be taken into account. – We have not agreed to the housing, but the municipality is still pushing ahead. The date for moving in is set for 1 December. What do you think about this matter? Have your say further down. – An individual assessment Brede Skaalerud is director of health and coping in Kristiansand municipality. He says he has great understanding of the family’s situation. – In this case, I think that it is an individual assessment of how one can best take care of the user’s needs without knowing the details of the assessment, says Skaalerud. – The mother fears that the son will escape and hurt himself if he moves into the home. What is your comment on this? – I hear that concern, but it is clear that we as a municipality have a duty to ensure that we have a professionally sound offer that is prepared in line with the needs of the user. Health director in Kristiansand municipality, Brede Skaalerud, says they have a duty to provide a professionally sound offer that takes care of the user’s needs. Photo: Heidi Ditlefsen / news – What is your comment on the fact that Maximilian has not been asked what he wants and that you have not observed him at home? – We attach great importance to user participation so that the voice of the child or young person is heard. Either in direct conversation or by observation in a home environment. – That has not happened in this case. Why not? – I am not familiar with why it has not happened here, but we must have a practice in which the user’s voice comes through clearly, says Skaalerud. Will look at the scheme In Norway, around 4,000 people have BPA, figures from the Directorate of Health show. Of the ten largest municipalities in Norway, Kristiansand spends the least on BPA per decision, according to recent statistics obtained by news. Explanation to the table BPA should help to give people who need assistance the opportunity to live an active and as independent life as possible. The right applies to people under the age of 67 who have a long-term (over 2 years) need for personal assistance and relief for children for at least 32 hours per week. The right also applies if the need is more than 25 hours per week (but less than 32 hours per week) if it does not entail significantly increased costs for the municipality to organize the services as a BPA scheme. Figures from Statistics Norway show how many hours a week the largest municipalities in the country spend per BPA decision. The figures are from 2023, and show that Kristiansand is the municipality that allocates the fewest hours per decision. Tromsø allocates the most hours per decision. According to Kristiansand municipality, part of the explanation is that many decisions are granted in less than 25 hours. Anette Jensen knows of many other parents who find it difficult to get the help they need from the municipality for their children. In 2019, a report came out which showed that Kristiansand uses the BPA scheme little compared to other municipalities. Kristiansand municipality states that as of 1 September this year, there are 80 users in the municipality who have BPA. Per-Kåre Sandbakk Mathias Bernander, mayor (H) – It is worrying that Kristiansand is low in the statistics, and it is something we take seriously. That is why I have asked for a review of our BPA allocation. The case will be presented to the city council in November. The mayor says the expectation among those who need BPA is that the scheme should be an equality tool, but that it is part of the health legislation and has a different framework. Siv Kristin Sællmann Kenneth Mørk, group leader (Ap) – It is not good that Kristiansand is at the bottom when it comes to BPA. This is about freedom and dignity – people should be able to decide on their own lives, no matter where they live. The Labor Party expects the municipalities to deliver good BPA services that give people the freedom they are entitled to. – Kristiansand must step up and ensure that people get the help they need, says Mørk. TINE POPPEE Tove Linnea Brandvik, confederation leader of the Norwegian Association of the Disabled – Work is underway on a report to the Storting on BPA, where the organizations in Norway have clear expectations for a piece of legislation that ensures equal treatment across municipal boundaries. The right to services for citizens cannot be regulated so weakly that it does not give people certainty that they will get the services they need. BPA is a fantastic tool for those who want to take responsibility for their own lives. The municipality wants “everyone” in the institution Annette Jensen has engaged lawyer Tor Omar Nyquist to run their case against the municipality. In recent years, Nyquist has represented several parents who have BPA complaints against Kristiansand municipality. – I think the municipality shows a clear and distinct attitude to get as many people with disabilities into institutions as possible, against their will. It is consistent in several cases in the municipality, says Nyquist. Kristiansand municipality says their starting point is that users should stay at home for as long as possible. Director of Health Brede Skaalerud says there will still be some limitations linked to how extensive the service offer will be. – We see that in the long term we will have staffing and recruitment challenges linked to individual users with extensive service needs which mean that we have to set priorities. Lawyer Tor Omar Nyquist represents Annette Jensen and her family in the case against the municipality. Photo: Kilian Munch Lawyer Nyquist believes parents are left with two choices: Either relief in housing or nothing. – It should not be the case that parents are charged with that responsibility. They should be allowed to be parents and not have to provide their children with health and care services when the children are so old, says Nyquist. Annette Jensen says they have no other option but to take care of their son at home without assistants if the municipality’s proposal “stands”. – Of two evils, it is better to have him at home alone than to risk him clapping again, she says. The family will follow up the case further with the State Administrator. Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you don’t have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue See also: Hannah Lunden had to sell the apartment because she didn’t get enough BPA hours when she moved to Kristiansand. Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you do not have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue Published 30.09.2024, at 06.40 Updated 30.09.2024, at 12.13



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