The VAPH

The Vlaams Agentschap voor Personen met een Handicap (VAPH) is a Flemish government agency and for this reason we provide information in the Dutch language only. This information sheet gives a brief overview of the tasks and activities of the VAPH and the people they relate to.

The VAPH is the Flemish Agency for Disabled Persons. The VAPH aims to promote participation, integration and equal opportunities for the disabled in all areas of social life. Our ultimate goal is to help these people lead a better and more independent life.

The VAPH does this by subsidising facilities and services for people with disabilities:

• Equipment and modifications
  To better organise his or her daily life a disabled person is entitled to a benefit to cover the cost of a piece of equipment or modification to his or her home or car.

• Services and facilities
  The VAPH subsidises services and facilities which provide care for disabled persons through day care or guidance.

• Personal assistance budget
  Disabled persons who prefer to live at home can apply for a personal assistance budget. This budget can enable them to employ a home-helper.

The VAPH is dedicated to people with a disability. The term disability is not always cut and dried. This is why the VAPH uses the following definition:

Disability: any long-term and significant participation problem experienced by a person and attributable to a combination of functional disorders of a mental, psychic, physical or sensory nature, limitations in the performance of activities, and personal and external factors.

This definition allows for an individual approach to every person who calls on the services of the VAPH.

However, there are several other conditions governing access to the services offered by the VAPH:

• Age requirement
  The person must request recognition of his or her disability before reaching the age of 65.

• Residence requirement
  The disabled person lives and resides in Flanders. This means the person must be listed on the population register or immigration register and have lived in Belgium for 5 years prior to registration (or 10 years in the course of his or her life). The condition of 5 or 10 years does not apply for the citizens of the European Union.