From consensus to conflict and variety? On the increase in user-directed personal assistance - In depth interviews, 2002

User-controlled personal assistance (BPA) has since 1994 had trial status through state action plans for the disabled. The number of users has increased rapidly until today. 1 May 2000 a change in the Social Services Act came in effect, stating that BPA is an initiative local authorities are required to have among its services. Tensions and conflicts of interest related to BPA which has scarcely been expressed in the trial, is expected to get stronger upon scaling up the service. Tensions have only rarely been taken up in connection with legislating BPA and will be reflected in the implementation by the solutions of which are left to the municipalities. Tensions can in various ways be linked to issues of whether BPA should be a system where the user control is kept strictly upheld or whether to develop pragmatic solutions that can be customized to wider audiences and municipal organization and practice. Specifically, they will be expressed in relation to questions about the scope and composition of the BPA, how the target group is delimited, how BPA is organized and how the assistants are recruited and what kind of working conditions they are provided. The project will elucidate through surveys and interviews with users of BPA and municipalities implementing the scheme.