When They Turn Eighteen: The Disabled Adult and the Life Ahead. Conference proceedings — Bosisio Parini — June 14–15, 1986. La Nostra Famiglia Parents' Association.
«Publishing these proceedings is our way of serving anyone working in this field,» writes the President of La Nostra Famiglia in her introduction. «We want to encourage the most effective response to a challenge we care deeply about.» And it truly is a service. The volume accomplishes what it sets out to do: it gathers existing resources, compares different approaches, reflects on new thinking in disability support, and connects professionals and families doing this work across regions.
The volume is organized into five main sections:
The first presents concrete examples of different programs: three socio-educational centers, one family community home, one residential facility, one supervised work center, one work cooperative, and one emergency overnight shelter.
The second section brings together expert analysis of the key dimensions: how services respond to different disabilities and levels of need, legal and administrative structures, the roles of professional staff and volunteers, and how families and their associations participate.
The third section covers public services for the transition to adulthood in three Italian regions: Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and the Veneto.
The fourth section includes remarks from political parties' representatives, parents, and a working group from La Nostra Famiglia.
The fifth section is a valuable collection of documents: relevant legislation and sample bylaws for—
- social solidarity cooperatives
- work and solidarity cooperatives
- supervised work centers
The volume closes with the survey sent to nearly two hundred facilities before the conference. More than one hundred responded. The book lists all these initiatives with addresses, followed by the conference participants and their contact information.
What strikes you about this conference and volume is the rigor and care taken throughout. It is an invaluable resource for anyone ready to undertake this work.
— Nicole Schulthes, 1988