Disability reform and ENS: a turning point to build together
From a single assessment to the Life Project, through accessibility, Italian Sign Language interpreters and local services: the Italian National Agency for the Deaf supports the change while identifying key priorities.
By Raffaele Cagnazzo
National President, Italian National Agency for the Deaf
The disability reform launched with Enabling Act No. 227 of 2021 and progressively implemented through Legislative Decree No. 62 of 2024 represents a historic opportunity for ENS, the Italian National Agency for the Deaf, one that we are following with engagement and a strong sense of responsibility.
After decades in which disability policies developed in a fragmented way, the country has chosen an integrated vision founded on the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and on a biopsychosocial approach that looks at the person as a whole rather than at diagnosis alone. It is a profound cultural change and, as such, requires time, appropriate tools and loyal cooperation among institutions, representative organisations and the communities concerned. ENS intends to play an active role in this process, contributing eighty-four years of history and direct experience alongside Deaf people in Italy.
Looking more closely at the reform, one of its most significant elements is the introduction of the individual, personalised and participatory Life Project, a tool that marks an important qualitative leap beyond the service-based logic that long characterised welfare policies. For the Deaf Community, this tool has particular value: it recognises that a person's wellbeing is not measured only in functional terms, but also includes participation in social, cultural and civic life. Italian Sign Language, legally recognised in 2021, is an integral part of this participation and of the identity of those who use it as their first language. For Life Projects to be genuinely effective for Deaf people, the professionals involved in developing them must receive adequate training on Deaf culture and identity, and qualified LIS interpreters must be available at every stage of the assessment process. This is not an additional requirement: it is the condition that makes the process itself reliable and its outcomes fair.
On assessment, the reform introduces a major change: it moves beyond the fragmentation between civil invalidity, civil deafness and civil blindness by introducing a single assessment under the responsibility of INPS, Italy's National Social Security Institute. The simplification is welcome. During this phase of gradual extension of the system, which will be fully completed in 2027, it is important that the specific characteristics of Deaf people's situation are preserved in the new criteria and assessment scales now being defined. Deafness is a condition that cuts across crucial dimensions of life: communication, access to information, safety, education and work. An assessment capable of capturing this cross-cutting impact produces fairer determinations and Life Projects that more closely reflect each person's reality. The Ministerial Regulation due by 30 November 2026, which will update the definitions and procedures for assessing deafness, is therefore a decisive step. ENS is ready to contribute to this work with expertise and a constructive approach.
Particular attention must also be paid to the local services that will support implementation of the reform. The system of Access Points provided for by the decree is a promising infrastructure that can make a real difference in people's lives. For these services to be genuinely usable by Deaf people, they must guarantee communication accessibility: availability of LIS interpreters, information materials in accessible formats and appropriately trained staff. Communication support is not an optional service. It is the precondition for any other service to function for this part of the population. Its permanent presence within Access Points should therefore be built in from the design stage.
In terms of financial resources, the reform opens an important area for reflection. The communication allowance, a specific measure for people with hearing loss, has not yet been adjusted to the real cost of accessibility services in today's context. A review consistent with the principles of the reform, recognising the actual cost of full participation in social and working life, would be an important sign of consistency between vision and instruments.
With regard to institutional participation, ENS views thematic technical working groups with interest as a tool for ongoing dialogue. The CRPD clearly states that organisations of persons with disabilities must be involved not only in consultation, but also in monitoring and reviewing implementation. ENS is ready to take part in this work in a structured and continuous way, making available its detailed knowledge of the reality of Deaf people throughout Italy through its 103 Provincial Sections and 21 Regional Councils.
Disability reform is an important promise that the country has made to millions of citizens. ENS looks to this process with confidence and a genuine desire to contribute to its success. The most lasting reforms are built with everyone's contribution. We are ready to do our part.