Germany

This article gives an overview of the services provided for people with intellectual disabilities in Germany. On principle we assume that the field of services in this country, its problems, strengths and opportunities for development, can be understood only if one is familiar with the development pathways and specific historical experiences. Church welfare and powerful voluntary welfare organisations, traditional psychiatry and its ‘oligophrenic’ ideal, the division of state funding competencies into local and centralised levels and the commitments of a new generation of parents organised in the association Lebenshilfe were important factors for the development of the current structures. These can be characterised by the persistence of residential facilities, although it has been the legal mission of the social administration since 1984 to give priority to the expansion of non‐residential services. Specific financial mechanisms promote institutionalisation from the perspective of the local authorities and impede the implementation of integrative approaches in the community.