Energy Costs Impact on Disabled Children’s Rehabilitation Opportunities in Kazakhstan

Abstract

This article examines the costs for families raising disabled children, who, in world social policy, belong to socially vulnerable groups of the population. The purpose of this article is to assess the impact of energy consumption on the ability of a family to provide rehabilitation for a disabled child in the present and the possibility of his independent life in the future. A sociological survey was administered to respondents in five regions of Kazakhstan, with subsequent processing of the results obtained by statistical methods. The survey was based on a methodological approach in accordance with the identification of four types of restrictions: direct childcare costs; indirect family costs, i.e., losses (household energy consumption aspect); assessment of the opportunity to work; and assessment of the parents’ ability to stay healthy. The PLS–PM model-based structural modeling was carried out. In the model, four types of constraints as dependent variables were accepted. In the course of the model application, three hypotheses regarding energy costs were confirmed. The significance of energy costs in the system of restrictions for families with disabled children was determined. In conclusion, the qualitative characteristics of the relationships allowed identification of the problems in the current support system for families with disabled children in Kazakhstan, which is focused on the partial compensation of direct costs. Energy consumption was determined to be sufficiently important. This results in the misuse of benefits for the rehabilitation of a child because parents, especially from incomplete and low-income families, are forced to choose between paying utility bills and rehabilitating a child. Energy costs also limit the family’s ability to meet the direct costs of the child and long-term savings related to the child’s future. We propose the subsidization of energy utilities for families with disabled children, partially replacing targeted social assistance with vouchers for the purchase of household electrical appliances and rehabilitation equipment with energy-saving characteristics. In further studies, issues regarding the use of tax deductions and tax credits as an alternative support measure, which is currently not used in Kazakhstan, will be investigated.