[Legal questions concerning needs assessment for participation benefits]

Needs Assessment for participation benefits (rehabilitation) in Germany is part of the administrative proceedings. It is condition for the decision of the responsible administrative bodies. It is underlying the principles of public inquiry, which can be carried out by experts of social medicine. It has to be carried out within a 3-week period and within a maximum of 7 weeks if a certificate has to be given. Following the principle of cooperation the need has to be assessed for all administrative bodies possibly involved as responsible for a participation benefit to be provided. In practice, however, needs assessment is still focussed on issues within the specific domain of the various administrative bodies. There is hardly any research on the implementation of needs assessment under a legal point of view. It could be started by carrying out an analysis of official files and by expert interviews.