But not everyone with disabilities — whether physical or mental — can say as much.

Indeed, care in the Czech Republic has long resembled scenes out of Miloš Forman's film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Routinely institutionalized, sometimes unnecessarily, the disabled here often face inhumane treatment, such as having to stand in long lines for medicine or simply to shower.

Now, after a decade in the works, a new law expected to go into effect this month is set to change all that. Conceived to put a human face on disabled care, the law aims to help people live independent lives as normal members of society outside of institutions. It also aims to reduce the costs of keeping people in state facilities.

"The law fundamentally changes the approach," says Alexandr Fanta, the director of the Vlašská institution where Ježková lives.

Yet not everyone is happy with the law. Critics, including Fanta, welcome aspects of it but question others. They say the law appears designed for a reality that has already changed, as disabled care has actually undergone major adjustments in the past decade, even in the absence of new legislation. It has become more humane, with nonprofit groups filling in gaps in state care to provide key services.

Fanta agrees the old system needed changing. He and others say the disabled were long treated as immature, unable to make their own choices. "[Doctors] said, 'We have this solution for you and you have to take it the way it is,' " Fanta said.

And that led to a system of institutionalization. The Czech Republic has 1.7 beds for the physically or mentally disabled per 1,000 people — well above the 0.7 average found in most Western countries.

Complaints about law

Under the new law, a lot of those beds will be vacated. The state will give 2,000-11,000 Kč ($95-520) monthly handouts to disabled people, depending on their needs. With the money, patients will pay for healthcare services, such as a personal assistant for a few hours a day, directly from institutions, while they live on their own or with their families.

"We will be here to serve clients, and have to prepare services for them similarly as in a shop," says Fanta. "They will either buy it or not."

The problem, some say, is that the country still lacks caregivers to do those jobs. "The law has not been thought out properly," says Dana Černá, who is a wheelchair-user. "People will get money for assistants, but from practice we know there are few people to do such jobs. It is poorly paid."

But Marián Hošek, an official at the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, says the ministry is set to provide the country's regions with 650 million Kč to hire more social workers to assist families caring for the disabled. Still, he admits the law needs to be fine-tuned.

Another major concern is the fate of nonprofit groups, which have come to play a key role in disabled care. Under the law, the regions will be charged with distributing state subsidies to nonprofits. But some groups fear regional officials will favor certain institutions, which would put some organizations and their patients at risk.

One such nonprofit is the Club of People in Wheelchairs. It provides 24-hour service for members, who simply press a button when in urgent need of help. But Chairwoman Alžběta Šafránková fears the law could hurt her club's members.

"We help around the clock, whenever our members need it," she says. "I can't imagine people having sole responsibility of organizing things for themselves."

Petr Hejl, head of the nonprofit Betlém in South Moravia, says the law should focus on improving the quality of life of disabled people. "There are many severely disabled people who will always need institutional care," he says. "What they need is a nice, loving environment."

Trusting families

Fanta believes the law suits those with physical disabilities. For the mentally disabled, things might get worse.

Take Ježková and the other 26 women who live at the Vlašská institution.

Ježková is lucky to have caring and loving parents, but some of her fellow residents come from a very different family background. Under the new law, the state funds will go to patients' custodians, who are usually family members.

"There is the risk some [families] will take the money and just sit the mentally disabled person in front of the television instead of working out a program for them," Fanta says.

Fanta says that, since the early 1990s, the situation for the mentally disabled has improved a lot. He says the key to that change has been making the person and his or her needs the center of attention.

Ježková, who will remain in the Vlašská home, lived through those changes. Having seen the old ways and the new, she is quite happy today.